Corvid Ladder Trap

[harrycatcat1]

21 minutes ago, rimfire4969 said:

Good Idea, I have always found when you go in they tend to be as far from you as possible. But sending someone else in a the best plan. 😃

Whilst I am waiting to source some netting I will give some thought to making the door bigger 👍👍👍

[jall25]

You defo dont really want them getting out once they have been in - they become educated 

[harrycatcat1]

17 minutes ago, jall25 said:

You defo dont really want them getting out once they have been in - they become educated 

Do you think the ladder spaces should be smaller?

[ninjaferret]

Door would be better at the end with a step in , so door is higher off the ground.

[old'un]

1 hour ago, harrycatcat1 said:

Do you think the ladder spaces should be smaller?

the recommended sizes are, 6”x5” crow, rooks, jackdaw and 3”x5” magpie, jay.

[harrycatcat1]

1 minute ago, old'un said:

the recommended sizes are, 6”x5” crow, rooks, jackdaw and 3”x5” magpie, jay.

Thank you I will reduce the width by 3" 👍

[old'un]

24 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said:

Thank you I will reduce the width by 3" 👍

The 6” and 3” are the spacing between the rungs not the width, the width is 5” for both.

Dont forget the netting at the ends of the ladder.

Edited September 6, 2022 by old'un

[harrycatcat1]

15 minutes ago, old'un said:

The 6” and 3” are the spacing between the rungs not the width, the width is 5” for both.

Dont forget the netting at the ends of the ladder.

Thank you I will sort it accordingly 👍

[jall25]

It does not seem to be hard for them to get in the smaller spaces as they just close their wings us Harry

[harrycatcat1]

1 hour ago, jall25 said:

It does not seem to be hard for them to get in the smaller spaces as they just close their wings us Harry

Thanks 👍 

[Goldfish]

 @harrycatcat1Good looking trap 👍

The working principle is they close their wings and drop in but cant get out without having open wings so the ladder must be high enough so they can not jump up, also make sure nothing is on the floor below the ladder to allow them to jump.

They will also climb the wire so close off the ladder near the sides, you can see what I mean in the last photo of the unused ladder on the floor in the image

Mine are in sections so a trap fits in the truck, then erect it with cable ties

 

When in position leave the ladder off and bait it up to allow the birds to get used to it then after a couple of days drop the ladder on. I use cheap loves of bread.

I have 2 ladders one for crows the smaller one for jackdaws.

 

Remember you must visit the trap a minimum of once every 24 hours and provide food, water and shelter along with perches.

I have had traps that catch nothing for 3 days to then catch 30 birds in a morning so regular visits are needed.

 

Good luck and remember to only visit in the dark so you are not seen by other birds and one tip for you is to put a concrete block in the trap so you can knock the birds on it when you catch them, easier to deal with dead birds when you have a few but remember to leave a couple alive as decoys.

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Goldfish

[harrycatcat1]

3 hours ago, Goldfish said:

 @harrycatcat1Good looking trap 👍

The working principle is they close their wings and drop in but cant get out without having open wings so the ladder must be high enough so they can not jump up, also make sure nothing is on the floor below the ladder to allow them to jump.

They will also climb the wire so close off the ladder near the sides, you can see what I mean in the last photo of the unused ladder on the floor in the image

Mine are in sections so a trap fits in the truck, then erect it with cable ties

 

When in position leave the ladder off and bait it up to allow the birds to get used to it then after a couple of days drop the ladder on. I use cheap loves of bread.

I have 2 ladders one for crows the smaller one for jackdaws.

 

Remember you must visit the trap a minimum of once every 24 hours and provide food, water and shelter along with perches.

I have had traps that catch nothing for 3 days to then catch 30 birds in a morning so regular visits are needed.

 

Good luck and remember to only visit in the dark so you are not seen by other birds and one tip for you is to put a concrete block in the trap so you can knock the birds on it when you catch them, easier to deal with dead birds when you have a few but remember to leave a couple alive as decoys.

 

Thank you, your post is very informative and has given me some food for thought especially about a detachable ladder 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[mel b3]

Mine is flat pack , and goes on my roof rack , then gets cable tied together👍.

 

[harrycatcat1]

59 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

Mine is flat pack , and goes on my roof rack , then gets cable tied together👍.

