Trapping question

[LoneOakMartins]

I have out two HOSP traps that have white bread and some bird seed inside as bait. They are on a solid base so the birds can't see thru. I'm not catching anything. Any suggestions?

[Bulldog1]

Well I know I am in a different part of the country but I have only caught 1 this year after taking out at least 35 last year.

[AidanRois]

I'm the same as Bulldog at the moment... but when I trapped the ones I could last year, I had the bread, seed, and various nesting 'crap' that they would like inside. I caught the first when I accidentally left it on the back patio with seed scattered around. I then used her as bait, and they just came to it. That afternoon I had 4 in there. So maybe put nesting things like yarn or feathers inside too, and leave it somewhere they like to hop around or the like.

[Siberman]

I believe they recognize the trap for what it is after a while . I feed black sunflower seed during the winter then quit at the end of January . I then bait the trap with the seed (as well as white bread ). I caught 20 + hsps in late January / early February but haven't been able to attract any since even with nesting material in the trap. I do have an extremely territorial pair of Bluebirds in residence though.

Last year I had more success with sparrow fledglings . I have several inaccesible areas on my land where they can breed but they always come around the house looking for food . Keep the adults out of your housing by all means but you might have better results by destroying next year's breeders.

[LoneOakMartins]

Do you set your trap on the ground or is it sitting on a table up off the ground? Thanks

[AidanRois]

Complete agreement with Siberman. I did have to move it around as they began to recognize it, and did catch a lot of fledglings in there since they don't know what it is yet.

I had mine on the ground with some plywood underneath to provide the visual floor and sitting on the concrete on the patio.

[LoneOakMartins]

Thanks for the information. I'll move it tomorrow and add some feathers and such.

[AidanRois]

Pieces of yarn and tufts of my husky's shedding were popular items in mine as well as the seed and bread. Even my resident mockingbird will land on top and try to pull on the yarn sometimes. I hope all this helps!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I would spill a little on the outside, then make a trail to the inside. After they start, they will follow the food down the trail into the trap, works for me.

[LoneOakMartins]

Emil, yours is on the ground?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

yes, on the driveway, or sidewalk, or on the ground..

[BumBee]

I think live sparrows are your best bait. I made the cage with the live sparrows in it and place
It on top of one of my PMCA repeating baited trap. I placed a live sparrow in it and at the end
of the day a few more were added.


As you can see there are hardly any seeds in the bait tray of the trap.

[Archer]

I have had good success trapping sparrows. Trap placement is important for catching sparrows. One question I asked myself when deciding where to place the trap was, where do they natrually hang out? where do they want to be? At my place it is was the martin house furthest away from my house. I have two martin houses. When I come out the door they scoot over to the far away house. I place my trap on a picnic table 10 feet from the far away house.
Sparrows that come into my yard are usually trapped within an hour or two. Repeating traps are deadly with live bait. They suck in any new arrivals. I think having the trap off the ground helps make it more visible to the sparrows and gives sparrows a sense of security. They will hang around longer if it is up a little. Better chance of catching them if they stick around.

[LoneOakMartins]

Thanks everyone, I've got some adjustments to make. Hopefully, I'll start catching some soon.

[jeffwilliams72]

I keep my HOSP trap on top of my Bantam chicken house, as they are always trying to squeeze into the chicken house to steal food. I think because of all the manuevering they do to get in the house, they have no problem squeezing into the trap.

[jr 2]

i have an st1 bait trap and 2 spar-a-door traps and i haven't caught any sparrows yet;;i haven't even seen one;;i caught about 15 or 20 last year;;;hope they stay away;;jr2

[Siberman]

I set my trap on top of an old ice chest . Last year ( with the fledglings) I had it across the arms of a patio chair. It didn't seem to matter to the young birds that they could see through the bottom but I didn't catch one adult in that location.