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Facts
House or English sparrows
House sparrows were introduced from England into the United States in 1850. There are many naturally occurring species of sparrows also in the US but they are not considered pests in or around buildings.
The house sparrow is a small but stocky bird 5.5 to 6.5 inches in length. The male can be distinguished from all common native sparrows by its black throat and upper breast and ash gray crown as well as a chestnut colored cape extending from the eyes along the side and back of the neck.
House sparrows are a social bird, nesting closely to one another and flying and feeding in small flocks. Nests of almost any easily obtained material are built on almost any conceivable elevated place.
Sparrows raise at least two and up to five broods per year. Three to eight eggs are laid per clutch taking an average of two weeks to hatch. The annual mortality rate of mature house sparrows has been calculated at 54%.
Sparrows feed on a wide variety of cereals and seeds and their diet includes young seedlings, buds and flowers and small soft fruits. The house sparrow has become almost dependant on humans for both food sources and nesting sites.
In addition to messy nests and the contamination and defacement caused by droppings, sparrows damage soft insulation in warehouses and in livestock raising facilities. Their nests have been known to cause short circuits and fires.
House sparrows have been implicated in the transmission of more than 25 diseases to humans and domestic animals including psittacosis, salmonellosis and several forms of encephalitis. Sparrows in and around poultry and hog farms, because of their disease-carrying potential, are of concern to farmers.
Trapping Tips
The house sparrow is not protected by federal or state laws. Check for any local laws that may prohibit control by certain methods.
A systematic destruction of nests and eggs at 10 to 12 day intervals will reduce reproduction and eventually move the birds from a building. All nests that are knocked down should be cleaned up and destroyed to prevent the birds from reusing the material and to prevent the spread of nest parasites.
A variety of traps have been used to control sparrows, but the funnel trap has been the most popular and the most effective. The wire mesh trap consists of two compartments; the birds enter the first chamber through a funnel entrance that is at floor level. In efforts to escape the first compartment they are forced to go through another small opening which is at the top of a second funnel that takes them into the holding compartment of the trap. The traps should be checked regularly and the removed birds destroyed in an acceptable manner. By providing food and water, several birds can be left in the trap as decoys.
Funnel traps can be used effectively in areas where sparrows are in the habit of feeding. They can be baited with canary grass seed, cracked wheat, milo, or corn or with chick-scratch feed. A great many sparrows can be trapped from some locations.