Starling control techniques

[Dave Houston]

Anyone ever had to deal to large numbers of starlings?  On the Chatham Islands some thousands of birds roost in trees on Rangatira Island where they also compete for nest sites and sometimes destroy the nests of other birds - including black robins.  Undertaking control on Rangatira itself is probably impractical (no shotguns at dawn), but we're wondering about controlling them in an agricultural environment on nearby Pitt Island where many of the birds feed.

Any suggestions 

[clare_rspb]

Hi Dave

You may have already sussed this out - but a useful resource could be the book "Managing Bird Damage to fruit and other horticultural crops" (Tracey, Bomford, et al) available from the Australian government.  As part of the South Atlantic Invasives project that I'm working on, we're looking into control of Indian mynas - there are various toxins/traps available, but you've got a lot of birds!

Good luck!  Clare

[Dave Houston]

Thanks for that, I've found it online at the link below and will have a read.  Our best bet so far seems to be Alphachloralose, but we're not sure how best to present it in this environment.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/pests-diseases-hort/multiple/managing-bird-damage

[John Dowding]

There's a commercial product called Starlicide, which has an active ingredient known as DRC 1339 - used to be used by regional councils in NZ for rook control. Used in Oz, I think. Only snag is I don't think it's registered for use in NZ these days. I understand registration of tech grade alphachloralose lapsed as well, but that ACP are getting it registered again now/soon.

[Mohoua]

Might be a un-conventional approach but has been used to control roosting birds in towns where the gather in trees and cover everything in shit; If you've been to the Palmerston North city square in winter you will know what I mean.
At night go out with a water gun or hose or something: Squirt them with a strong dishwashing liquid/water solution. This will destroy their waterproof layer meaning that the water soaks them instead of running off. If the night you do it is cold enough they will ALL die of hypothermia, If they don't, they may still die due to loss of fat reserves keeping warm for that night. Questionable ethics but it does work if they are roosting in numbers and you know where they are roosting

[Dave Houston]

I see that DRC 1339 (Starlicide) Powder is listed as available on the Pestoff web page;

DRC 1339 (Starlicide) Powder: For the control of starlings, rooks and other corvids. Add one sachet of powder to 1 kilogram of melted dripping and apply to bread baits. Available in 2.5 gram sachets only.

http://pestoff.co.nz/products.htm

Anyone out there actually used this stuff on starlings?

[Bruce McKinlay]

This might explain why its not used much.

This product must be sold only to or used by a person holding a Controlled Substances Licence issued by a test certifier who is approved.  Signs must be erected at every normal point of entry to the place where the substance is to be applied and must remain for no less than 2 months after the last baits are laid, and until baits are eaten, destroyed or removed from the area.   

Inside DOC it would also require completion of pest reports so it should be easy to track down who doing what.

2.5 % alphachloralose is available under the trade name 'Pestoff bird control paste'.


Bruce

[Ben Barr]

Hi Dave, just dragging up this old post. Did you ever get to the bottom of this problem? We have an awful lot of starlings roosting on Limestone Island and they are bringing every weed seed imaginable with them. There are Taiwanese cherry, phoenix palm seedlings popping up everywhere.

[leonchambers50]

You have really exotic pest problems here

[Dave Houston]

G'day Ben,

We haven't solved the problem, but I'm leaning towards using a 'M' trap deployed in agricultural land where the birds do most of their feeding.  There's a design here ... http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex729