How to Deal With Killer House Sparrows

House sparrows are often seen near people and areas where food is served.

House sparrows may seem like small, innocent birds, but they can do substantial damage to your property. They can destroy your crops and fruit trees, and their feathers and droppings can create unsanitary, odoriferous conditions. House sparrows are known to harass native birds, such as bluebirds and martins, and often they take over their nests. With their constant chatter, flocks of house sparrows can become a nuisance. To eliminate house sparrows, keep them from settling on your property, or scare them away.

Things You'll Need

• Broomstick or high-pressure water hose
• Bird spikes
• Poultry mesh
• Plywood
• Plastic strips
• Bird netting
• Foil strips
• Owl or hawk decoys
• Evil-eye balloons
• Electronic distress call player
• Chemical bait
• Funnel or automatic traps
• Cat

Instructions

1. Knock down house sparrows' nests with a broomstick or use a high-pressure water hose to wash the nest away. Discard the nests in a covered trash bin. If the house sparrows attempt to rebuild their nests, knock them down again and eventually the birds may leave. Because house sparrows are not federally protected, this control measure is allowed.

2. Install bird spikes on ledges, rafters and sills to inhibit house sparrows from perching and roosting. The protruding metal spike strips make it impossible for birds to land.

3. Cover openings in buildings that house sparrows frequent so they can't get in. Place poultry mesh over openings and cover broken windows with plywood. Close doors that give entrance to the building or hang a thick, plastic strip wall in the door opening so people can still enter, but house sparrows can't.

4. Form a canopy with bird netting over your crops. Allow plenty of space between the netting and the crops so house sparrows can't reach the crops through the openings in the netting. Avoid leaving openings at the bottom of the netting; house sparrows may use these to get to your crops. Depriving house sparrows of food may motivate them to leave.

5. Remove shrubs and trees that house sparrows frequent. Even though this may seem like an extreme measure, it's an effective way to get rid of them.

6. Incorporate methods to scare off house sparrows. Use visual frightening methods in addition to other repelling methods. Hang shimmering foil strips in areas house sparrows frequent. The reflection of the foil in the sun scares away the birds. Place a lifelike owl or hawk decoy on your property, or hang evil-eye balloons.

7. Play house sparrow distress calls. An electronic distress call player can play various distress calls to target different birds. When the pest birds hear the distress calls, they get disoriented and scared and won't come near the area.

8. Use chemicals to frighten flocks of house sparrows away. The chemical 4-aminopyridine is present in bait that can be fed to house sparrows. When a house sparrow eats the bait, it displays seizure-like spasms and dies. When the flock sees this, they get frightened and leave the area.

9. Place funnel or automatic traps on your property to trap the birds so you can relocate them elsewhere. Traps aren't ideal when dealing with a large flock of birds. You may also trap other bird species, and if these are protected, trapping is illegal.

10. Adopt or buy a cat and allow it to frequent areas prone to house sparrows. House sparrows will not go near areas where predator cats are present.

Tips & Warnings

• It is not allowed to kill protected birds in the process of killing house sparrows.

References

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: House Sparrow
• Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management: House Sparrow; William D. Fitzwater
• University of Illinois: House Sparrow
• Avitrol: About Avitrol