MAYBE it was a chickadee? I've also seen the females getting in the birdhouse without tripping the trap. Did you get a good bag to cover it, one with a zip pull? Don't worry, you will catch one. I drove myself nuts watching them... just keep trying!

Sandra

You will find that us Blubirders ARE nuts and soon you will not care what the neighbors think anymore! LOL! We have lots of "what the neighbors must think" stoires in here. I get the bird in the box but it always gets away from the bag. I think I need a different bag.

I always shake when I do it too. I really hate doing it, but I know it has 2 be done. I have had a few escape cuz I didn't have the bag around the box good enough. (kinda hard when ur shaking :) They come out of the box like a bullet and sometimes, I dont see them fly off. But when I have the trap set...I watch until a hosp goes in. I have never had 2 wonder what is in the box. and yes...we r all nuts :)

Karen

What kind of box do you have and what are the dimensions? Is the trap actually able to go off and shut the hole up completely? I have some Gilwood boxes and if the trap isn't at just the right height the birds can get out above the bar that goes across the entrance but with a normal NABS style box this wouldn't be possible. Are you sure something else didn't set the trap off cause if a bird went in there, there should be no way they can get out. I have even gotten House wrens in traps by accident.

Advice to all about putting the bag over the nestboxes, a bird should not be able to escape if you do it correctly. You put the bag over the entire house and hold it shut around the pole underneath the nestbox, there should be no openings that the bird could get away. Don't just cover the front of the box with the bag.

Donna

LOL, that's what I do Donna. I just put the bag over the front. If u put it over the whole box and hold it at the pole...how do u get the bag off without the bird getting away?? (sry haven't done it that way and willing 2 learn)I will have 2 try it your way :) BTW, I use a big red onion bag.

Karen

I have the slot box, it is pictured on the Van Ert website, so I thought it would be fine...!

Just to be clear, the bird isn't in the box when I get there. It's not getting away out of the bag, it isn't in there. My hubby thinks its because it's windy, the trap is getting triggered. It happened twice this morning. No sparrows, but the trap was tripped.
I went out and purchased the lingerie bag at WalMart for 1.87.
Has anyone had the trap go off and not find a bird in the nest box??

Sissy, I lost one through that space today and decided to wrap a strip of electrical tape completely around the nestbox. This works on another box of the same type. As for the bag/bird escaping issue, Donna is exactly right about the way she uses the bag. Mine is a mesh laundry bag-large-with a drawstring. I put the bag over the entire box, secure the bag around the pole with the drawstring and then open the nestbox door. The house sparrow flies into the bag and then I, wearing garden gloves, grab the bird through the bag and secure it with my left hand while removing the bag from the box with my right hand. I then identify the bird and take the next step. Be careful when removing the bag if nothing flies out when you open the nestbox door because a house sparrow will sometimes wait before moving and you are tricked into thinking there's nothing in there. Then, when you move the bag to look, it will fly away.
Busy morning with house sparrows at my house. I've caught 2 males and 3 females so far. Haven't seen the pair of blues at my front box all day . . . sure do hope they're safe and that it wasn't the male of the pair that was killed in another nestbox this morning.
Kathy

I don't know what to do now. I cannot put tape over mine, the door wouldn't open if I did. The door leans into the box, with the top swinging into the gap. Sheesh.
I had no idea this was going to be like this.

Hi Sissy,
If you got a laundry bag, then you will have LOTS of room to open the door, no matter how your box opens. With it zipped tight, it's not going anywhere. I went and bought a new $10 bluebird house from walmart just to make my life easier, the door is hinged from the bottom..

I can't imagine why your trap keeps going off without a catch. I suggest emailing the trap guy and asking him. I personally havn't had this happen. Is your house pointed into the wind?

Sissy, you could try jamming something into that space that would move when you opened the box. I would try some foam like you put around air conditioners. It comes in strips and is soft and flexible. The sparrow would not see a way out, and your door should still swing freely when you open it to get him out. When you open the door the piece of foam will just fall into the box, and then you could re-use it.

My large clear trash bag put all the way over the box & down to the post seems to work fine. When the bird flies into the bag I can section off part of the bag and remove it from the bird house. It's very simple. I need simple.

Ann

The bird doesn't get away when I put the bag over the nest box. It gets out thru the slot before I even get to it, I am thinking.

Sissy, how about taping it up to trap and then removing the tape right before you cover the box with the bag to remove the trapped bird? If you're quick, the bird should not escape in those few seconds.
Kathy