Dogone Starlings Getting in SREH Entrances

[frostman]

I have a modified nature house Mk-12 and i put on the nature house doors with SREH entrances, doggone starlings went in them today!!!!!! Anything I can do about that, I just switched from round holes

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

What is the distance from the porch to the bottom of the entrance? It needs to be 1/8in or less, or flush. If they still enter, then the entrance holes may be a bit large. I use strips of signboard, signboard is made from plastic, and its slick. This is a good material to raise the floors. Simply cut it the right size with a knife, caulk it to the floor. Keep adding until you have 1/8in or less. I would cut about 2in squares and place that on the porch.

This signboard can be found on any realestate signs, advertisements, election signs, sign shops, etc.

Attached is a couple photos of plastic signboard. It was discarded and I picked it up for birdhouse use.

[frostman]

Thank you Emil, I will check that out, should be pretty easy

[frostman]

Emil, the distance from the porch to the bottom of the whole is much to great, only problem is the doors swing out, does the raised porch have to be right below the opening, or can it set back some?????

[rtanner77]

I'm having the same problem with my new Troyer horizontal gourds. The starlings are entering them and making nests and I'm SO frustrated! Are SREHs for real?

[Gary W]

I have an aluminum Coates Watershedge house. I attached Modified Excluder entry hole plates to the doors. On the Coates houses, the doors swing upward for access. I bought a plastic molding strip that is about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. I attached the moulding to the front of the doors just below the hole with "SealAll". That was enough to raise the porch levels to about 1/8 of an inch below the hole. No Starling has been able to breach that setup in my colony. I am assuming the maximum height to your entry holes is 1 3/16 of an inch. In reference to the Troyer gourds, it is basically the same modification. Use a strip of some kind of plastic or wood to raise the porch level to between 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch below the hole. The Martins will be able to negotiate the higher porch level.

Gary

[Guest]

I have a modified nature house Mk-12 and i put on the nature house doors with SREH entrances, doggone starlings went in them today!!!!!! Anything I can do about that, I just switched from round holes

Try changing to excluder style entances frostman. They are available in the PMCA shop.

I encountered the same problem as you with my Trio SREH doors, starling breaches! They are too high from the porch floor right at a 1/2 inch IIRC. I switched to all excluder entrance doors for my Trios and so far they've worked keepeing the starlings out.

[Bob Rogers]

frostman,
You are getting good suggestions from the forum, but, the best solution for starlings or English sparrows in my opinon, is lead --- in massive doses --- if allowed in your area. Those pests will not stop bothering your PM's until you eliminate them. I have also had pretty good luck (initially) with trapping them. Some even get wise to this method --- but they never outsmart a lead pellet. Good luck.

[Carlton]

rtanner77

Here is how I stopped the starlings from entering my Troyer Horizontal Gourds. It works well and is easy to do. Cement two small tiles and add a rounded off strip of nonskid tape. See the pics.

Good luck to you this season.

Carl

[James Johnson]

Carl

Using the tile is a great idea. Before applying the non skid tap it would be interesting to watch the stupid Starlings break their neck trying to get in.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Frostman, about the doors not opening if you raise the porch, I can't answer your question about backing it up a little bit so that you can open the doors. I know this for sure, I would try it and see what happens..

[teridickinson]

Emil, the distance from the porch to the bottom of the whole is much to great, only problem is the doors swing out, does the raised porch have to be right below the opening, or can it set back some?????

One suggestions might be in you modify the house andenlarge the cavities, the nests will be behind the doors that are plugged. So you can raise the porches on the doors they use to enter and leave them alone on the doors where the actual nests are.

Teri

[Matt F.]

One suggestions might be in you modify the house andenlarge the cavities, the nests will be behind the doors that are plugged. So you can raise the porches on the doors they use to enter and leave them alone on the doors where the actual nests are.

