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Roxy
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Caithness.
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14-08-2020, 10:36 AM
1

Help Please.

We have a family of 4 Magpies near us and they are tearing up the lawns daily. We got new turf down to fix the mess and now that's being torn up. It's so annoying and I don't know how to stop them. Unless someone sit's outside all the time it keeps happening. Every time I pop indoors they fly down.
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caricature
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Devon,England.
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14-08-2020, 10:47 AM
2

Re: Help Please.

You need to find out what they are after, leatherjackets? is possible, in which case you need to deal with their food supply

From the rspb.

.Larsen traps
Larsen trap, a type of cage trap, is designed to catch birds alive and unharmed. It can be baited with food, or with a live decoy magpie, provided all welfare regulations are met. In Scotland, a cage trap must have an identifying tag obtainable from the police Wildlife Crime Officer.

If you suspect that a trap has been set illegally to catch birds of prey, please report this to your local WCO. Gun laws prevent shooting of magpies close to public roads and houses.

We are not opposed to legal, site-specific control of magpies, nor to the legal use of Larsen or other cage traps, as long as the general licence conditions are strictly adhered to.
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Roxy
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14-08-2020, 11:34 AM
3

Re: Help Please.

No I don't have a lawn pest problem, I dug into the soil and it's soil only. The lawn is lush and green with no yellowing. I noticed the birds gouging out big deep channels around the tree and the shed area, about 6x6 foot bit. I leveled it off, put new soil down and then new turf a couple of weeks ago. It was looking great, merging in along the joins well, THEN the birds started again.
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14-08-2020, 11:37 AM
4

Re: Help Please.

Omg! That's horrible! What do they do with the birds they trap!
Please don't do that Roxy! Put some string or a net over the grass instead.
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14-08-2020, 11:41 AM
5

Re: Help Please.

Hi

This stuff is good and does not harm them

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133471709730
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14-08-2020, 11:42 AM
6

Re: Help Please.

That's a mystery Roxy, normally birds only peck at the lawn for food of some sort, so now that you've ruled that out I'm stumped...
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Roxy
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14-08-2020, 11:54 AM
7

Re: Help Please.

Just nipped outside and took these photos of their handywork.


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LongDriver
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14-08-2020, 11:56 AM
8

Re: Help Please.

Originally Posted by Roxy ->
We have a family of 4 Magpies near us and they are tearing up the lawns daily. We got new turf down to fix the mess and now that's being torn up. It's so annoying and I don't know how to stop them. Unless someone sit's outside all the time it keeps happening. Every time I pop indoors they fly down.
I would hazard a guess they are probing for the leatherjacket lava of the crane fly. We have copious magpies around here and they do far less damage than those pesky sky-rats the gulls which are a menace to everyone and everything; they even try to tear off the lead flashing
I've resorted to three life-size models of falcons to keep them away from my roof.
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Roxy
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Caithness.
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14-08-2020, 11:57 AM
9

Re: Help Please.

Originally Posted by swimfeeders ->
Hi

This stuff is good and does not harm them

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133471709730

Yes Himself uses something like that at times, depending on what he's got in the fields. But he's not got any at the moment as he gave the last of it to someone. May get that off Ebay, thanks for the link.
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Roxy
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Roxy is offline
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14-08-2020, 11:59 AM
10

Re: Help Please.

Originally Posted by LongDriver ->
I would hazard a guess they are probing for the leatherjacket lava of the crane fly. We have copious magpies around here and they do far less damage than those pesky sky-rats the gulls which are a menace to everyone and everything; they even try to tear off the lead flashing
I've resorted to three life-size models of falcons to keep them away from my roof.

Yes we have Gulls as we're right beside the coast. But they don't bother with my garden, you want to see them when Himself's busy in the fields though lol Swarms of them following the tractor.
 
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