# Getting rid of starlings



## shnaek

Has anyone here got any tips as to how to discourage starlings from nesting in a roof? We have 3 nests of them at home and they are driving us demented. I love birds in general, but starlings are a very dislikeable sort of bird and I'd prefer be rid of them if I could.


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## DrMoriarty

We've the same problem; once the fledgelings are gone, I plan to get a can of expanding foam (of the type used for draughtproofing attics, etc.) and partially block up the points they're getting in at under the eaves. But if anyone has any other tips I'd be glad to hear them...!

I've heard that the same 'family' will return year after year, once they've found a good nesting spot — fact, or myth?


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## owenm

All songbirds in Ireland are protected species so please wait until the nest is empty.


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## oirish

Ah yes the old starling problem?!!

are you facsia boards/ gutters area white?

if so thats your problem! paint them black.... let me know how you get on


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## ClubMan

owenm said:
			
		

> All songbirds in Ireland are protected species so please wait until the nest is empty.


Is a _Starling _a songbird? I don't think I've ever heard one singing.


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## shnaek

They are actually dark brown! And aluminium, so I can't paint them. 

owenm - I would be waiting until the nests are empty.

DrMoriarty  -I may try that foam myself. I heard that about starling 'families' too - and they have been coming back to our place for several years now. Except this year they brought their friends!


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## DrMoriarty

My fascias (_fasci__æ_?) and gutters are black, too...

And I think I would call them a 'screechbird', if anything... bloody racket they make! What bothers me more, though, is that their 'flight path' passes straight over the patio table, and every time they pop out for more grub for the chicks they deposit their own last meal all over the place! 

I shudder to think what it must be like inside the roof cavity...


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## oirish

DONT DO IT ?!!!! until the season is over, please!

We have a problem in our bungalow with them and I [through research] have found that they are attracted to brighter 'finishes' - and so before I had black but the point at which they nested into the timber/ eve of house/ white concrete finish etc. was very white/ bright. 

They did nip through the timber [black] - hope this is making sense - 

Now we have PVC fascias they're back in their droves but building the nest on the concrete itself almost like a beehive - as they cant break through the PVC [unless they go to the hardware and geta wee little consaw?!!]


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## bskinti

I'm sorry to inform you all but you may Shoot them there starlings, their not protected nor are Jackdaws,Magpies,Jays,Wood pigeons,Black back gulls,Herring gull,Grey crow,Rooks,Bullfinches and even your house sparrows and at set time of year (Winter) Pheasants and Ducks. Will I arange a cull?


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## Guest109

i had this problem a few years ago and i got one of those helium filled ballons, they were shaped  like a large parrot i let it hover about 30 feet above the ground, no more starlings or any birds at all since


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## Marie

No need to worry!  At the present rate the island will be _completely concreted and housed over _very shortly and you won't be bothered by nature - birds, wasps, snails, voles, frogs, squirrels, leylandii or any other non-human living form.   Water will be piped from the Sahara at enormous expense and there will be an undersea cable carrying fresh-air which will also 'cost the earth'.  Hmmmm........wonder where the focus of aggression and intolerance will shift _then_?


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## z107

^ Have a bit of faith in nature! - the property crash of 2008 will make sure the land isn't fully concreted over and the wildlife will return once Sellafield melts down.


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## emlyn72

i have a nest of them at the moment in a shed.
there not too bad.
i think this is their 3rd year.
quite enjoy them they're not doing any harm.
they can stay.
but the ants,they keep biting they will 
have to go.i gave them a chance, they keep attacking when
i go into the garden.


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## ClubMan

I like to think that the last post was written as a poem.


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## sun_sparks

It might do you no harm ClubMan to remember that not everyone is as literate or computer literate as you. Mocking people about their writing style, even in a nice jokey way, is not particularly fair!

Sorry for giving out - bug bear of mine.

Oh, and leave the poor birds alone. I used to watch my grandfather knocking down nests, and I was always in floods at the thoughts of the poor birds!! Mind, I don't have any yet in Lucan... I'm sure given the rest of our disasters, they won't be far away!!!!


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## ClubMan

I was't mocking. I actually enjoyed reading it even if it was not deliberately written in poem form. Sometimes art happens by accident.


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## oirish

clubman

you should have written one [a poem] about the cuckoo who lived in the clock and said nothing?!!!!


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## shnaek

I actually thought it was a poem too. Sounds poetic to me.


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## gallantman

You may need to play the sound of a distressed bird to scare them away...

[broken link removed]


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## gar123

i have the same thing in my roof, any idea when the season is over?

thanks


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## DrMoriarty

Looking out the window here in Limerick, it looks like the bloody _summer_ is over...!


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## oirish

i think we should all write a poem - best poem wins a free sparrow!


