How to Catch House Sparrows in a Repeating Elevator Trap 2019 

They look so sweet and fluffy like unassuming little birds. I never suspected they were bloodthirsty little psychopaths! (Lol)

I have my trap on the way. I appreciate this video and all the tips. I’m definitely going to modify my trap. I have had bluebirds in the past and am excited to see more native birds in my yard.

If you are wondering what to do with the sparrows you have caught contact a Licensed falconer who will gladly see that the sparrows you have caught do not go to waste.

Great suggestions, many thanks

I just ordered mine!

Thank you

I put my trap up about a week ago and have caught and culled 12 sparrows. It's a drop in the bucket, but it's something!

I appreciate the deliberate and measured pace, plus the comprehensive description of your choices

I have the trap, I will have to add the shelter. Great idea. Thanks

This may well be the single best video I've seen on encouraging native bird life via trapping invasives, I've seen many over the last 6 months. Thanks hombre.

That's my fear, bycatch- Thanks for the video! I always have a nesting bluebird pair and this year they weren't successful because of a starling. Lo and behold, I didn't even realize house sparrows were invasive! Time to clear the yard...

very successful in trapping sparrows. We have caught almost 40 already!! Thanks much for this trap!!

Thank you, thank you. I have an elevator trap, and will be modifying it immediately. My small farm has a new influx of HSp's. I have numerous nest boxes used by western bluebirds and tree swallows. I don't want the house sparrows predating the nest boxes. It's very depressing to open a nest box only to see the dead native swallow or bluebird chicks with their heads pecked out by the invasives. House sparrows are savvy and become trap shy easily, I have found, so my trapping success lately has been diminished. So, starting over.

That trap door mechanism is brilliant and effective. What a great trap. 👍

I enjoy the chip

Its 2022 and I just caught 3 more using this method.

What kinds of bait work best for luring house sparrows to the trap??

This is one of the best teaching videos I’ve ever seen. Well done!

Thank yuoi for the video. Very helpful.

Thank you for this excellent video! I just ordered my shelter box package from you and can't wait to get it installed on my trap. Maybe someday I can have a HOSP-free yard. Love your videos, please keep up the great work!

I just put in an order for an elevator trap. I'll try to make the holding box when it arrives. There are a lot of starlings in my area, as well as some English sparrows. What do we do about starlings?

Do you know where to purchase a box like this or do you make them and can sell them?

I have had a trap out for over a week and haven’t got anything so far. The food inside the trap isn’t disappearing so I don’t think it’s a trap tuning issue. I have been feeding around and have stopped feeding millet everywhere but on the trap. Any tips. I was thinking about printing some sparrow decoys to put in the trap.

Since I have ordered the nestbox trap will use it for now , but hope to change to the elevator trap later this year. Will you have shelter boxes to purchase or would a person need to order when needed?

i put a hole in top of a homemade wire cage came home after work like 5- 10 sparrows inside it 👍 😼thanks Australia 🦘🐨🌳 The indian Minor bird are a pest they Found putting mirrors inside traps caught so many more , they kept native species🦜 from breeding around parks they caught about 80,000+ Minor over 2 years 👍 not long after 1-2 years the local birds came back & are breeding again

I caught 1 HOSP, and then had 10 in a few days. Clipped wings so the local Sharp shinned and Coopers Hawks have food. Too many Starlings this season. Need another trap for them. It's been a good summer of Catching HOSP. Left 2 in the trap this am. Now 3. The numbers keep growing

Every Home Depot and Lowes should be using these traps, the garden area and lumber canopy always seem to be infested with HOSPs.

Is the elevator seesaw supposed to be level balanced with 2 quarters inside or should it drop to the bottom with 2 quarters used as a test weight? I lost my instructions and can't find any info online. I haven't used mine in over 2 years because I pretty much eradicated my sparrow problem and just used my nest box trap the past couple years. I'm seeing some at my feeders now and want to get them before my bluebirds start nesting.

I’m so excited I received my shelter box and my husband put it on for me .. I have a question what size L screw do I need to get to keep that little trap door shut? I just put a nail in it for tonight.

Thank you for this video. Your shelter box is a terrific idea! Hopefully more people will start trapping these non-native birds. The more, the better! I’ve trapped dozens of HOSP (house sparrows) through the years but the elements have taken a toll on my repeating trap so I’ve either got to try and repair it or I’ll need to replace it.

