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The very best bait is another bird. Do you have one in there?
I would hate to waste expensive mealworms in the trap. They will definitely get away unless they are in a heavy,smooth sided container.
Gin
Atlanta, GAFrom the instruction sheet that comes with every DRST purchased, here are some additional bait ideas that have worked for others:
Bread chunks (esp. white bread)
Nesting material (break up an old HOSP nest and stick pieces of it in the bait tray)
Feathers (hot glue a few to a bottle cap or piece of wood so they can’t be pulled out through the mesh without the bird entering the elevator area).
Dry cat food
Popped popcorn
Cheese popcorn
Stale french friesWhen elevating the trap, make sure it has a visual “floor” underneath – a board, or a picnic table – don’t “suspend” the trap over thin air.
Using mealworms is not a good idea, because:
1) they will crawl out
2) they are expensive
3) they will make the trap more attractive to other native songbirds
Central NY
TMB StudiosI’ll give some of them a try. I used cardboard as my flooring. I’ll try some French fries. The wind is strong where I’m at right now so I have some small issues with keeping the millet from blowing away.
Mixed seed works well too, Bob. I often use that.
Hi, stja. It works on Starlings but better in the winter. I’ve never heard of a grackle being trapped and it would be illegal to euthanize a grackle. But, I agree, they are annoying!! I think it would be almost impossible to catch them in the summer with these traps. In mid to late winter if you use peanut butter as bait you’ll catch a lot of starlings. You also have to change the weight on the arm. Put one quarter on the arm and make sure it does a quick fast drop without bouncing.Tammy
Gina, HOSP disposal is handled through private discussion or e-mail. We don’t post those details on the public forum. This is a child-friendly discussion group. As for videos, what did you want to see? The bird goes into the elevator compartment, then into the holding area of the trap, and the trap resets. This allows multiple catches without human intervention.
If you catch a native, all you have to do (if it is the only bird in the trap) is open the removal door, and it should fly out. If you have both HOSP and non-HOSP in the trap, then you will have to reach in through the removal door and carefully get hold of the good bird and pull it out without allowing the HOSP to escape.
Central NY
TMB StudiosI don’t know if there is a return policy. That’s not a question we could answer. I do know it costs quite a bit to ship them, and you wouldn’t get your shipping costs back.
There are far more people who have had success with this trap than those who haven’t. And probably if the ones who posted about not having any success followed the suggestions given in the four pages of instructions that come with the trap, and additional tips given here, their luck would turn around. However, not everyone comes back to post once they’ve tried the suggestions and had success.
I do know that Blaine says to give the trap at least two weeks before deciding that it won’t work. Sometimes people catch birds right away, sometimes it takes a while for them to lose their fear of the new “thing”. Pre-baiting the area where you plan to put the trap may help with that. So does having a bird that you’ve caught with an in-box trap to put in the repeating trap. Having a bird in the trap seems to attract others.
Central NY
TMB StudiosOn disposal of HOSPs.
On Blaine’s site, there is a series on pics showing a HOSP entering the elevator, being on the bottom and going into the trap… Not a video, but maybe a sequence??
Chris
Toledo, OhioWell I tried the mixed seed suggestion yesterday as I was feeling all my feeders. When I got up this morning all my seed around the trap and behind the trap door was gone. Guessing coons?
Yes, probably. I’ve seen them scooping it out with their paws. I’ve also had other critters eating it…my mallards, chipmunks, mice.
Tammy
Hello,
I’m a new DRST user and I have a question that’s not covered by the instructions. I’m trying to cut down a population of HOSP in my horse barn, who nest in the pockets of the insulation panels in the roof. The barn cats can’t get to their nests, obviously.
So how might I set up the trap so that the barn cats don’t interfere with the trapping process?
Well, that’s a tricky one, but you should be able to mount the trap on a post or something that the cats can’t get to, but the sparrows will be attracted to. The cats WILL be attracted to the sound of the birds fluttering around in the trap, and if they tip it over upside down, the birds can escape (about the ONLY scenario under which escape is possible).
Central NY
TMB Studios
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