Predator Guards Pros And Cons

[Evelyn Cooper]

http://www.sialis.org/guardprosandcons.htm

Check out the page above on Bet Zimmerman's wonderful website. There's many good options to choose from to protect your boxes from the many predators our native cavity nesting birds encounter.

Know your predators in your area. Then, search for the best way to guard your boxes.

Situations can change on a trail and that is why it is so important to monitor regularly. I did not have a Starling problem until I was in my 8th year of monitoring. It was not on all of my trail either, just three boxes were involved. It continues to be that way, but it could change. On these three boxes, I installed the wooden guard over the entry hole that is 1 1/2 inches thick (shown on Bet's page). This helps protect from all larger birds reaching in and getting eggs or babies. In my case, the Starlings were removing the eggs. I leave the guard on all year round as the Bluebirds have no problem accepting it. As you will see farther down the page, it states Bluebirds do have a problem accepting the Bird Guardian.

In my area, snakes, raccoons and fire ants are a huge problem. If I didn't use the Kingston stovepipe guard (or the conical guard can be used), the boxes would provide an easy meal for the snakes and raccoons. The snakes are intelligent creatures and remember where they got that easy meal. Fire ants are just as deadly and we have many. I put grease on the pole after the first egg is laid and then I have to do it again one more time during the season. I check the pole to see if the grease has hardened by the sun and reapply it. The reason I wait until the egg is laid, is that is fewer days it is in the sun and saves me applying it more often. It really can harden in the heat of the summer.

There's no guard for the dreaded House Sparrow and now is a fantastic time to install a ground trap and start trapping if you have a lot of them. If you have only a few in your backyard area, an inbox trap is the way to go. You can Google Van Ert House Sparrow traps and find both types of traps.

Now is the time to get serious about adding more boxes if you have space and if you don't, maybe you can enlist your neighbors' yards. We have many LBBS monitors that have trails that are in their communities yards! What a wonderful thing and many of the people are getting interested and learning.

May the bluebird year be all we expect it to be!!!!

Evelyn
Delhi, LA
www.labayoubluebirdsociety.org