Update on the PG Trap, finally caught the first Myna Bird Yesterday.
Also caught two black birds and a thrush (Both released).
So the trap does work, just need to work on a bait that won’t attract other birds.
I hear red cat food is better, but still unable to find any that is red.
See ya…Gary
And so, the obvious question is how to dispose of them? Air gun?
No, probably too much chance of damaging the cage.
I covered it in a large black garden bag and ran a hose pipe from a cold started lawnmower.
It didn’t take long at all to kill the Myna.
Thanks…Gary
Here is a link to a pdf for detailed construction plans (from an Australian community group)
I may have a go at making one, depending on cost of the mesh.
http://cvcia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CVCIA-PeeGee-Plan-v2.pdf
My best hedgy trap? dig a hole - they invariably blunder into it
Do mynas nest in holes ? I’m using a trap in a nesting box for starlings
How did everyone get on over the winter? I dispatched 874 mynas over a 4 month period with 1 to 2 traps before catch numbers dropped right off. I tried many things, but for the most part stuck with the typical Pee Gee design. I used about 5 slices of the cheapest white sandwich bread (Homebrand) which worked best In the end. I made a u-shaped staked and even a square of leftover wire mesh to fix the bread down in the middle of the cage and prevent them from moving it around and making it accessible from the outside. In the end there were some mynas that learned how to get in and out of the feeding cage and were stealing the bread. I tried the cat food, but they won’t eat that at all. The main by catch were sparrows, but I don’t like them nesting in the attic, so they were also taken out. On the whole, I was amazed at how well the trap worked for mynas and really didn’t catch anything else apart from sparrows that weren’t small enough to sneak out through the mesh. I used an air rifle to dispatch them, although pulling their heads off was a close second. Still undecided, but the exhaust option was not worth the hassle for me. We only ever saw about 15 mynas on the farm, so no idea where 874 came from and sadly, we still have 10 or so around. I’ll probably try again next season and hopefully the smart ones have moved on. Max catch was 29 in one cage for one day. I generally caught them regardless of a caller bird being in the cage, but I ended up leaving the traps in the same place all season as it became a point of interest for these communal birds. To have a real impact, we need someone trapping ever 1km or so, but it was a good experiment.
I need to borrow a myna bird trap. Anyone in Auckland have one. In fact i will be up to drive to pick up im so desperate to get rid of them thx
Make one of these, I catch loads in my one.
I use Dog food to get them in and when you have your first one, they tend to bring in all their buddys.
Thanks…Gary
Can everyone please vote to add ‘Myna Birds’ as a new species in the app
Please Vote HERE
Thanks…Gary
They’re supposed to be difficult to catch in summer when food is plentiful and they don’t need so much to keep warm. Despite my efforts over winter, we seem to have more mynas than ever. I can’t wait until someone develops and automated trap. Happy to nuke everything as I didn’t catch anything I needed to let go. I just put my trap out for 2 days, but all the bait (white bread) is gone after 2 days and I assume it was mainly the sparrows nicking the bait.
Good effort! Where are you and what were you using for bait?
Hi Cam,
I use dried Dog Food and a few pieces of white bread, near the entrance.
Only using white bread outside the cage, helps other birds not going into the trap.
I find once you have your first Myna, others will try and join them in cage. I was thinking of adding a Mirror to cage, as I heard that the reflection of the birds attracts them into the cage. But haven’t done this yet,
Thanks…Gary
Hi Gary
People seem to have different experiences. Adrian Gilbert was the one who said only use white bread (which worked well for me) whereas in Oz they say dog/cat food which for they weren’t interested in at all. But maybe I needs to get a specific flavour. I even dyed it red for the buggas, but no cigar on that one. In winter I found that the caller bird made little difference and I was able to get bird in regardless. But there could be many factors to that. Adrian said not to prefeed outside the cage, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Do you have sparrows getting into the cage? I found them to be smarter and more able to get out to door and maybe 30% of them could squeeze through the mesh. They’re unlikely to go for the dog food I would have thought. Cheers, Cam
I have 2 PG Mynas traps available for anyone who wants to pick them up from Waiau Pa (Franklin). I made them myself, but will give them free to anyone who’s going to use them for the their intended purpose. I’m moving and can’t take them with me.
Cam
Hello Cam, do you still have these traps available?
Thanks Maihi
Sorry, the last one was sold on Trade Me. I have some left-over mesh that I may sell at some point if that is of interest. I’d need to see how much is left. ~Cam
Thanks for the response, no problem, I have some mesh and will give making the trap a go. May I ask if you had much success with it? Any tips? Thanks
I think I wrote most of this above, but here’s what i sent someone else last week as a summary
I had reasonable success myna trapping, but best if more people were doing it of course. I caught 1000, but they just kept coming even though I never saw more than about 20 at a time.
• I got the super cheap white sandwich bread loaves from Woolworths and created a U shaped peg to pin about 4-5 slices in the middle of the first cage.
• Brown bread was no good. Cat biscuits were laughed at.
• Only tend to your trap in hours of darkness or they will catch on. I just went out after sunset each night and put frozen bread in.
• I put a corflute roof on and added a water bottle.
• Best done in winter when cold, wet & windy. They need to eat more when cold. Probably won’t work at all in summer as they’ll be busy nesting and they’ll be warmer.
• Max catch was 29 in one trap in one day, but varied wildly with 5-11 being a common catch.
• Scatter a small amount of white bread outside to get your first birds interested.
• I’d say put the trap close to some tree branches to deter hawks which can get interested and scare the mynas off.
• Once you have your first bird, you’re on the gravy train. Always keep a decoy bird after each cull.
• Most catches will happen in the morning when they’re hungriest.
• I live on an orchard and the flock in on windy days. Windy and cold days were best for me.
• Sometimes caught sparrows, but they nest on our buildings, so not a fan. Very rare to catch anything else.
Pretty awesome traps really as they are quite species specific. I just need a way to automate the culling each night!
Cam
