Swallows - again!

Milton09

There was a thread here last year about swallows and I, like others, swore not to let them run riot around the place again, they did some nasty damage to paintwork and electrical gear in my shed last year.

Was thinking of trying this out:
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tractors/2898241?cid=2898241&&utm_nooverride=1

Any opinions?

LostCovey

Well you asked for opinions Milton. Here's a few.


Intensive farming has already eradicated the Corncrake, the Corn Bunting and, in a fair wipe of the country, the Yellowhammer. In fairness that was accidental, what you are suggesting is cold blooded intentional persecution.

If you are willing to take the risks of what the ultrasonic frequencies out of that thing will do to your hearing, then the Swallows will have the last laugh.

Any farmyard that can't afford a corner for a few Swallows is a pretty poor place.

Its always gas to listen to lads whinging about a few handfuls of Swallow droppings.........especially if they have a vacuum tanker........and neighbours.........

I put a bit of ply under the nests and that catches the most of the droppings. These creatures fly from South Africa to your shed.

I hate to thing what kind of "electrical gear" you have that swallow crap destroyed. Maybe you could cover them? But thats probably not really the point is it. Co-existing with God's creatures is the problem.

Anyway I have no doubt you will get a few that will agree with you, and tell you that any yoke that will keep birds out of a 3 acre radius around your precious shed is great value.

The Silent Spring is at last within our grasp, brothers.


Its only nature, and we are The Masters of the Universe.

Rock on.

LostCovey

reilig

Milton09 wrote: »

There was a thread here last year about swallows and I, like others, swore not to let them run riot around the place again, they did some nasty damage to paintwork and electrical gear in my shed last year.

Was thinking of trying this out:
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tractors/2898241?cid=2898241&&utm_nooverride=1

Any opinions?

Our bird scarer kept the swallows away last year. It cost Eur65 in the local co-op. We only had a problem with them in 1 shed -an open type garage where we park the cars. They made a serious mess of the cars every day of the week - they used to sit on the roof girders and just let it flow.

The bird scarer works on a sensor. It only makes noise when it detects movement. It can be annoying though.

Milton09

LostCovey wrote: »

Well you asked for opinions Milton. Here's a few.


Intensive farming has already eradicated the Corncrake, the Corn Bunting and, in a fair wipe of the country, the Yellowhammer. In fairness that was accidental, what you are suggesting is cold blooded intentional persecution.

If you are willing to take the risks of what the ultrasonic frequencies out of that thing will do to your hearing, then the Swallows will have the last laugh.

Any farmyard that can't afford a corner for a few Swallows is a pretty poor place.

Its always gas to listen to lads whinging about a few handfuls of Swallow droppings.........especially if they have a vacuum tanker........and neighbours.........

I put a bit of ply under the nests and that catches the most of the droppings. These creatures fly from South Africa to your shed.

I hate to thing what kind of "electrical gear" you have that swallow crap destroyed. Maybe you could cover them? But thats probably not really the point is it. Co-existing with God's creatures is the problem.

Anyway I have no doubt you will get a few that will agree with you, and tell you that any yoke that will keep birds out of a 3 acre radius around your precious shed is great value.

The Silent Spring is at last within our grasp, brothers.


Its only nature, and we are The Masters of the Universe.

Rock on.

LostCovey

Thanks for your opinion LostCovey.
For the most part I agree with the sentiment of your post, however sentiment is of little value when safety is compromised and costs incurred as a result of the ridiculous amount of droppings delivered by swallows in a shed.
FYI the electrical gear I refer to last year included a 1 month old 120 Euro Makita angle grinder that had been under one of the nests. It was left in the shed for about 1 week and when I returned it was completely covered. Most of the droppings had gone into the motor through the vents.
A welder and hand drill were also plastered but to a lesser extent.
Other recent examples include fuse box - buried, permanent stains on paintwork of tractors and a vintage car, water troughs in shed contaminated, sockets, light switches etc etc.
This is a new shed so its not like generations of swallows have travelled to it to nest. The older sheds are still there, let them use them.
I have no problem protecting the safety and income of my family at the expense of a new “nesting development” for swallows.

fodda

Well if you encouraged a barn owl to live in your shed you would have no swallows .... rats .... mice .... pigeons .... or anything else you dont need. Failing that encourage a sparrowhawk to move in nearby and if you cant be bothered with that get a stuffed or plastic barn owl/bird of prey which will do the same job.

