- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Score Board
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- SEC Score Board
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Best way to repel grackles and keep them away from property?
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:05 pm
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:05 pm
There is an abundance of bow tailed grackles near my house that otherwise never really bothered me. New neighbors moved in a few months ago and have dogs which is fine but the grackles seem to swarm around our fences and dive bomb into their yard after loose dog food. This leads to them eventually shitting all over my fence and sometimes our vehicles.
Pinwheels kind of worked at first but not for long. Thinking of upgrading to one of those owl statues that some businesses use to keep birds away. Or whacking a few with a pellet gun and stringing them up to see if the other counts get the message.
Pinwheels kind of worked at first but not for long. Thinking of upgrading to one of those owl statues that some businesses use to keep birds away. Or whacking a few with a pellet gun and stringing them up to see if the other counts get the message.
This post was edited on 10/15/25 at 3:14 pm
9
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:14 pm to S
there is an entire industry devoted to aggravating grackles to leave. Plenty of info out there
Good luck LOL those frickers are annoying
Good luck LOL those frickers are annoying
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:26 pm to S
Am I the only one who doesn't know what a "grackle" is? 
BRB.
ETA: I see...I'll take your Grackles if you will take my Starlings.
In Louisiana you can probably just shoot them, being a member of the blackbird family.
BRB.
ETA: I see...I'll take your Grackles if you will take my Starlings.
In Louisiana you can probably just shoot them, being a member of the blackbird family.
This post was edited on 10/15/25 at 3:33 pm
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:52 pm to DMAN1968
You can't legally kill any members of the blackbird family in Louisiana, as they are all native species...European starlings, which are sometimes lumped in with blackbirds although are not related, are invasive and can be killed...
Posted on 10/15/25 at 3:58 pm to S
Do you butcher? Do you love to trap and kill pest birds?
Haha. My grandpa born in 1917 hated those things. He fed songbirds and hated those bastards with a ferocity rarely seen.
We would butcher hogs and cattle and he'd take the lard and he made a big cage trap out of chicken wire. We'd bait the trap, go into his basement and look out the windows until it was full. Then we'd pull the leg of the trap that was attached to a wire to set the trap.
Then we'd kill the bastards with bb guns until the snow was soaked red. We'd do that all afternoon when we were kids. That's how we had fun in the early 80s in the middle of nowhere.
Haha. My grandpa born in 1917 hated those things. He fed songbirds and hated those bastards with a ferocity rarely seen.
We would butcher hogs and cattle and he'd take the lard and he made a big cage trap out of chicken wire. We'd bait the trap, go into his basement and look out the windows until it was full. Then we'd pull the leg of the trap that was attached to a wire to set the trap.
Then we'd kill the bastards with bb guns until the snow was soaked red. We'd do that all afternoon when we were kids. That's how we had fun in the early 80s in the middle of nowhere.
Posted on 10/15/25 at 4:50 pm to pussywillows
Under certain circumstances:
quote:
There is no open hunting season for blackbirds, cowbirds, and grackles. Under federal law, a year-round depredation order allows take of those species as described in 50 CFR Part 21.
quote:
They are depredating or about to depredate upon ornamentals or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, and wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers as to cause a health hazard.
Non-lethal control methods have been previously attempted.
Non-toxic shot is used for take.
Any take is reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by those participatin
Posted on 10/15/25 at 4:53 pm to DMAN1968
I get that, but that doesn't mean just because you don't like them
Posted on 10/15/25 at 5:35 pm to S
quote:
Or whacking a few with a pellet gun and stringing them up to see if the other counts get the message.
This is the way.
When I was a kid, I remember my grandfather (who was in the battle of the bulge) taking down a martin box in his back yard which had been taken over by starlings. He pulled the baby starlings out and killed them. Then he took a metal coat hanger, stabbed the hook end through one of the baby starlings neck and slung it on top of his shed for the parents to see.
I think people balking at this nowadays are evidence of hard times creating strong men and good times creating weak men.
Posted on 10/15/25 at 6:01 pm to Raz
Get a Daisy Powerline 880 with a scope, use pellets, the one I have is deadly.