All house sparrows and starling has to go! They kill my blue birds and purple martins!

Why don't you use this trap during nesting season? Is it ineffective at that time? I was hoping to start using it soon (april 2021). The sparrows are outcompeting my barn swallows for their nests in coastal norhtern CA. I don't have any nest boxes, just barn swallow nests.

Why do you not use the trap during the summer months? Less success?

Great video, I feel unconfident in discerning female hosp from other female native sparrows. Any suggestions. The males have that trademark black beard. I think I know what a chipping sparrow looks like but am scared to dispatch females.

You have out a lot of thought and work into this trap. Obviously it has been successful. Thank you for sharing, and making this video. I have built a repeating trap for starlings. It is mounted high and the I have had moderate success with it. If you are into Purple Martins, this sparrow trap and a starling trap in a must. Thanks again.

Are the traps still available? When I click on the link it says it can't find that site.

I noticed your elevator arm is black (the one my neighbor has is white). Did you paint yours? Would the white color make sparrows more hesitant to jump on?

How long does it take to catch one with an elevator trap. I've had mine up for 2 days and haven't caught one.

Luckily I recently got in touch with a local rehab center which is more than happy to take what house sparrows I can catch. In fact they said they will come and get them, they want them frozen. They first want me to have 50-100 before they will come and get them. At first they said trap 100 in 2 mo. , but said if I can get 50 in a couple months that would be fine.

You might get a kick out of the house sparrow-proof mealworm feeder I designed and crafted that's shown on my channel. Wildlife rehab facilities will often take in trapped house sparrows and feed them to raptor birds they may have at their facility.

They have the most annoying repetitive chirp that will screw into your brain until you can’t stand it. I have used this trap for years with great success. These are nice add ons. I catch in batches. Let them die. Then the cycle begins with locking the elevator up and letting the birds eat for a few days without setting the trap. This way they don’t become trap shy. Once I see they are feeding I release the elevator. Your idea is worth a try.

If my next door neighbor(s) use(s) millet in their feeding mix then this trap would be useless on my property? I’ll keep using nesting box traps. Thx for leading the effort to eliminate HOSP.

Im in central SC and have a question. For the last 3 weeks, Ive caught nothing but females. Up to 7 in one day. Not one male. Ive caught around 15 males total, and at least 30 females total since February!

How can I purchase the house sparrow trap thanks

I guess nature and behavior of English sparrow and English man are same "Take what's not yours "

I despise these birds, where can I get this trap

What method do you use to kill them? I've seen some people feed them to their snakes which is a good method. Using them to feed and nourish another life.

Jeff-- apparently the elevator trap doesent come with a door and latch , can you make those or will a person have to do that on their own. I do want to get the shelter box.

My first time in your vídeos and enjoyed them plus I registered to your channel, many interesting videos with all and different opinions. I know how the sparrows even the cute ones ends feeders fast, always hungry and also demanding in bird houses. I'm a nature lover, watching birds all together in my backyard, can't take predators birds like many Sparrows, reptiles, certain animals and some people but I let god creations be: 😮sharing, companions , happy, fighting, loving, caring each other. He gave us so much for all to appreciate and let them be free. A world with all for all. I do love your vídeos too, great to learn different ways to make our own decisions how to protect from others doing damages. In my backyard I have all kind of birds together eating, enjoying and singing together. Juncos, Cardinals, titmice, chickadee, woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, Nuthatch, red winged black birds, crow, mourning doves, white and house sparrows, red and American gold finch, starlings, blue jays, robins, plus the squirrels running after them and eating too. I like them like that together and morning and evenings serenata. Thank You for sharing all your knowledge, many of us needs them. 🙏☝️

What happens if and when the wrong bird gets trapped with the house sparrow? Does the invasive soarrow get aggressive?I want to trap them, we never see much of a variety of birds in my yard - only bluejays and Cardinals, no finches at all and they belong here. What do you do with the birds you catch? Maybe a pet shop will take them for - ahem, their other animals... Thanks for this video!

Hello Jeff, I noticed the damage around the entrance hole of a couple of the nest-boxes in your video and was wondering why you aren't using a thin metal bluebird hole guard? I buy mine, but it looks like you have the tools and skills to make your own.