As been said a bit of ply under where they nest as these birds take billions of insects that either annoy you or cause serious loss/damage.

I have them year after year and besides a bit of crap in my small shed which has never done any damage that's the only problem with them.

A cover for your car costs a few euros.

I know this may be a bit obvious but have you tried closing the shed doors? If your shed doesnt have any then you may find shed doors will work out cheaper than some annoying expensive electric device that emits screeching noises all day long that can be heard 3 acres away!???:eek:

Tora Bora

Milton09 wrote: »

Thanks for your opinion LostCovey.
For the most part I agree with the sentiment of your post, however sentiment is of little value when safety is compromised and costs incurred as a result of the ridiculous amount of droppings delivered by swallows in a shed.
FYI the electrical gear I refer to last year included a 1 month old 120 Euro Makita angle grinder that had been under one of the nests. It was left in the shed for about 1 week and when I returned it was completely covered. Most of the droppings had gone into the motor through the vents.
A welder and hand drill were also plastered but to a lesser extent.
Other recent examples include fuse box - buried, permanent stains on paintwork of tractors and a vintage car, water troughs in shed contaminated, sockets, light switches etc etc.
This is a new shed so its not like generations of swallows have travelled to it to nest. The older sheds are still there, let them use them.
I have no problem protecting the safety and income of my family at the expense of a new “nesting development” for swallows.

I would say, "get a life":p There is no reason why you cant do something simple to catch the vast vast majority of droppings, besides introducing, some indiscriminate ultrasonic device, the efficacy of which will probably me marginal over time in any case.
Besides,................ the droppings make great fertilizer for the cabbage:cool:

MfMan

LostCovey wrote: »

Well you asked for opinions Milton. Here's a few.


Intensive farming has already eradicated the Corncrake, the Corn Bunting and, in a fair wipe of the country, the Yellowhammer. In fairness that was accidental, what you are suggesting is cold blooded intentional persecution.

If you are willing to take the risks of what the ultrasonic frequencies out of that thing will do to your hearing, then the Swallows will have the last laugh.

Any farmyard that can't afford a corner for a few Swallows is a pretty poor place.

Its always gas to listen to lads whinging about a few handfuls of Swallow droppings.........especially if they have a vacuum tanker........and neighbours.........

I put a bit of ply under the nests and that catches the most of the droppings. These creatures fly from South Africa to your shed.

I hate to thing what kind of "electrical gear" you have that swallow crap destroyed. Maybe you could cover them? But thats probably not really the point is it. Co-existing with God's creatures is the problem.

Anyway I have no doubt you will get a few that will agree with you, and tell you that any yoke that will keep birds out of a 3 acre radius around your precious shed is great value.

The Silent Spring is at last within our grasp, brothers.


Its only nature, and we are The Masters of the Universe.

Rock on.

LostCovey

Get a grip Covey. He's not trying to eradicate a species, just protect property from birds who can be a proper nuisance in farm yard sheds. I have the same problem in my own machinery shed and had to put netting up all round the entrances. There's plenty of other sheds they can nest in. It's not as if they're endangered.

St. Leibowitz

MfMan wrote: »

It's not as if they're endangered.

Yet.

idunnoshur

fodda wrote: »

Well if you encouraged a barn owl to live in your shed you would have no swallows .... rats .... mice .... pigeons .... or anything else you dont need. Failing that encourage a sparrowhawk to move in nearby and if you cant be bothered with that get a stuffed or plastic barn owl/bird of prey which will do the same job.

How would you get a barn owl to live in the shed?

BeeDI

idunnoshur wrote: »

How would you get a barn owl to live in the shed?

That would be nigh on impossible:( But, you could invest in a guinea hen:cool: Put it in residence in the shed. Not many species, will live in it's immediate vicinity. It makes a horrific screeching noise. Rats, wont come within 500 meters:) I'm sure the swallow would find another rafter to build their nest as well

Milton09

There is certainly no danger of them becoming endangered in my area. Year on year more and more show up to nest with the vast majority hatching out 2 broods and quite a few hatching 3 broods.

bb12

wow...i consider it a real privilege to have swallows nesting in my stable yard...watched them with fascination all last summer and cannot wait for their return in a couple of months to herald in spring and summer...they're the most amazing little birds!

fodda

idunnoshur wrote: »

How would you get a barn owl to live in the shed?

