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found in a wood pile, gardens
with heavy mulch, junk-filled
basements or garages, or under
tight shrubs up close to
foundations.
Keep the close-in area free of
cover like that, while replacing it
with rock and brush piles in a
more distant location, and you
will be able to coexist more
happily on the same property.
Sealing up entry holes will keep
snakes out of your house. There
are snake-proof fences, but they
are quite expensive and are
generally used only when there is
a high danger from poisonous
snakes.
Be sure that you aren’t leaving
out food or anything else that
will attract rodents, which will in
turn attract snakes. Using piles
of damp burlap bags or towels
to attract them, then scooping
them up with a shovel during
midday when they are less
active, is a fairly easy way to
relocate snakes.
Although overlooked by many
as a problem, European house
sparrows (which are actually a
type of finch) and European
starlings are having negative
effects on native bird
populations.
Since they are non-native
species (the starlings having
been brought here in a misguided
attempt to increase public
awareness of Shakespeare by
introducing all the birds from
that author’s writings, and the
sparrows as a form of insect
control), they are not legally
protected in North America.
You may find them to be a
problem at bird feeders where
they arrive in large numbers,
displacing native songbirds.
They also take over nesting
sites, often killing both the
parents and chicks of the
native birds.
The Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources
recommends “house sparrow
brackets" to discourage them
from visiting feeders.
Encircling the feeder with
monofilament line seems to
disrupt them without
interfering with other
species.
Avoid serving millet and
bread crumbs to house
sparrows, and reduce the
length of feeder perches to
1/4" to make it hard for them
to feed. Starlings can be
discouraged by not offering
corn, suet, or peanut butter,
which are their preferred
foods.
Although starlings are too
large to enter bluebird and
purple martin houses, house
sparrows do so regularly, and
it is recommended that you
remove and destroy their
nests to give the native birds
a better chance of survival.
Plans for traps for house
sparrows and starlings can
be found at several Internet
sources (see page 10).
If birds are eating your fruit
crop, you can stretch black
thread through tree branches,
making it hard for the birds to
navigate, or cover the plants
with bird netting. If you decide
to try a scarecrow to protect
grain crops, red has been found
to be the most effective color for
its clothing.
Folk wisdom suggests hanging
glass wind chimes in the area.
The birds are supposed to dislike
the sound of glass hitting glass.
Remember, however, that birds
are also eating lots of harmful
insects in your lawn, garden, and
shrubs, so you will come out
ahead if you provide appropriate
native food plants, water, and
nesting sites for them,
encouraging them to remain in
your yard.
Although it is relatively rare,
sometimes woodpeckers
become pests because they
decide to peck into your house
rather than into trees.
Generally they are trying to
create a nest cavity or to find
insects to eat.
Between the explosion of land
development and our desire to
have tidy yards, there are
