Finches and swallows for pest control?

[jennorton]

Hi there, has anyone heard of keeping small insectivorous birds like swallows for pest control in a large caged veggie patch avery combo? I can't find any information on it anywhere. I have my veggie patch caged to keep the birds, possums and wallabies off my crops (without the cage we would get nothing) but I have inadvertently created a caterpillar, grasshopper and thrip haven. So I'm thinking of adding feed and water stations, nesting boxes and perches and keeping some small birds to eat the bugs and I'm trying to research it but I can't find any information on it.

Any tips or suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[JP 1983]

Build it and they will come!

Not sure how to encourage the willie wagtails to nest there though! I once saw a wagtail nab a dragonfly bigger than it was haha.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I think it'd definitely possible, though also somewhat unconventional. As someone whose father breeds canaries for song I can see complications with it, including that birds can actually go into shock and die from stress. A good way to combat this, of course, is get a hold of them from egg/very young and grow them relatively tame. That way they won't freak out whilst you are gardening and you could potentially create your own sort of ecosystem.
You could also create entry and exit points for small birds to enter through freely. Generally small birds do less damage to your plants, even if they aren't the birds you necessarily look for. And if you feed them on a schedule, they will learn when they can enter and when it's less fortious. You could train them by putting small feeders just inside of the holes (so they aren't actually inside) and teaching them to come to your place to eat.

Birds are very skittish creatures, but when they get used to you they can be really friendly and some species will even teach their young where it's safe for them to go. My aunt used to feed them on a schedule and the birds would actually peck the window or chirp really loudly if she was late. These were wild birds, mind you. She just loved seeing them around.

But either way I definitely could see this happening, though it'd be fairly experimental. I personally love the idea and with the right care it could be quite fun. I kind of imagine it to be like a butterfly house, except with edible plants and birds

 

[JP 1983]

Oh, that reminds me. Aussie magpies are super easy to tame and are great bug and grub hunters to boot. Encouraging them to hang out in your garden area may help considerably.

 

[jennorton]

Oh, that reminds me. Aussie magpies are super easy to tame and are great bug and grub hunters to boot. Encouraging them to hang out in your garden area may help considerably.

We already have a flock of wild "tamed" magpies, kookaburras and noisey miners that we feed and encourage for biodiversity and because they tell us if there is a snake around. They're excellent lookouts but unfortunately they can't access my main veggie patch because it is entirely enclosed in avery wire.

 

[jennorton]

I think it'd definitely possible, though also somewhat unconventional. As someone whose father breeds canaries for song I can see complications with it, including that birds can actually go into shock and die from stress. A good way to combat this, of course, is get a hold of them from egg/very young and grow them relatively tame. That way they won't freak out whilst you are gardening and you could potentially create your own sort of ecosystem.
You could also create entry and exit points for small birds to enter through freely. Generally small birds do less damage to your plants, even if they aren't the birds you necessarily look for. And if you feed them on a schedule, they will learn when they can enter and when it's less fortious. You could train them by putting small feeders just inside of the holes (so they aren't actually inside) and teaching them to come to your place to eat.

Birds are very skittish creatures, but when they get used to you they can be really friendly and some species will even teach their young where it's safe for them to go. My aunt used to feed them on a schedule and the birds would actually peck the window or chirp really loudly if she was late. These were wild birds, mind you. She just loved seeing them around.

But either way I definitely could see this happening, though it'd be fairly experimental. I personally love the idea and with the right care it could be quite fun. I kind of imagine it to be like a butterfly house, except with edible plants and birds

Thanks for the tips. I plan to learn a lot more about keeping small birds before I try this experiment. Im also a little concerned that they will eat all my pollinators and maybe that's why no one does it? Unfortunately I can't have any small openings to encourage wild birds because rats and mice would also get in and eat everything.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Hmm, that is quite possible. Unless you go for a completely herbivorous bird, they might eat the bees. Especially the stingless natives. But that would defeat the point. You could perhaps set up netting to keep critters out altogether, but that'd make access for the bees difficult too - unless you plan on raising bees in there. Unless you keep small, designated holes for the bees to enter in from, with potential of a hive inside your garden space, as they would be too small for rats.
It's very tricky.

 

[SamfromWA]

Maybe Willie Wagtails might be a good fit, they ride on the sheeps backs around here waiting for any bugs to be disturbed by the sheep.

 

[Winsome]

Hi there, has anyone heard of keeping small insectivorous birds like swallows for pest control in a large caged veggie patch avery combo? I can't find any information on it anywhere. I have my veggie patch caged to keep the birds, possums and wallabies off my crops (without the cage we would get nothing) but I have inadvertently created a caterpillar, grasshopper and thrip haven. So I'm thinking of adding feed and water stations, nesting boxes and perches and keeping some small birds to eat the bugs and I'm trying to research it but I can't find any information on it.

Any tips or suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance!

I was wondering the exact same thing, went looking for some info and found your post. We're about to enclose our veggie patch as the birds and possums just decimate everthing, but I was concerned about the harmful insect proliferation as a result. Some interesting replys below. Likewise a small hole for native birds would let more rats and mice in. Our planned chickens will have supervised access on occasion, perhaps this will be enough. I was also wondering about frogs and geckos, they would fit through the netting, perhaps we could encourage them...

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Some chickens even like hunting mice. Others have a rooster in their coop for that exact reason, as they've been known to kill snakes, mice, and even attack larger creatures that they deem dangerous.

