Starling / Grackle Identification:
Starlings are an introduced species to America and have
adapted well to urban life which offers abundant nesting
and food sites. The starling is a dark, chunky, muscular
bird that is distinguished from other balckbird species
by its short tail and longer, slender bill. In the winter
starlings showcase a highly speckled, irridescent coat,
while in the summer their plumage is much duller brown/black
with less speckles. Starlings gather in massive flocks (some
numbering tens of thousands) and these aggressive birds
will drive out other native bird species often taking over
the other birds' existing nests.
Common grackles are about 12" long and have green/blue or purple tinged black plumage with a glossy purplish head, neck and checst. The female of the species is slightly smaller and duller colored than the male grackle. Boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles are slightly larger than the common grackle at about 16" in length with similar plumage, but these pest birds have long "V" shaped tails that crease in flight. Like starlings and other members of the blackbird family, these birds are aggressive, colonizing in huge flocks to overwhelm structures and drive out native bird species.
Damage Caused by Starlings / Grackles:
When starlings or grackles are in their flocking phase,
thousands of these pest birds can literally overwhelm trees
or buildings in an area. Typical starling or grackle problems
are large scale buildup of their sprayed feces (a whitewash
look) which can lead to structural damage, as the uric acid
in the pest bird droppings can corrode stone, metal and
masonry. Machinery and drainage problems occur from starling
nesting materials and bird droppings. In addition, the bacteria,
fungal agents and ectoparasites found in starling droppings
and nesting materials are responsible for a host of serious
diseases, including histoplasmosis, encephalitis, salmonella,
meningitis, toxoplasmosis and more. The large quantity of
starling or grackle droppings can open a company up to slip
and fall liability if not properly cleaned up. Many companies
also retain significant clean up and maintenance costs due
to starling problems or grackle problems that are not resolved.
Agriculture often has grackle problems as these problem
birds will eat small seedlings and damage crops.
Starling Control / Grackle Control:
The best grackle and starling control product is 1-1/8”
StealthNet bird netting. Bird
net is extremely durable and creates a true
bird barrier. Bird netting permantently resolves starling
problems, keeping these problem birds completely away from
the area.
In addition to bird net, another effective starling control
product is an electrical
wire/track product as these pest birds are
generally to nimble for most traditional mechanical ledge
products. Electrical bird track is particularly useful for
starling control or grackle control on building ledges.
You can get rid of starlings and grackles with audio visual
bird scare products if the bird scare products are implemented
quickly when the birds move into an area. A combination
of sophisticated noisemakers like the BirdGard
Pro, Bird
Squawker (for larger areas), Zon
Gun propane canon and the BirdBlaster
sound unit with visual products like bird
scare eye balloons, bird
scare flags and flash
bird scare tape creates a menacing, predatory
feel to the area driving the problem starlings or grackles
from the vicinity. A new technique for starling bird control
and grackle problems 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. |
Starling
Grackle
BirdFence electrical bird wire
Call to order BirdFence
1-866-915-8225
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