starling control methods_brochure_Final Draft (Read-Only)

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Managing starlings… On your farm. Removing resources is the best way to reduce the presence of starlings on your farm. If you have a feedlot, try to make food and water troughs “starling-proof”. There are many techniques available to land managers to accomplish this including: • PVC pipe over trough edges, creating rounded edges that starlings find difficult to grip when drinking • Lowering the water level of troughs so birds cannot reach the water. Troughs not in use should also be emptied • Make sure your taps, hoses, troughs and tanks are all in good working order and free of leaks. Puddles of water are perfect starling swimming pools! • Lengths of dripper hose/pipe on fencing wire, creating rolling perches which prevent birds perching on fences • Anti-perch devices for eaves, guttering and other surfaces which prevent birds from landing and perching • Model birds of prey, which when placed in different locations around a feedlot or yard, make the site unpleasant to visit. • If you have particular crops you want to protect from starlings, you might like to try using a commercial birdscaring gas gun. These are used to deter starlings from vineyards and other horticultural crops. A modified trough with poly-pipe to prevent birds perching Remember! Successful starling control programs combine a number of different control methods and operate throughout the year. For example, combining trapping in the summer flocking season with nest site control during the breeding season will be more successful than a single control method applied once a year.
Other techniques for managing starlings Habitat management In a similar way to removing food and water sources, removing breeding habitat or nests can be a very effective technique for managing starling numbers on your property and within a district. Starlings return to the same area each year to breed, and their young will also use the same habitat as their parents. If there are starlings breeding on your property it is recommended that: • Nests around sheds, houses and machinery be removed as soon as they are detected. If possible, the adults should be eliminated and any eggs or young also removed. • Use mesh, wire, tennis balls or other materials to block holes that might be used as nest sites. You should not block holes or hollows in vegetation as these may be used as nest sites for native species. • Revegetate! Starlings will nest primarily in small patches of vegetation which are degraded and have little understorey. Fence patches of vegetation off and rehabilitate remnant vegetation to improve its quality. If possible, make the patches bigger or more connected to other patches. Starlings are fringe dwellers, because they can find food and shelter easily on the fringes of areas of vegetation. • Plant native species of trees around your property. Large trees like Aleppo pine, Norfolk pine or large Eucalypt species provide roosts for starlings during summer. Starlings will nest in hollows in native vegetation with a poor understory.
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starling control methods_brochure_Final Draft (Read-Only)

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