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## Crea

We had this with sparrows last year. They built a nest on our wall over the front door and the deposits on the doorstep were fairly gross especially with 2 kids. We knocked the nest over the winter but they are back building it again. Husband wants to knock what's there (reluctantly) but i'm inclined to leave it. We are away for the weekend and they'll have it completely built by the time we get back anyway. We'll just have to use the back door and i'll be washing my stoop every day.
Dr. M - know what you mean about crap weather in Limerick. Try being at home with 2 stir crazy kids. Can you send a prescription for valium??


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## nelly

watched life of grime last night - environmental health people from Edinburgh city council were armed with pellet guns "shooting" the eggs of the offending bird - in their case seagulls.  it was a necessary evil. They were also required to wear hard hats due to the hazard of bird droppings.


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## nelly

watched life of grime last night - environmental health people from Edinburgh city council were armed with pellet guns "shooting" the eggs of the offending bird - in their case seagulls.  it was a necessary evil. They were also required to wear hard hats due to the hazard of bird droppings.


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## earwig30

We have tried continually knocking down the nest as it is built to discourage swallows from staying but if they manage get as far as laying eggs we back off until they have clearly left the nest. Worked at this house first time, took three years to acomplish at previous house.


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## DrMoriarty

Crea said:
			
		

> Try being at home with 2 stir crazy kids. Can you send a prescription for valium??


One word, Mrs Crea...


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## sherib

Have a look at this and have a heart: 

[broken link removed]

and maybe some people might change their minds about birds; seeing the industry of these little birds to ensure the survival of their species surely must soften the hardest of hearts! While sympathising with those of you plagued with birds nesting, would it not be a very empty world without birdsong and the pleasure they give, especially to children who are less picky than adults.

With the ever increasing encroachment of concrete, I am delighted at the reappearance of Blue Tits, Sparrows, Blackbirds and even a pair of Wood Pidgeons in my garden. The Starlings must have moved to the country!


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## shnaek

In fairness I love birds. I used to go birdwatching for years and I have had bird feeders in many previous houses. But starlings have fallen into my bad books. First there was one nest. Now there's 4. They don't provide birdsong - rather a sort of 'Pat-Kenny-wrestling-with-Tommy-Tiernan' sort of screech, which I can hear all the time in my kitchen and sitting room. Not to mention the fact I have to wash my car far too often. There are many birds welcome in my garden, but starlings have crossed the line!


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## gearoidmm

Where is my nest gone?

All the white is turned to black,
White foam fills our life,
Eggs, lost in this chaos,
Where is my nest gone?


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## emlyn72

hey,i wasnt offended
made me laugh
to think it was a poem.
im trying to encourage birds to build nests in the garden.
my 7 yr old son spent about 3 hours looking at the mooney
goes wild blue tits webcam.its quite a sensation apparently.
all the kids are mad for it.
the thing is we cant choose the ones that
decide to move in.
no starlings or crows need apply.


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## Seagull

If you want to get birds nesting in the garden, then put up nest boxes. You can get ones the appropriate size for the type of bird you want to attract.


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## joanmul

I thought it was a poem too and was killed laughing when I discovered it wasn't.   

As regards the parrot-balloon - where can you get one.   I've had a brilliant idea for my line which is under the flight path of a couple of nest of magpies and pigeons.   (Pigeons do nest do they?)


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## mikeyny

I have used tightly wadded *chicken* wire in additon to the expanding  foam as i have the old conrete roof tiles . *Chicken*  wire on its own in the voids should be enough  of a deterrent .No pun intended .
Use heavy gloves as your hands will get cut to pieces otherwise .


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## allendog

Our next door neighbour having 2 dogs leaves food out in the backgarden near the backdoor as she goes out to work daily.  However, the dogfood draws starlings and those birds perch on our wooden fence - making terrible mess on our patio with their droppings.   It had been like that for over a year.  After placing nails on the top of the fence and placing string from each nail to the next, we wrapped the Christmas tinsel around the strong along the top of the fence.  It worked for some time, but weather had destroyed that deterrent.  We would "repair" that, but the dogs jumped at us every time we try out repair work.
  Any ideas of 'permanent' deterrents for stopping starlings from perching on the fence?
thanks, allendog


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## franmac

Birds have as much right to live on this planet as we do. It's a pity that we can't train wild birds to drop where we want them to.

They are used to a free enviorment and not trained to accecpt somebodys little patch of no go area.

There is room for us all and they are actually a beautiful bid if you study tham.


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## David Walker

We have a of varierty of birds in our garden and have fed them continuously over the past ten years. For the first year we have starlings invading our roof space under the tiles. I like all feathered birds and encourage them all with great results, but the starlings are a curse. There are four families of them and they fight all the time, scare of everything else and drop copious amounts of white poo everywhere. The fighting is viscous and without blaming any of them, in the last two days we have found two dead ones on the ground with their heads removed. This has not been done by cats, and normal birds of prey would remove the remains to feed to their young. Has anybody else heard of this?


