Grackles Whitewashing My 1.5 Acres - HELP!

[robertm]

We have a severe problem with blackbirds. I think they are grackles, in particular. They are the large blackbirds with bluish-green heads and yellow eyes. They seem to like roosting and nesting in our bordering blue spruces that are close to thirty feet high. The problem is that they have scared all other birds away, and they whitewash everything. Our driveway is littered with their feces on three-inch centers. That is no lie. It is hard tto pressure wash it away as it turns to concrete. It destroys the paint on the truck, and if I get it washed away, it is replaced within a few hours by just as much. It’s not bad enough that the birds “dump” their loads as they fly over the deck and driveway, but I see them carrying their turds in their beaks and as soon as they hit the target, BINGO, they let it go. It is absolutely crazy, unbelievable, and maddening. I’m fed up. A few grand and the spruce could be gone, but I love the seclusion they provide. Is there anything else I can do? Do these Bird Pro audible distress call devices work? If I lived out of range of the next house, the 20 gauge would be working overtime, but it’s not an option. Any help, advice, experiences, is greatly appreciated.

 

[robertm]

We have a severe problem with blackbirds. I think they are grackles, in particular. They are the large blackbirds with bluish-green heads and yellow eyes. They seem to like roosting and nesting in our bordering blue spruces that are close to thirty feet high. The problem is that they have scared all other birds away, and they whitewash everything. Our driveway is littered with their feces on three-inch centers. That is no lie. It is hard tto pressure wash it away as it turns to concrete. It destroys the paint on the truck, and if I get it washed away, it is replaced within a few hours by just as much. It’s not bad enough that the birds “dump” their loads as they fly over the deck and driveway, but I see them carrying their turds in their beaks and as soon as they hit the target, BINGO, they let it go. It is absolutely crazy, unbelievable, and maddening. I’m fed up. A few grand and the spruce could be gone, but I love the seclusion they provide. Is there anything else I can do? Do these Bird Pro audible distress call devices work? If I lived out of range of the next house, the 20 gauge would be working overtime, but it’s not an option. Any help, advice, experiences, is greatly appreciated.

 

[Egon]

Consider it as "Quano" and do wear a hat while outside.

Wish I could help for suggestions of removing the birds but the twenty gauge method may work.

Egon

 

[Egon]

Consider it as "Quano" and do wear a hat while outside.

Wish I could help for suggestions of removing the birds but the twenty gauge method may work.

Egon

 

[mcouey]

I had a similar problem when i lived in MD. We had some tall silver maples in our yard that birds liked to roost in during the summer. I discovered that if I went out every evening when they were coming in to roost and clapped my hands loudly they would fly away and roost somewhere else. Eventually I learned it was much easier on the hands if I slapped a piece of tin roof with a 2x4, and it had the same effect. After about a week of doing this the birds found a quieter place to roost and left mine and my nearby neighbors property alone.

Hope this helps.

 

[mcouey]

I had a similar problem when i lived in MD. We had some tall silver maples in our yard that birds liked to roost in during the summer. I discovered that if I went out every evening when they were coming in to roost and clapped my hands loudly they would fly away and roost somewhere else. Eventually I learned it was much easier on the hands if I slapped a piece of tin roof with a 2x4, and it had the same effect. After about a week of doing this the birds found a quieter place to roost and left mine and my nearby neighbors property alone.

Hope this helps.

 

[Highbeam]

I would check with the wildlife authority. You may be able to shoot them or at the least they will have some ideas.

I would be shooting them with a stout pellet gun, I have a 20 cal sheridan/benjamin that will kill a racoon but is very stealthy. Also, they make a CB round for your rimfire 22 that is extremely quiet and yet very capable of knocking a crow down.

There is a site, crowbusters.com, or something like that where people are obsessed with attracting and killing crows. Also some pest sites where folks have made traps for the birds. Perhaps the birds would respond to a Great horned owl decoy.

Understanding that you'll never kill them all but I have found that a few killed and then strung up as examples will make them take notice.

 

[Highbeam]

I would check with the wildlife authority. You may be able to shoot them or at the least they will have some ideas.

I would be shooting them with a stout pellet gun, I have a 20 cal sheridan/benjamin that will kill a racoon but is very stealthy. Also, they make a CB round for your rimfire 22 that is extremely quiet and yet very capable of knocking a crow down.

There is a site, crowbusters.com, or something like that where people are obsessed with attracting and killing crows. Also some pest sites where folks have made traps for the birds. Perhaps the birds would respond to a Great horned owl decoy.

Understanding that you'll never kill them all but I have found that a few killed and then strung up as examples will make them take notice.

 

[flwiii]

Have you looked for Alfred Hitchcock standing in the shadows anywhere near your home?

Those birds are everywhere. We have them roosting in the Palm Trees here in Phoenix.

 

[flwiii]

Have you looked for Alfred Hitchcock standing in the shadows anywhere near your home?

Those birds are everywhere. We have them roosting in the Palm Trees here in Phoenix.