Getting rid of crows.

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Jethro Bodine

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Feb 17, 2009
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Beverly Hills. In the Kitchen eatin' vittles.
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any advice for getting rid of a crow that has made a nest in a big elm tree in my front yard. it is very noisy and keeps the song birds away. I need some suggestions on how to go about this in an urban setting. I specify urban because the easy way, if was not within city limits, would be to shoot it and then leave its body on the roof or in the tree. Crows are smart and other crows would then stay away from the danger. Unfortunately the City of Winnipeg and the Police take a dim view of one discharging firearms or air rifles within the city limits.
Add to that my 16 year old daughter making me promise I won't hurt the crow.
My next plan is to get out the garden hose and continually hose it down but it is so high up (~40-50 feet) I may not be able to reach t with a garden hose.
I'm also thinking of hiring an arborist with tree climbing experience to go up and destroy it but I'm concerned it would just come back.

Cheers
 
T

timeforchange

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Jan 10, 2015
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Winnipeg
I wonder if this is a Wpg problem this year. I also have a new crows nest and it appears from the early morning noise that the crows are fighting for territory. If I put an owl up would that also scare away the song birds? Hum, where is my old pellet gun?
 
M

manni

Well-known member
Apr 14, 2006
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Jethro Bodine said:
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any advice for getting rid of a crow that has made a nest in a big elm tree in my front yard. it is very noisy and keeps the song birds away. I need some suggestions on how to go about this in an urban setting. I specify urban because the easy way, if was not within city limits, would be to shoot it and then leave its body on the roof or in the tree. Crows are smart and other crows would then stay away from the danger. Unfortunately the City of Winnipeg and the Police take a dim view of one discharging firearms or air rifles within the city limits.
Add to that my 16 year old daughter making me promise I won't hurt the crow.
My next plan is to get out the garden hose and continually hose it down but it is so high up (~40-50 feet) I may not be able to reach t with a garden hose.
I'm also thinking of hiring an arborist with tree climbing experience to go up and destroy it but I'm concerned it would just come back.

Cheers
Click to expand...
the nest obviously means that there are babies within…
you want them to fend for themselves should something
unfortunate happen to mother crow? they wouldn't survive a day.

I'm no fan of crows either, but I'm sure you'll agree with your daughter.

I say just let nature take its course, they'll likely be gone before summer starts.
 
Lo-ki

Lo-ki

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Jul 18, 2011
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Check your closet..:)
Well.... they are there to stay until there youngens are grown.
 
*emmanuelle

*emmanuelle

Victoria, B.C.
Aug 1, 2008
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You could climb up the tree (or get your daughter to do it) and hang some old CDs from the branches. I think that might keep the songbirds away too though, not sure. Either way, it would be fun to try!
 
J

Jethro Bodine

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Feb 17, 2009
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Beverly Hills. In the Kitchen eatin' vittles.
NataliaBijoux said:
As far as I know they won't scare away other birds.. My friends parents have them up.. And they get Blue Jays etc
Click to expand...
They kill and eat smaller birds and raid their nests for eggs.
Blue Jays may fair better as they are part of the crow family so maybe they are built to survive or get along with crows??
 
badbadboy

badbadboy

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Nov 2, 2006
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NataliaBijoux said:
As far as I know they won't scare away other birds.. My friends parents have them up.. And they get Blue Jays etc
Click to expand...
They are super territorial because I watched them in action this weekend. Two young Eagles were perched in a tree with about a dozen crows dive bombing them until the Eagles left the area.

They also have long memories too. If a person tries and fails to do harm to one of the crows the group will do likewise to the human. I watched a documentary on this and the crows were relentless.
 
S

sybian

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Dec 23, 2014
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Kamloops B.C.
^....They were even more annoying than the ones rifling through your garbage cans.
There is nothing more annoying than listening to politicians soap box false moral standards, knowing full well they don't take listen to their own council....And they think nobody has a clue about what they are really up too.
 
P

P_e_r_b

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Jul 15, 2013
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As others have mentioned, Corvid Americanus is protected by law (go figure) so harming or killing them is actually illegal. Once they have nested, their nest is a wildlife site and cannot be legally disturbed. That means one has to put up with dive-bombing attacks in May-June as they defend their fledglings.

So... "hypothetically speaking"....

The best solution is pre-emption. Don't allow the crows to nest in your tree(s). This involves a bit of vigilance during the early spring. Watch for twigs and other detritus beneath the tree. That's often a sign of nest building. During that time, crows will still be roosting in the winter "group home" and only build during the day. Just knock down their day's effort. After about three days they will give up and nest elsewhere (makes sense, as they will not "win" this battle). This isn't illegal either.

If they have nested, then any operation must be covert. I don't like the idea of knocking down a built nest as this will mean the destruction of any unhatched eggs. Note that the mother crow will be in the nest and the action will be considered an "attack" that will draw about 25 other crows to defend it. Be prepared (as in wear a helmet or have a buddy watching your back). The method of attack by crows is always a system of attacking from your rear. One is at your 12 while the other is at your 6. Just the presence of another human watching your "six" will keep the crows at bay. Once the nest is down, they know the battle is lost and the murder will disperse.

Crows do remember faces, so you will be known as one bad-ass crow killer that they will avoid. Your tree will also be known as a no-nest zone.

... NOTE: this is just a "fantasy" and not an instruction on how to rid oneself of crows.
 
Last edited:
badbadboy

badbadboy

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Nov 2, 2006
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In Lust Mostly
There are humane systems out there for getting rid of pests such as crows using ultrasonic sound waves.

I have used similar systems on Vancouver Island to get rid of pests and it turned out not only to be effective but permanent without killing any crows, racoons etc.

http://www.bird-x.com/balcony-gard-products-29.php?page_id=103
 
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