How to Get Rid of Blackbirds & Sparrows

A colony of blackbirds can be a major nuisance for the home gardener.

If unchecked, blackbirds and sparrows can wreak havoc on your back garden and front lawn, especially in the summertime. They can damage your bird feeders, flower and vegetable beds and destroy fruit trees. In addition, their droppings can harm newly planted grass and corrode stone and metal surfaces. Blackbirds are also often very aggressive towards other harmless bird species, driving them from your feeders and garden altogether. However, there are several simple procedures that you can take to banish blackbirds and sparrows from your home garden.

Things You'll Need

• Wire mesh or bird netting
• Sheet metal
• Electrical tape
• Music source (CD/cassette) and music player
• Store-bought "noise bombs" and flare pistol
• Shell crackers

Instructions

Instructions

1. Prevent blackbirds and sparrows from roosting upon the ledges and perches near your garden by covering them with either wire mesh or sheet metal, or both. When using wire mesh, be sure that the spaces between the wire are less than an inch apart. Make sure that you cover both the top surface and the undersides of any of these perches. When using sheet metal, be sure that you place the metal at a 60 degree angle at least to the perch, so that the birds will find it difficult to grip onto.

2. Play music in your garden that is offensive to the birds. Something that is high-pitched and repetitive like an alarm clock works very well. You can also find CDs and cassettes that feature the distress calls of blackbirds and sparrows, or the calls of hawks, eagles or owls. This will be sure to drive the birds away. Make sure that you play the music at night, just as the birds are getting ready to roost.

3. Purchase a ready-made "noise bomb" and flare pistol from your local home and garden store. These noise bombs are fired from the flare pistol. Aim it directly at the birds and their roosts. You can also purchase and use "shell crackers" to a similar effect. These are in effect small fireworks that should be aimed at the ground beneath the birds' roosts.

4. Prune your trees -- removing 30 to 50 percent of the branches and foliage -- to make them less desirable as roosts for the birds.

5. Cover any perches, ledges or tree branches that have a particularly high volume of the birds with electrical tape. You can also put tape on your bird feeders. Most small and harmless songbirds will not be affected, as they can enter the feeder directly, but the larger blackbirds and sparrows will not be able to.

Tips & Warnings

• Blackbirds especially love corn. If you have bird feeders meant for small songbirds, never put corn in it.

• Repeat these steps any number of times, preferably over a series of nights, to maximize their potency.

• Make sure you check the noise regulations of your neighborhood before firing the "noise bombs" or "shell crackers," particularly late at night.

References

• Purdue University: Birds Wildlife Conflicts
• Birdbusters: Bird Control

Resources

• Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife: Living with Wildlife