Tips to Get Rid of Sparrows

Sparrows are cute and attractive birds that are fun to watch and will even sometimes eat crumbs out of your hands. While this may be true however, it doesn’t necessary mean that you want them in your back garden. The problem is that they aren’t supposed to be there and this means that they can damage the ecology of the garden and the balance – thereby damaging the native species there.

For instance they might destroy the eggs of other birds, and damage plants. ‘House sparrows’ as they are known might seem harmless, but they can kill bluebird babies and even adults, can steal nests and place pressure on the native songbird species. They can also evict house martins from their nests. Being highly widespread sparrows are also carriers of a range of parasites and germs, and they are highly adaptable and able to survive on everything from grains, to crumbs of bread to insects.

There are several ways to get rid of sparrows and this will largely depend on the extent of the problem and whether you are willing to use force to remove the issue. Here we will look at some tips for getting rid of sparrows.

Spotting Sparrows

First you need to identify sparrows. These are small brownish birds with white stomachs and cheeks and short beaks. They are fairly round and plump in shape and will build nests made from dry grass often in holes in walls and in trees. Their eggs are greyish in color with small brown and black patches. In most cases there will be 3-5 eggs per clutch.

Tips

Remove the Nests

If you find a sparrow nest then simply remove it and dismantle it and often the birds will just move on with nowhere to settle down. If there are eggs then this will of course mean destroying those too sadly – but after you’ve touched them they will be abandoned by their parents anyway. Use the description above to identify sparrow nests and to remove them from your garden.

Remove Nesting Spots

As mentioned, sparrows like to build their nests in holes in walls, in guttering, in roofing tiles and more. Fill these spots so that they can’t do this around your house and avoid having any dry grass around that they can use to build with.

Aim…

Some people choose to use more force and to shoot at the birds with small pellet guns. This allows you to pick them off without affecting the other bird populations in your garden.

Use Bird Traps

These are surprisingly effective at catching birds and you can put them near where you see the sparrows in your garden in order to catch a higher number of these pests. You can then set free any of the birds that you didn’t want in your cage, and keep hold of the sparrows. Your options then are to drive and release them miles from your home, to donate them to various charities (they can be used as food at some animal charities), to euthanize them (do so humanely), or to clip their wings and let nature run its course.

Bird Control

There are many ways you can reduce the amount of birds in your garden per-say, but if you are trying to protect your blue birds then this might not be the best strategy. If you just want fewer birds in general then your options are to get a cat, to use bird repellants (these are sprays and gels etc) and to use fake plastic snakes and owls.