 

[KIGardening]

I choose not to have my veggie patches caged. I have the issue of possums, rats, mice and pest insects, but I choose a different strategy. First I only net the veggie beds if there are seedlings and young plants in there that would be of harm from birds, rats and possums. Once the plants are grown enough I take off the netting.

Around my garden I have planted out scrubs that form protection for small birds and attract them. Magpies, Noisy Minors, Kookaburra's, Lorikeets etc are big birds that will push the little birds out of the territory. However if you have scrubs around that are dense enough the bigger birds will not go in it as it would harm them. The smaller birds such as the New Holland Honey Eater, Sparrows and Finches use these scrubs to stay safe from the bigger birds and go in and out for hunting of small insects.

Beside scrubs I use sacrificial food plants. For example I have two White Sapote trees that I let being ransacked by the possums and birds. I give them something delicious to focus on while they leave the rest of the plants mostly alone. I still loose the occasional tomato etc, but it is far less than not having sacrificial food plants.

 

[Winsome]

I choose not to have my veggie patches caged. I have the issue of possums, rats, mice and pest insects, but I choose a different strategy. First I only net the veggie beds if there are seedlings and young plants in there that would be of harm from birds, rats and possums. Once the plants are grown enough I take off the netting.

Around my garden I have planted out scrubs that form protection for small birds and attract them. Magpies, Noisy Minors, Kookaburra's, Lorikeets etc are big birds that will push the little birds out of the territory. However if you have scrubs around that are dense enough the bigger birds will not go in it as it would harm them. The smaller birds such as the New Holland Honey Eater, Sparrows and Finches use these scrubs to stay safe from the bigger birds and go in and out for hunting of small insects.

Beside scrubs I use sacrificial food plants. For example I have two White Sapote trees that I let being ransacked by the possums and birds. I give them something delicious to focus on while they leave the rest of the plants mostly alone. I still loose the occasional tomato etc, but it is far less than not having sacrificial food plants.

Great info, thanks

 

[KIGardening]

Ohhh... I forgot to address the Gecko's. The easiest way to get Gecko's is just to build a Gecko Bunker Defence Line. I use anything from hollow logs, piled up bricks and rocks with some space in between, broken ceramic bowls. You name it as long it is wood, ceramic, brick or stone. Jus make sure it is out the walk spaces and let it be and check once a year to see if there are any broken eggshells that need to be cleared for the next generation. If you have annoying ants nests, then build a few of these bunkers around it and the Gecko's will love you! ...... The ants don't as they are the guest of honour for breakfast, lunch and dinner! No need to buy Gecko's as they will find their way and multiply, even in the city gardens.

 

[Winsome]

Ohhh... I forgot to address the Gecko's. The easiest way to get Gecko's is just to build a Gecko Bunker Defence Line. I use anything from hollow logs, piled up bricks and rocks with some space in between, broken ceramic bowls. You name it as long it is wood, ceramic, brick or stone. Jus make sure it is out the walk spaces and let it be and check once a year to see if there are any broken eggshells that need to be cleared for the next generation. If you have annoying ants nests, then build a few of these bunkers around it and the Gecko's will love you! ...... The ants don't as they are the guest of honour for breakfast, lunch and dinner! No need to buy Gecko's as they will find their way and multiply, even in the city gardens.

Easy, thanks, yes I've seen a few already. I was thinking a frog pond as well.

 

[sky]

Hello!
I don't know anything about keeping such birds in cages.
I think it is better to create conditions for them so that they often fly to your site.
I try to create a favorable environment on my site, installing feeders and drinking bowls. A green hedge or an area of tall grass also works very well.
To attract swallows, you can prepare shelves under the roof and the swallows will build nests. if swallows fly once, they will return the next year to the same place.

 

[KIGardening]

Easy, thanks, yes I've seen a few already. I was thinking a frog pond as well.

Frog ponds are more trickier. You really need to have more infrastructure in place. Pump system to have the water gently flowing regarding the design, have the right water type (acidity etc), plenty of plants, leaf litter and other protection structures. Even when you have all that in place it might not be enough as frogs might not make it to your garden or in case you were successful breeding making it back. I have a suburb garden and have tried everything in my garden to attract them but unsuccessful.

When I first started to live where I live currently I found several frogs and a blue tongue lizard in my garden and even one frog in the dishwasher. Of course the one in the dishwasher was sent packing its suitcase and was released back in the garden. Even though they stayed around a while, and I did nothing to chance the garden in that time, I noticed they disappeared. When I changed the garden I made it very lizard and frog friendly together with a lot of natures creatures in consideration. However the frogs never returned together with the blue tongue lizard. It took me a while to figure out, even when the answer knowingly stared me right in the face! The suburb where I live in is high in demand and over the years the entire suburb is in the mood of subdivisions from the old so called quarter acre blocks are being subdivided into 3 - 4 townhouse dog boxes and sometimes even worse. The thing that was and still is taking place is destruction of habitat that the frogs used to migrate along. Although I have a environment friendly garden, the majority around me to the local waterways are not!

So my advice is before you start a frog friendly garden and invest money in it, make sure you understand the migration routes and risks of developments in those routes. You might be wasting you're time and money into something you will never control to success.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I didn't know frogs were that picky. They've always been in the nearby ponds and streams where I grew up, never moving once. Even when they started developing the area and I'm certain some poison leaked into the waters.