Starlings !!

CHOPS01

Plagued with starlings here at the moment. Feeding bagged meal and the fcckers I reckon have eaten the equivalent of a 25kg bag in the last week. Any suggestions on getting rid of them ?

lmk123

a shotgun, obviously can’t shoot them but you could frighten them and shoot any crows & magpies

Base price

Can you feed the meal just as it's getting dark. That's what we used to do when feeding meal to calves.

blackdog1

Had a huge problem with starlings for a few months. 1 night an owl flew in and cleaned them out. Get a few owl boxes, they'll sort them out permanently

RockOrBog

I've seen Starlings chase crows out of the sheds and even kill them.

Last year I saw a a lot of seagulls attack a nesting site of Starlings in the trees and blitz it, they devoured every single chick.

CHOPS01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123494313#Comment_123494313

It's tearing into the bags of meal they, not eating from the trough. I have owl boxes up for nearly the last 12 months but unfortunately no sign of any activity yet.

Thats the reason I'm slow to do anything as I don't want to impact the chances of owls appearing

Jb1989

Cover the bags then

memorystick

Plenty of poison.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123495561#Comment_123495561

Not an option if they want owls, and also illegal to do.

CHOPS01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123495541#Comment_123495541

God I'd have never thought of that myself, fair play !!!!!

Light ply on top and the cute hoors starting attacking the exposed ends of the bags. Bit of a pain in the hole when they have to be completely covered.

CHOPS01

Ya, I'd rather put up with them than go down that route.

Think it'll have to be keep em completely covered until they get the hint and fk off

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123496604#Comment_123496604

Use a carpet lad, it's goes around corners.

ply a waste of time like you just said.

Siamsa Sessions

I’m sure you’ve considered it already but what about getting a portable meal bin and filling it with big white bags of 700kg?

If you’ve only a few small bags at a time, you could store them in the meal bin too. It’s a nuisance lifting them out of it but less of a nuisance than the starlings.

cjpm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123495441#Comment_123495441

We have owls, however have only seen an owl flying on one occasion and another time I found a dead one in a drinker.

Seeing their droppings occasionally is the only way I know that they are around. I haven’t a clue where they are nesting.

So you might have owls!!

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123495561#Comment_123495561

Cop on - that's long been illegal for obvious reasons as mentioned by others