Dunno why do you think they call them barn owls?......Tell you what just call the shed a barn and you must be half way there.

idunnoshur

BeeDI wrote: »

That would be nigh on impossible:( But, you could invest in a guinea hen:cool: Put it in residence in the shed. Not many species, will live in it's immediate vicinity. It makes a horrific screeching noise. Rats, wont come within 500 meters:) I'm sure the swallow would find another rafter to build their nest as well

That's what I thought too.

Not true about the rats and guinea fowl though, I had a pair of them and their shed was alive with rats.

5live

fodda wrote: »

Dunno why do you think they call them barn owls?......Tell you what just call the shed a barn and you must be half way there.

Or we could rename them shed owls and vastly increase their habitats and everyone will be happy;)

LostCovey

MfMan wrote: »

Get a grip Covey. He's not trying to eradicate a species, just protect property from birds who can be a proper nuisance in farm yard sheds. I have the same problem in my own machinery shed and had to put netting up all round the entrances. There's plenty of other sheds they can nest in. It's not as if they're endangered.

He's suggesting something that will keep birds out of 3 acres around buildings. For birds that have become dependent on our buildings, that would eradicate them if everyone did it.

LC

LostCovey

5live wrote: »

Or we could rename them shed owls and vastly increase their habitats and everyone will be happy;)

Listen, 80-odd% of barnowls that were found dead over a 3 year period (roadkills) had rat poison residue in them.

Irish farms aren't fun any more for some wildlife.

If killing rats isn't good enough to earn yer keep, there's no hope for the poor swallow that craps on an angle grinder.

LC

5live

LostCovey wrote: »

Listen, 80-odd% of barnowls that were found dead over a 3 year period (roadkills) had rat poison residue in them.

Irish farms aren't fun any more for some wildlife.

If killing rats isn't good enough to earn yer keep, there's no hope for the poor swallow that craps on an angle grinder.

LC

Jaysus LC relax. It was a joke. Remember humour? Where people make a hopefully funny comment and someone laughs?

And if swallows do become extinct in ireland, which they will at some stage because of evolution, then another species will adapt or enter the area and fill the niche the swallows have vacated. It is progressive. It happens constantly all over the world as it always has.

And why the constant demands to freeze the flora and fauna at the stage it was in the 1930s. Why not the 1830s? Why not the 2030s. What is so perfect about one stage of the development of our flora and fauna that it CANNOT be allowed to develop? Must we be constantly stuck in a groundhog day of the 1930s so there can never again be any development of our natural wildlife? Are we also supposed to seek out and destroy the cattle egret and woodpecker because they were not present at that magic point of time that was 'perfect'?

fodda

5live wrote: »

Jaysus LC relax. It was a joke. Remember humour? Where people make a hopefully funny comment and someone laughs?

And if swallows do become extinct in ireland, which they will at some stage because of evolution, then another species will adapt or enter the area and fill the niche the swallows have vacated. It is progressive. It happens constantly all over the world as it always has.

Humour is great:D....... Some statements are not.

While your evolution comments are correct in one respect that it takes thousands or millions of years for other species to adapt and take over where one has failed, banning swallows for instance from old buildings and sheds/barns in a very short time of less than 10 - 20 years will not bring anything along to replace them.

What has actually happened is in those years the swallows breeding grounds of old buidings/barns/sheds have been removed or replaced with inaccessable places and a new anti-bird device will just make things worse maybe total.

There is no other bird like a swallow or house martin which are so beneficial to us and farming because of the billions/trillions of pest insects that they eat here and on their travels.

Remove these birds and the only answer is more expense on insectisides with all the problems that they bring. There could even be an explosion of pest insects in these birds were removed.........who knows?.........and there are no other birds which are adaptable to take the insects as they do.

The only downside they have is a bit of poop which is actually very rich as fertiliser which you also spends loads of cash on.

All for the sake of moving or covering your tools/cars for a few months. Not nice but maybe if we hadnt removed all the old buildings then they would have somewhere else to go?

Strange how we had no problem with these birds ever before untill now?

5live

fodda wrote: »

Humour is great:D....... Some statements are not.

While your evolution comments are correct in one respect that it takes thousands or millions of years for other species to adapt and take over where one has failed, banning swallows for instance from old buildings and sheds/barns in a very short time of less than 10 - 20 years will not bring anything along to replace them.

What has actually happened is in those years the swallows breeding grounds of old buidings/barns/sheds have been removed or replaced with inaccessable places and a new anti-bird device will just make things worse maybe total.

