How to Get Rid of Grackles
The sweet sound of the birds feeding in your backyard is a pleasant experience for both city dwellers and country folk alike. Like every pleasant neighborhood there can be just one troublemaker that causes chaos and wreaks havoc everywhere they go. In the bird world this would hands down be the common grackle.
Grackles are birds of opportunity that prefer easy meals; however, they can be downright mischievous. Grackles are known to dig up yards, spill bird seed all over, bully other birds out of the area, and take all the good nesting spots. The best defense against these annoying birds starts with how you feed your backyard friends. Open feeding needs to be removed, including platform feeders and seeds that gather beneath the feeders. By eliminating places for grackles to land and making it more difficult for them to get to the seed. Other sources of feed that should be eliminated include bread thrown out on the ground. This not only attracts pesky grackles but other pests and rodents as well.
Increase the predators that eat grackles like hawks. Hawks eat grackles when they are plentiful along with other rodents and pests. Eliminate the nesting locations available to grackles. By trimming trees and bushes and putting netting over them you can prevent grackles from nesting and sticking around. It is possible to place motion sensor lights where grackles congregate to come on and scare them away. Another option is balloons or streamers that scare away the birds.
When setting up a backyard feeding area use tube type feeders and the proper feed that attracts the smaller and more endangered birds. These types of feed include sunflower and safflower and that contains less amounts of corn which grackles love. Get rid of the landing places by going with a feeder that cannot handle the weight of a grackle so they are unable to land there. There are feeding arms that collapse under the weight of larger birds making it impossible for them to enjoy a feast.
In the end it may take a bit of patience to get rid of this noisy and messy neighbor. Looking, though, on the bright side of things grackles can be helpful in the removal of nasty grubs that fill the lawn. They also feed on caterpillars, beetles and other bugs that could destroy your gardens. It is also good to know that they only stay for a few weeks and then are gone.
I don’t know where you live, but when the Grackles came, they stayed. They stay all spring and summer and even throughout the winter. (sigh)
May be it has been just too warm this winter. I have three persistent grackles trying to nest in our house. It’s SO annoying to have them circling the house, pecking here and there–argh!
We’ve blocked all the holes but one–that one will be taken care of shortly. Next thing is balloons streamers and some plastic owls. we’ll see if that does any good!
What bothers me most is the NOISE, even during most of the night. I thought most birds slept at night!! And, ours, too, have been here for over a month already. The light at night doesn’t seem to bother them either. Guess it’s time to try some streamers!
Beth 7 Louise- have the streamers and/or owls been effective? And where did you place the streamers? We have been plagued with gracles this spring. They have taken over our backyard and are very aggressive! HELP!
Here in KS they stay around spring, summer and fall. They are so nasty!! We tried the owls (even the ones that have motion sensors) and it doesn’t seem to help. I’m thinking target practice might be in order!
After the grackles ate all the tiny new avocados on our tree (yes, I know avocado is supposed to be poison to birds – nobody told the grackes!) I’m going to Target to buy a high power water pistol and a selection of squishy rubber snakes.
Since my last post, my family and I have removed 4 grackle nests from around our yard. When removing the last nest we were confronted by 15 grackles trying to stop us from removing the nest! They are such nasty birds. Since removing the nests the grackles DO NOT come into our backyard!
I have a grackle who’s nest is in the very top of a very tall pine tree we have. I have a 55lb dog that hates the grackle, and the feeling is mutual. I am pretty sure that he has a female hanging around with him, which leads me to believe that the nest is inhabbited. The grackle is making all sorts of “shows” around the windows in the back yard. I think this is purposeful to try to aggravate the dog. In the process it leaves droppings all over my porch. Does anyone have a good suggestion of how to get this bird out of the tree and out of our lives?
I love the high powered water pistol idea. Those pesky grackles even run off or blue jays!
We have a nest of grackles in the neighbor’s bushes that border our yard. They dive-bomb our dog and us each time we step out of the house. Their constant squawking is becoming quite irritating. Their newest tactic is to sit on the patio chairs (5 feet from the door) and squawk just to annoy us. We have tried loud noise and squirting them with the hose. I appreciate your suggestion, Phoebe, about physically removing the nest. I think that is our only hope. I dread putting up with the noise and attacks all summer. I’m glad to hear you had success with this. I must also say that many years back, we had a robin’s nest under our pool deck. My husband removed the nest several times, but the robins returned immediately to rebuild. They would dive-bomb us and the dog, too. We were advised by a friend to leave the nest, but to ‘handle’ it. Apparently the human scent will drive them away. It worked. The nest has been there several years, but the robins have never returned.