Having Sparrow problems? This box incorporates a weatherproof skylight that has been shown to deter House Sparrows. We have been testing this design for the last few years with great success!
We use twin-walled polycarbonate for our skylights due to it’s insulation properties and airflow, which reduces heat buildup significantly. We have found this to be superior to plexiglass, which we were previously using.
TESTIMONIALS
“The experience of the Willow Valley Communities bluebirders using skylight nesting boxes on our nine box trail in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has been a real success. Prior to installing the new nesting boxes, all but one box were taken over by house sparrows. After installing the new boxes in the spring of 2014, we have had no sparrows taking up residence. Each box has a 2 1/2 inch diameter skylight covered with clear plexiglass. In 2014 we had two nesting bluebird couples. Four of the remaining boxes were used by tree swallows. It is now early April, and the tree swallows are back and welcome. All of our boxes are adjacent to our community garden plots, and we have noticed that the bluebirds and tree swallows consume large quantities of insects, which allows us to severely limit the use of pesticides. We will report later in the season on the results of our skylight houses and insect control provided by our birds.”
~Bob Goodhart
“I took over a 20 box trail at Hempfield High School in 2012 that was completely infested with Sparrows due to lack of monitoring. After reading an article in Birds and Blooms that suggested letting light into the boxes to deter sparrows, I started drilling 2 1/2″ holes in the tops of the boxes and then covering them over with plexiglass to keep the water out. Within the first year the 15 boxes that I put skylights in were sparrow free, but the remaining 5 boxes had sparrows in them. So I decided to complete the trail so all 20 boxes had skylights. After doing that, the trail was completely sparrow free. To this day (5-5-15) the trail is completely sparrow free!”
~Dean Rust