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## deadwood

David Walker said:


> We have a of varierty of birds in our garden and have fed them continuously over the past ten years. For the first year we have starlings invading our roof space under the tiles. I like all feathered birds and encourage them all with great results, but the starlings are a curse. There are four families of them and they fight all the time, scare of everything else and drop copious amounts of white poo everywhere. The fighting is viscous and without blaming any of them, in the last two days we have found two dead ones on the ground with their heads removed. This has not been done by cats, and normal birds of prey would remove the remains to feed to their young. Has anybody else heard of this?


That'll be the Yardiebirds.


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## Beckie

Does anyone know if expanding foam comes in black?  we have the old type tiles on our roof that are like this ~ . Starlings get in under the eves every year and nest.  i dont mind them except the car is filty from them doing their business when they fly out.  Also they can be distructive - pulling out fiberglass etc to make their nests.  We need to do something before next spring. anyone any ideas?


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## tulip

had this problem up until this year,  bird droppings everywhere, dawn chorus at 3am, 4am, 5am every morning and suicide flight paths. but now no more. we got a new cat, she some job. spent all summer on the roof, breakfast lunch and dinner. thought it was a human way of dealing with them. neighbours also said it was great, no need to paint the house every year now.


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## Beckie

I'm stilll looking for black expanding foam if anyone knows where i can buy it?


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## webtax

I know where to buy black paint if that'll help!


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## norbatious

What kind of tiles /slates are on your roof, we had aproblem with starlings getting in under the curved part of our roman tiles and i purchased an item called a comb its one metre long and fits down under the tiles letting air in and keeping pests out.

Any good roofing contractor can


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## norbatious

What kind of tiles /slates are on your roof, we had aproblem with starlings getting in under the curved part of our roman tiles and i purchased an item called a comb its one metre long and fits down under the tiles letting air in and keeping pests out.

Any good roofing contractor can supply and fit these very simple to fit.


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## S.L.F

emlyn72 said:


> hey,i wasnt offended
> made me laugh
> to think it was a poem.
> im trying to encourage birds to build nests in the garden.
> my 7 yr old son spent about 3 hours looking at the mooney
> goes wild blue tits webcam.its quite a sensation apparently.
> all the kids are mad for it.
> the thing is we cant choose the ones that
> decide to move in.
> no starlings or crows need apply.


 
Not so much a poem

more like a rap song.


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## woodbine

umop3p!sdn said:


> ^ Have a bit of faith in nature! - the property crash of 2008 will make sure the land isn't fully concreted over and the wildlife will return once Sellafield melts down.


 

prophetic words for 2006..


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## mathepac

Invite all your Sicilian friends for a holiday - starlings are prized game-birds for din-dins, they net them.


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## z107

> prophetic words for 2006..


The writing was pretty much on the wall.

However, never did I imagine it would be this bad! (Of course, by 'Sellafield' I meant the banks.)


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## sparkeee

i always wonder about people going on about what they can do for the enviroment,energy saving lamps,recycling,not using chemicals in the garden,are these people really concerned with the enviroment or are they just paying lip service,do they just like to sound off about it.The population of wild birds worldwide is in decline,birds like sparrows which fifty years ago were considered to be in plague proportions are now only a small percentage of what they were,barn owls are endangered,species of wetland birds are now rarely seen,all this as a direct result of changes of habitat.People like to say they are concerned with the enviroment but when it causes inconvenience to them its no longer important.In the not so near future you will be able to tell the grandchildren how you saw a flock of sparrows or a flock of starlings in the wild because they will only know these things through specimens in a zoo.Is it so hard to let these beautiful creatures live in close proximity to us.or is it a case of not in my backyard.


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## Bovenip

bskinti said:


> I'm sorry to inform you all but you may Shoot them there starlings, their not protected nor are Jackdaws,Magpies,Jays,Wood pigeons,Black back gulls,Herring gull,Grey crow,Rooks,Bullfinches and even your house sparrows and at set time of year (Winter) Pheasants and Ducks. Will I arange a cull?


I'm sorry to resurrect such an old post here, but I just read the post above and want to inform people that *All *birds, nests, eggs and nestlings are fully protected under law in Ireland Wildlife Act (1976) as amended 2000 (until then the list of species above were not protected). Wilful destruction of an active nest (from the building stage until the chicks have fledged) is an offence, unless the nest is located in a building occupied by people (in which case, the nest is only protected when there are eggs or chicks present). If work is being undertaken on a building, and an active nest is found, a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Conservation Ranger should be contacted immediately for advice. Any further work that results in the destruction of the nest is therefore an offence. 

Of course, you'd like to think that most people would respect a starlings nest, irrespective of the law


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