HOSP invasion

[DebC]

After 20+ years of maintaining a 24 box trail, for the first time I have HOSPs :0)! The repeating trap didn’t work – only caught two little song sparrows after many days. The in-box traps are not working because the nest is so large and tall that the “trigger” can’t spring. So my question: Can I remove enough of the nesting material to lower the nest, thus allowing the trigger to spring? My fear is that by altering the nest, I will drive away the HOSP who will seek a new site and possibly attack an active BB nest in her search. Thank you old friends here at the BB NUT CAFE!

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Deb, I have had to remove HOSP nesting material LOTS of times to set the trap & get it to trip. I usually try to set it before the nest gets that tall, but sometimes you do not notice them building until later. By ALL means, remove as much as you need to of the nesting material – they will be back! I usually always put a very small amount of their nesting material over the arm of the VanErt in-box trap so it is not so noticeable when they look in. I got this trick from this forum or from Sialis website. Makes common sense to camouflage it I believe. If you have not had HOSP during your 20+ years, all I can say is you are one lucky person. I know many on this forum use the ones caught in the box as a decoy in their ground repeating trap. But if this is a trail, it would be hard to monitor, but apparently you have been doing it. GO GET THEM!!

[DebC]

Thank you Carol! I will try it! Yes, I’ve been extremely lucky over the years but now I am mad as hell! The little rats will not get my babies!

[dogsandbirds]

Hi Deb! Good to see you. Go get ’em lady!

Gin
Atlanta, GA

[tamsea]

Hi, Deb. Sometimes they spook when you remove some nesting material but usually they don’t. Good luck.

Tammy

[tamsea]

Hi, Deb. Sometimes they spook when you remove some nesting material but usually they don’t. Good luck.

Tammy

[DebC]

The deed is done. Thank you all for your advice and support. As always, this is best place to get the right answer.

[Scot]

Hi all,

While we are on the topic, I have a pair of blues who have been preparing for round 2 for almost 2 months. After they fledged one, they built 3 nests in the three boxes I have in my backyard. Since then, the parents come daily and the father goes in and out of each box, but still no eggs and I’m beginning to think there won’t be any.

Yesterday, for the first time this year, a male HOSP sat on top of one of the boxes with a BB nest in it and looked like he essentially claimed it. He hasn’t started to build a nest.

Any advice on what course of action to take, if any?

Thanks.

Scot

[Carol – Mid-Mo.]

Scot, I would keep eye on the box the HOSP is claiming. When he gets a female with him and keeps going in & out I would set a VanErt trap – HOWEVER, you would need to monitor this very closely in case papa blue goes in. You need to try to get the HOSP, but again, be very cautious in case the BB gets trapped. Never leave the trap unattended for more than 30 minutes before you look to see if it is tripped.

[Scot]

Thanks for the advice, Carol. Unfortunately,
That frequency of monitoring is not possible due to my job constraints.

Any other ideas?

[DebC]

I also had the problem of job constraints but you could choose a weekend day or early evening (or any other block of a couple of hours) when you would install the trap and keep an eye on it. You’d have to remove the trap if you don’t have success in the given block of time, but I had success after just one hour. (If you’re not familiar with the inbox trap, it’s not meant to be installed permanently — in fact it can’t be. So putting in the box and removing it is really very simple.) Good luck!

[Scot]

Awesome suggestion, Deb. Thank you.

Where do you buy the VanErt trap from?

[DebC]

I bought mine through this forum years ago and happily, I see that they are still available here

I had to read the instructions a few times but once I realized how easy it is to set the trap up, I was able to do myself (and I’m no engineer) with no help from Mr. Fix-it. Any questions just ask!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by DebC.

[Scot]

What do you do if the blue bird goes in and gets trapped? Is it easy to release them?

[DebC]

That’s the tricky part. If the trap gets tripped by a bird in the box, you need to be prepared to get the bird out of the box. I did this yesterday for the first time. Here’s what I did: I took a very large plastic bag and put it over the top of the blue bird box. While my husband gathered the bottom of the bag and held it closed around the post, I opened the box. The HOSP flew out and I was able to grab her quickly and subdue her. If when you open the box you see that you’ve got a bluebird or other native songbird, you’ll want to remove the plastic bag as quickly as possible so that the BB can fly away, all the while ensuring that the bird isn’t injured in the process…which it shouldn’t be if you’re calm and steady during the process. I suggest reading the instructions here (scroll down to the section on Removing a Trapped Bird from the Nest after Capture). They are clear and concise (but it is much easier to do with two people if possible).

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by DebC.

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