Sparrow Control

Sparrow Identification:

Most of us a familiar with sparrows in Canada. The common house sparrows is a sight we are all accustomed to seeing and most often they pose no problems to humans. These small, quick, intelligent pest birds are predominately brown and grey in color, with black striping around the eyes and neck in the male of the species. Their legs and toes favor branch and wire perching and their short conical bills are ideal for cracking seeds and grain. Sparrows are very adaptable and have learned to nest in our structures and eat our scrap food. Sparrows often gather in huge flocks to fed and roost, aggressively forcing other birds out of their territories. Sparrows prefer nesting in small enclosed places such as house shutters, drainage piping, building rafters and corrugated metal siding. These pest birds average about 20 offspring a year, allowing their numbers to increase rapidly to infestation levels.

Most often sparrow control is not necessary in residential areas. However, sparrows pose a greater threat to commercial environments.

Damage Caused by Sparrows:

Sparrows are noisy birds, especially when they congregate in large flocks. Besides the annoying noise factor, sparrow problems are often found in manufacturing and food processing plants. These areas are particularly appealing for their variety of nesting and feeding sites. Sparrow nests often cause flooding from backups in gutters and drainage pipes, as well as clogging machinery and even starting fires from nesting materials in machinery housings. Sparrow droppings also contain uric acid which is highly corrosive and can cause extensive damage to metals and other substrates it sits on for long periods. In addition, the bacteria, fungal agents and ectoparasites found in sparrow droppings and nesting materials are responsible for a host of serious diseases, including histoplasmosis, encephalitis, salmonella, meningitis, toxoplasmosis and more. Many companies also retain significant clean up and maintenance costs due to sparrow problems they don't resolve.

Sparrow Control:

The best sparrow control product is 3/4" StealthNet bird netting. This bird netting, available for purchase from Nimby Pest Management, is extremely durable and creates a true bird barrier. Bird netting permanently resolves sparrows problems, keeping these pest birds completely away from the area.

In addition to bird net, another effective sparrow control product is an electrical wire/track product. This is particularly useful for sparrow control on building ledges. Sparrows do not react to bird scare products, but two-chambered sparrow traps are a viable option for controlling small quantities of sparrow problems. A nest removal program should be implemented with trapping for long-term effectiveness. A new technique for sparrow bird control that has found some success is fogging with methyl anthranilate, a grape extract that reacts with the birds olfactory sense like pepper spray. This is a technique that should be undertaken by experienced professionals only.

Bird Control Methods:

We use the following methods for control:

Border Collies, Trapping, Netting, Bird Spikes, Auditory Distress / Predator Calls, Falconry, Pyrotechnics, Decoying & Repellents.