As of yesterday there was only one male house sparrow in my trap, then today I found a male h.s. trapped in the area where the weight is . This sparrow must have somehow gotten the entry flap up to get trapped in this area. I attempted to force him to go back thru the flap, wouldnt fall for it. So I finally captured him and put him back in the trap,, he is the only male in there now and yesterday so it was this bird . First bird Ive had be able to accomplish this trick.

What is the best bait for sparrows?Popcor,bread ,milet?...What is the best height for trap from ground?

On the third day of my trap setup finally a bird went in but it was a song sparrow and was going nuts , but when I let it out it was singing the whole way as I could hear it.

My shelter box due to arrive today and as and also a sparrow just a few minutes ago tripped my birdhouse trap. It will be the first guy inside the cage,, what more could you ask.

I like seeing my trap in action. I keep catching HOSP every day. I dont have a shelter box now. Its too messy. They only last a few days with or without it. I provide food and water.

Love your video very informative. Thank you so much!

Do you have another source for the shelter box? The person who has the link above does not respond. Thanks.

as an avid animal lover i had to find a way to justify the killing of these poor little birds. Turns out I am also the owner of 4 happy fully carnivorous ferrets. I ordered one of these traps and the sparrows will help subsidize the cost of their food greatly, plus add a lot of needed nutrition. (Ferret kibble is notoriously shit)

Super excited. Have been using the DRST a few years now. Just purchased your shelter box. Can’t wait to see how that improve my yield. I caught a mourning dove once, very hard to get out because it didn’t get out of the elevator. It flew off when I did remove it. I would like to find a video showing how to properly perform the cervical dislocation. I am super nervous to try based off reading about it.

You’ve seen me comment on other videos of yours. I finally bought a repeating elevator trap thanks to your recommendation and I’m trapping successfully! Thanks for your good work.

We also have chipmunks. Will they try to get into this trap?

Chaiman Mao had a similair hostility to sparrows. 15-50 million died.

Hi, the sparrows here jumped on elevator arm and as it started to fall they jumped back out. Has anybody any ideas?

Hello! Thank you for the video. I have the same trap without the mods. My problem is that I have been using this trap for the last four years. It worked wonderfully, up to this year. Before this year, I was catching, depending on the time of year, up to 20 plus HOSP a day. As the years progressed, the numbers have become less and less. This year I have only caught one HOSP. They have learned and are avoiding. I have moved the trap around different parts of the yard, tried to disguise it, etc. to no effect. It's discouraging considering I have Bluebirds nesting in my yard. This is the first year that my Bluebirds were run off due to the ever-present HOSP. They killed the young Blues. It is extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, I cannot use any type of gun, due to living in city limits. I am looking for suggestions as to how to handle this situation.

Just bought the trap a week ago. I placed it under my feeders and all activities stoped. It's been a week now and a few birds are now using the feeders but not one gos near the trap. I have seed in it like directions said. Nothing. What am I doing wrong? Need more time? Sparrows are everywhere in the yard so its not a lack of them

I have ordered mine...I will have to learn what a female house sparrow looks like...how would I get a non sparrow out without releasing the sparrows...?? and btw I cant wait to get ti...ty

sparrows are very inteligent. They wont fall on that one

Great video and being spring I need to get busy. The HS and starlings make a terrible mess in the pole barn on the farm plus kill the good birds. Those sparrows love cracked corn. I've caught many, sometimes 2 at a time with a Have a Hart small double door live trap. I was after chipmunks but with a small amount of cracked corn sprinkled around they go right in. Very hard to get them out so easiest to drown them. I do also just break their wing and let the Jack Russel, Red Tail Hawk or possum enjoy them.

Will this work for grackles? If not Do you have a trap You Recommend? Thx

Hello, thanks for all your videos they help explain a lot. I sent a request to join your group on Facebook because I’m going to order a trap and start trapping I was hesitant at first cause I didn’t think I would be able to do it until a house sparrow killed a male bluebird that was thinking of picking my bluebird box for nesting. I tried to save it but when I opened the box the house sparrow flew away and the poor bluebird was terrified I tried to catch the injured bird but couldn’t by the time I went in the shed to get something to help with that a cat got the poor thing I chased it but it was to late I was heart broken and crying and the house sparrow came back twice looking for him to finish the job. It hadn’t been back to the box since I also ordered the nest box trap. So I’m hoping to trap him someway before he kills again. Sorry for long post but I was also wondering what I could put the trap on off the ground to try and keep cats off box? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please keep posting your great videos! Thanks

I get a crazy amount of house finches and like zero house sparrows, what can I even do? Quails even get in there before house finches!

