Have you elevated the trap off the ground a bit, Mary? I always find it works better on a low table or bench, or even an upturned storage bin, as long as it appears to have a “floor” underneath. It isn’t unusual for it to take two weeks or more for the birds to lose their fear of this new “object” in the yard. Try to pick a single spot, and don’t move it around too much. You want them to become used to seeing it so that they’ll stop viewing it as a being suspicious. If you keep moving it, they will continue to be afraid of it. Once you have a single bird trapped in it, you’ll see it will attract more.
I’m not sure how successful the Van Ert traps will be this late in the season, although you might get a HOSP interested in a roosting spot, and then you’ll have your decoy.
Someone will probably answer your dispatch question by private message, as – in the interests of being young-user friendly – we don’t discuss specific dispatch methods in detail on the open forum.
Central NY
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