 

Very good 👍 what sort of netting is it please 🤔

[mel b3]

13 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said:

Very good 👍 what sort of netting is it please 🤔

It was the cheapest roll of green chicken wire that I could find on ebay . On reflection,  I wish I'd spent an extra few quid , and bought better stuff , that was stronger , and longer lasting.

I just layed it on top of the finished panels , then stapled it on with an electric stapler , then trimmed it up with the angle grinder with a thin cutting disc. 👍.

[harrycatcat1]

27 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

It was the cheapest roll of green chicken wire that I could find on ebay . On reflection,  I wish I'd spent an extra few quid , and bought better stuff , that was stronger , and longer lasting.

I just layed it on top of the finished panels , then stapled it on with an electric stapler , then trimmed it up with the angle grinder with a thin cutting disc. 👍.

Thanks for the information, I'm just in the position of locating some netting 👍

[ditchman]

On 07/09/2022 at 06:09, Goldfish said:

 @harrycatcat1Good looking trap 👍

The working principle is they close their wings and drop in but cant get out without having open wings so the ladder must be high enough so they can not jump up, also make sure nothing is on the floor below the ladder to allow them to jump.

They will also climb the wire so close off the ladder near the sides, you can see what I mean in the last photo of the unused ladder on the floor in the image

Mine are in sections so a trap fits in the truck, then erect it with cable ties

 

When in position leave the ladder off and bait it up to allow the birds to get used to it then after a couple of days drop the ladder on. I use cheap loves of bread.

I have 2 ladders one for crows the smaller one for jackdaws.

 

Remember you must visit the trap a minimum of once every 24 hours and provide food, water and shelter along with perches.

I have had traps that catch nothing for 3 days to then catch 30 birds in a morning so regular visits are needed.

 

Good luck and remember to only visit in the dark so you are not seen by other birds and one tip for you is to put a concrete block in the trap so you can knock the birds on it when you catch them, easier to deal with dead birds when you have a few but remember to leave a couple alive as decoys.

 

Gob smacked at how well these traps work.................ive always seen them but not paid any attention to them

[harrycatcat1]

2 hours ago, ditchman said:

Gob smacked at how well these traps work.................ive always seen them but not paid any attention to them

I hope to be in a position in a week or so to be able to try it out 👍👍

[jall25]

33 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said:

I hope to be in a position in a week or so to be able to try it out 👍👍

Keep us all us to speed please - i have closed mine for the season but can soon reset if you start catching 

[harrycatcat1]

51 minutes ago, jall25 said:

Keep us all us to speed please - i have closed mine for the season but can soon reset if you start catching 

Will do 👍

[harrycatcat1]

2 hours ago, jall25 said:

Keep us all us to speed please - i have closed mine for the season but can soon reset if you start catching 

May I ask why you closed? Did you stop catching? My larson is still catching occasionally  I've had 21 magpies this year.

[jall25]

1 hour ago, harrycatcat1 said:

May I ask why you closed? Did you stop catching? My larson is still catching occasionally  I've had 21 magpies this year.

To be honest Harry we stopped on welfare grounds really when the weather got so hot 

It was bad for the call birds and the bait was going off so fast too

In the summer we also have a fair number of people about 

I also find once harvest has been its perhaps easier to decoy or flightline shoot 

[harrycatcat1]

8 hours ago, jall25 said:

To be honest Harry we stopped on welfare grounds really when the weather got so hot 

It was bad for the call birds and the bait was going off so fast too

In the summer we also have a fair number of people about 

I also find once harvest has been its perhaps easier to decoy or flightline shoot 

Ah OK 👍 

[ninjaferret]

Don't know if you took my suggestion of the door height on board or not. But instead of using wire at the end of the ladder i use a piece of plywood, as they can walk along the wire, even upside down.

[harrycatcat1]

38 minutes ago, ninjaferret said:

Don't know if you took my suggestion of the door height on board or not. But instead of using wire at the end of the ladder i use a piece of plywood, as they can walk along the wire, even upside down.

I didn't dismiss the door idea because it's good advice, I will certainly do it next time. This is just the prototype for me 🤣🤣 but as you will see I used wood at the end of the ladder 🪜 because as you say I thought they could walk along upside down. 

This is my detachable ladder.

Edited to say I might still look at making the door bigger.

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by harrycatcat1