Expert: Julia Booth - 8/16/2008

Question
I have been feeding wild birds for many years and never had such a problem with sparrows. I have one feeder that holds close to a gallon of seed which is filled with regular seed (the kind you can buy at any grocery store). They go through almost a gallon in about 12 hrs. After they've cleaned that out, they hit the other feeders. Most of these other feeders cater to finches and other songbirds. They eat all the sunflower seeds and the thistle.  I leave the feeders empty for about 3 days hoping they'll find another place to eat, then refill them and the same thing starts all over...this is only August!!!  How much will they eat in the winter?? I'm totally frustrated! I've never gone through so much bird seed so quickly ever before. I love feeding the birds, but I cannot stand these sparrows...they push the other birds that I want to attract right off the feeders. I'm surprised they're not getting into the hummingbird feeders!!! Is there a way to get rid of them?? Is there any food they won't eat?? Thank you for any help you can give me.  Barb

Answer
House Sparrows are highly populous and very annoying. If there is free food, then you will find House Sparrows. The ones at Disneyland are so bad that they will literally come and eat off your plate.

As for what you can do -there are a number of products marketed to repel these birds. But I'm not entirely sure how they work. I have personally not had a problem with them at my feeders. The House Finches go through a lot of food, though.

Here's a few products.

http://www.birdstoppers.com/site/439038/page/587743

http://web.birdbarrier.com/BirdBarrier/Site%20Pages/Sparrow_id.htm

This is a good article about using specific types of food to dissuade more aggressive species: http://www.essortment.com/all/starlingsgrackl_rnbh.htm