Posted on 10/15/25 at 9:40 pm to El Segundo Guy
That is horrible and mean. As well as the one above who’s grandfather was cruel.
This post was edited on 10/15/25 at 9:45 pm
Posted on 10/16/25 at 3:32 am to Dixie2023
quote:
That is horrible and mean
quote:
my grandfather (who was in the battle of the bulge)
quote:
My grandpa born in 1917 hated those things.
Things were different for them and the times have changed. Nuisance birds could cost you more than some bird seed from your feeder...especially if you were a farmer. Scarecrows did originally have a purpose besides Halloween decorations.
Posted on 10/16/25 at 6:44 am to DMAN1968
Ahh, ok. Understood. And I see they (and crows) will also kill songbirds.
Posted on 10/18/25 at 8:17 am to S
It's Boat Tailed Grackle, and they are a protected specie by the Migratory Bird act. Its a Federal offense to kill them.
Posted on 10/18/25 at 3:29 pm to S
Highly visible (lots of sparks, colors, etc) + loud fireworks. If they only make noise & not much of a visual then the birds will come back.
It’s illegal to just kill any bird just to do it. Learned all of this from having a buzzard issue a few years ago. I couldn’t believe buzzards are a protected species.
It’s illegal to just kill any bird just to do it. Learned all of this from having a buzzard issue a few years ago. I couldn’t believe buzzards are a protected species.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 6:49 am to S
Do the ones you have sing? I have only a few that show up around my feeder in the back and those frickers sing like a mofo. Have not had any issues with them. They seem to get along with the other birds.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 1:45 pm to SBGRosco
“ I couldn’t believe buzzards are a protected species”.
I remember when buzzards were an outlaw bird and shooting them was encouraged-they were accused of spreading hog cholera disease.
Turkey vultures are actually beneficial,they clean up a lot of dead critters which helps to prevent spread of diseases.
Black vultures are some really nasty birds.Cattleman neighbors of mine hate them,they’ll attack newborn calves and peck their eyes out,tear into their buttholes.
Turkey vultures don’t do stuff like that,they only eat dead stuff.
I remember when buzzards were an outlaw bird and shooting them was encouraged-they were accused of spreading hog cholera disease.
Turkey vultures are actually beneficial,they clean up a lot of dead critters which helps to prevent spread of diseases.
Black vultures are some really nasty birds.Cattleman neighbors of mine hate them,they’ll attack newborn calves and peck their eyes out,tear into their buttholes.
Turkey vultures don’t do stuff like that,they only eat dead stuff.
Posted on 10/19/25 at 9:53 pm to LanierSpots
They make kind of weird squawking noises.
Posted on 10/27/25 at 12:36 pm to S
Hope this doesn’t jinx it but…
Posted one of those owls in a grassy area on a small pole in front of where we park. Day 3 of no bird shite. $17 at Lowe’s. I will probably get another one and hang it somewhere. The key apparently is to move them around.
I also have a big egret that occasionally flies in and hunts near the treeline and i think he helps keep them at bay somewhat.
Posted one of those owls in a grassy area on a small pole in front of where we park. Day 3 of no bird shite. $17 at Lowe’s. I will probably get another one and hang it somewhere. The key apparently is to move them around.
I also have a big egret that occasionally flies in and hunts near the treeline and i think he helps keep them at bay somewhat.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:20 pm to S
I had grackles getting into my satsuma tree. I bought these 2 things. It took a couple of years, but eventually they stopped coming around.
De-bird
Something like this with a rotating head.
The funniest part was the time my neighbor stalked my fake owl trying to get close up pictures.
De-bird
Something like this with a rotating head.
The funniest part was the time my neighbor stalked my fake owl trying to get close up pictures.
Posted on 10/29/25 at 9:17 am to S
I think that "having blue jays, cardinals and pigeons" in abundance solves the grackle issue for us. We have some mockingbirds, robins and starlings, but they get bullied by the fat birds we have. I don't think we even have 5% grackles.
Now, we don't feed them. Mrs. Midnight fed birds at our last place and we had probably 50% grackles.
Now, we don't feed them. Mrs. Midnight fed birds at our last place and we had probably 50% grackles.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News