There is no other bird like a swallow or house martin which are so beneficial to us and farming because of the billions/trillions of pest insects that they eat here and on their travels.

Remove these birds and the only answer is more expense on insectisides with all the problems that they bring. There could even be an explosion of pest insects in these birds were removed.........who knows?.........and there are no other birds which are adaptable to take the insects as they do.

The only downside they have is a bit of poop which is actually very rich as fertiliser which you also spends loads of cash on.

All for the sake of moving or covering your tools/cars for a few months. Not nice but maybe if we hadnt removed all the old buildings then they would have somewhere else to go?

Strange how we had no problem with these birds ever before untill now?

Look, i agree with yourself and LC up to a point. All my barns/sheds are open to whatever birds want to come and go, just like they always have before me and after me. The OP has a problem with them destroying his equipment and tools and was looking for feedback on what to do. He suggested something legal (and possibly OTT imo) and is getting stick for that. Now as he said himself, it is a new shed so enclosing it will only remove a small proportion of the available habitat on the farm, back to what it was a few years previously so as far as i am concerned, work away.

As far as banning them from all buildings, i cannot see where i said that. If i implied that then my apologies.

As for evolution, from the bit i remember, the filling of a vacated niche is covered in a very short time period. There are very few prey specific species here so any insects that were preyed upon by the future departed swallows would also be preyed upon by other less common species. These less common species would become more common and numerous because of an increase in food supply so in 1 or 2 years we would reach the status quo again.

As for benefits of swallow poo, well meh:pac:. As long as they dont deposit it on my head then i am happy:)

fodda

Yeah......The point i am trying to get across is........can you imagine what would happen if these electronic things were bought and used en-mass?.........there would be nothing left:mad:

Traonach

European (Barn) Swallows numbers are declining across Europe. The species is now amber listed. No doubt the OP and his kind with their intolerance (Sure, they can nest somewhere else!!!) are contributing to this decline:(.

johngalway

fodda wrote: »

Yeah......The point i am trying to get across is........can you imagine what would happen if these electronic things were bought and used en-mass?.........there would be nothing left:mad:

I wouldn't be too worried. I know a man who bought an electronic bird scarer for his remote vegetable patch, near where I regularly shoot rabbits. It's the most place I see birds in that area Electronic rodent yokes are about as good.

moy83

Did i read somewhere that they eat swallows in africa ? Would that have anything to decline in numbers ? I like to see them swooping around the yard myself , they dont leave half as much sh1te after them as cattle do

5live

fodda wrote: »

Yeah......The point i am trying to get across is........can you imagine what would happen if these electronic things were bought and used en-mass?.........there would be nothing left:mad:

True but i dont see that happening tbh. As John galway said, if they work.

It would be a right scorn to spend a good few bob on something like that only to find your swallows are tone deaf :pac:

TossL1916

moy83 wrote: »

Did i read somewhere that they eat swallows in africa ? Would that have anything to decline in numbers ? I like to see them swooping around the yard myself , they dont leave half as much sh1te after them as cattle do

i,d love to see how they manage to catch em

Mycroft H

MfMan wrote: »

Get a grip Covey. He's not trying to eradicate a species, just protect property from birds who can be a proper nuisance in farm yard sheds. I have the same problem in my own machinery shed and had to put netting up all round the entrances. There's plenty of other sheds they can nest in. It's not as if they're endangered.

Similar things were said about the corncrake

LostCovey

Thanks to all who are arguing for a bit of commonsense and proportionality. Its a big world and a short life.

I wouldn't tolerate a swallow's nest in an operating theatre or a food shop or a dairy, and there are other places where they would be undesirable and can be easily excluded. There's the in-between type of situation, where they are causing a mess, but a plastic cover or a sheet of chipboard will save damage to valuables.

I thought the response of buying some lump of Chinese electronics that was promising to scare the bejaysis out of birdlife over a full 3 acres because they crapped on a drill & an angle grinder was a bit of an over-reaction.

Like everyone else here, I suspect, I have sheds they can get into and sheds they can't. There are simple measures, its not that hard to implement them but you can't buy them on the web and plug it in, and that seems to be the way the world is going. They will always be the sound of summer for me, and I think my life will be a bit less enjoyable and my yard will be a poorer place if they ever stop coming.

People will insist on buying those things. The only consolation is that most of them don't work - fools and their money.........

We have lost too much as it is.

When did you last hear a grasshopper?

LC