Do you have any plan to sell? I'd like to buy.

Where are these traps made?

A sharpie was just on the fence the other day

I built my first sparrow trap off of the deluxe elevator repeat trap with a shelter box. I'm having some trouble getting them to get into the trap. They step on the elevator which starts to drop and then they fly out. Any suggestions? I think I've heard balance it with 5 quarters I believe I set it to drop at four quarters. Any help would be appreciated by myself and my bluebirds and tree swallows. Thanks! Cory

I now have 4 house sparrows in captivity, and I trapped the first one 6 days ago. I am giving them food and water and cleaning their trap cage. They are starting to feel like pets! I dispatched a few a couple weeks ago after trapping them, and I don't mind it, but I then ended up with no birds for several days. And it is so much easier to trap with a decoy already in the trap cage. If anyone has a source for a shelter box, I'd appreciate a comment below.

Ever catch a starling with this trap?

Hey jeff! How far do you suggest we release the sparrows so they dont return? Edit: nevermind just got to the end of the video

They dont hurt when they bite. Hook bills on the other hand are mean when they bite.

Not sure that I can intentionally kill a bird. How do you do it?

Too bad these cant be purchased all in one [trap and shelter box] I could go for that on say ebay.

When i get too many HOSP in the trap, i now clip their wings and then release for the owls or hawks. They were dying in a few days anyway with or without a shelter box.

What is the best bait for cowbirds?

Bread works best for me and it doesn't attract the seed eaters. I caught a female last week b4 storm. Now I have a male too. I'm trying to keep them alive.

I just caught many Starlings the past few days with peanut butter suet. I need another repeating trap just for HOSP. The catbirds have been a repeated nuisance going after the suet.

My birds never last more than a few days even with shelter box. I did put a roof over entrance and plywood under trap. I think mice may be the problem. I've had this female a week so maybe it wants to nest

Great video, this is going to resolve a decade old issue for me. What size is the hole on the shelter box? It looks like 2”... Also, since you built it, is there another place you would rather locate the hole? Or, is the spot you picked for a particular reason?

How is the best way to identify a house sparrow? They all look alike to me.

if the sparrows keep increasing we will soon see only sparrows arround. the only species of small birds could be sparrows in the 21 century but its still not good to kill any birds

My grandfather in northern Michigan taught me how to build an elevator bird trap when I was 8. I'm 71 now. He used to trap mainly sparrows and starlings. I haven't built a bird trap in a while, but when I lived in the US, I almost always had functioning bird traps. I now live in the Philippines, and although we too have a house sparrow problem, the biggest threat to the native birds is locals with air guns hunting them for meat. For that reason, I figure that having sparrows around is better than not having anything, and I don't trap. That said, I still often have native birds in my back yard. We have lots of fruit trees in our yard, which is walled off, and that attracts the birds to our yard and gives them a place of sanctuary from the hunters. Although bird hunting is illegal here, these people are often hunting to survive, so it isn't likely that they will stop any time soon, and they will shoot a sparrow just as quickly as they will shoot any other bird.

Had 1 HOSP in the trap yesterday. 2 this morning, and now at the rnd of the day. 4 HOSP AND 1 starling.

The first time when I watched this video,my sparrow count was zero. Second time, (about a month later) I’ve caught nine! The best part is it was a simple box, string, and a stick! I’d sit out there for hours, the second they’re under the box, pull the string! Im going out tomorrow super early to get a head start before they’re awake!

These traps do not work indoors.

And the manufacturing scheme can't be viewed??

What is the total weight in kg of this Repeating Elevator Trap 2019 ? (cage+enclose wooden box-shelter)

I Used a Browning .22 caliber,T-bolt target rifle equipped with a high powered Leopol Scope. Worked great for me, but check with your local authorities before discharging firearms in your area. English Sparrows, a non native highly invasive species, Pecked the eyes out of my new born baby Blue Birds. True story. The Males are very mean and did that. True story. Daniel

The are on the decline in the UK we make nest boxes to attract them.

I started killing English House Sparrows in 2018 with a pellet rifle & I would have killed at least 200,... So many native birds in my yard now 😁

Thank you for this video! Over the years we too have watched house sparrows completely take over. There is a small piece of wood on the floor of the cage, near the shelter entrance. Is it attached to the cage or box or do you use it to corral the captured birds?