Great call Teri. I have seen that as well on numerous, enlarged Trios. That seems to be the best solution, in cases where porch raising is needed on a Trio unit.

Unofortunately on Trios, there seems to be no way (that I know of) of effective raising the porch height, without affecting door opening, and floor clip function.

[Keith]

Carl,

I only have the crescent entrance but would like to also try the type of entrance you showed in the pictures. What type is this and I assume that the width in the opening is 3 inches, 1- 3/16 height, but what is the shorter distance up and down in the opening? I would like to compare the dimensions. This actually looks like it would be easier for the martins to negotiate.
Thanks for the raised porch idea.

Keith Pellham

[LarryMelcher/KY]

I have just removed a Starling nest in a Trio house that I use at a public site I manage.
EDIT
This house has the replacement doors from the PMCA MartinMarketPlace. Crescent entrance. They work good... I like them, but they are not Starling proof. END of EDIT

SREH are mostly just that... Starling Resistant, not Starling Proof.
I tore the nest out and smashed one of the Starling eggs at the entrance. This is a public site that I just can't monitor as often as my home colony. I checked the house a few days later, hoping NOT to find a new nest... Nothing. The Starling went somewhere else.

I really like using the Excluder II entrances on my modified SuperGourds. I added the porched tunnels, and have not had any Starlings breech this at the public site. Yes, the martins have a harder time learning them, but once they do, they breeze right in. And I think they know it is a protective entrance for them because of the tight fit at first.

[Carlton]

Carl,

"I only have the crescent entrance but would like to also try the type of entrance you showed in the pictures. What type is this and I assume that the width in the opening is 3 inches, 1- 3/16 height, but what is the shorter distance up and down in the opening? I would like to compare the dimensions. This actually looks like it would be easier for the martins to negotiate.
Thanks for the raised porch idea"


2 11/16" at the widest point but notice the ends are curved

from the top of the "tooth" is 1"

Conley entrance


You could keep what you have but raise the porch floor to the base of your crescents.

I would purchase the ready made Tunnels & add them to your T. H. G's and you can also use a starling/HS trap in them. You purchase the trap separately but it is inexpensive. The Tunnels have the Conley entrance already cut in to them of course. Also, unlike my older version of the Tunnels I understand that the new Tunnels have raised porches. I hope this was helpful. Oh, before you add the new Tunnels you have to cut out the section that has your crescents cut into it. Make a hole about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and file the edges smooth. That is easy to do though. Just takes a few minutes. [/b]

[frostman]

Teri, I think I know what your are suggesting. The other end of the next box should open also, so I can do nest checks from that end and make the entrance side permanent????

[Matt F.]

Teri, I think I know what your are suggesting. The other end of the next box should open also, so I can do nest checks from that end and make the entrance side permanent????

Hi Frostman. I hope you or Teri don't mind me chiming in real quick, but you are right on the money about what you said.
Most folks open only the back compartments on enlarged Trios, when doing nest checks, or nest maintenance. However, there may be a time when, for whatever reason, you may need access to that front chamber. If you do raise the porch at the entrance, even though you wouldn't need to open that door on a regular basis, it would be ideal for you still to be able to open it, if the rare situation arose. You could probably perform this, by simply removing the top tie rod, that the doors hang on, giving you temporary emergency access to the front area.

There are folks that place screws, hooks, etc. on the back compartment doors, to allow for easy opening when doing the checks (when you don't have an entrance hole to put your finger in, it's a little trickier to pull the doors open.

Here's a great photo from forum member Carlymac, that shows a modified Trio (a modified DH-12N model) with screws added on the back compartment doors, to act as handles:

http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/download.php?id=2355

[Guest]

Or.......the Universal Sparrow Trap works well with Trio housing.

[frostman]

Matt, thanks for the tip, that's what i may do, seems like it will work fine. I wish I could leave round holes, but the starlings are two bad, I am going to build me a trap and see if i can catch em all, Cary