Magpie traps, do they work?

[boarderbloke]

Going nuts with 4 magpies this winter. They fly off at the slightest sound or movement, so haven't been successful with the ol' lead trap. They be help'n themselves to the dog dish and staying fat an' fed, and I can't take it anymore.

Anyone with a link to a good trap? one that actually works!

Anyone have success with a mesh style magpie trap? was it worth the time to build it?

What would you bait it with? smelly fish, smelly meat? piece of road kill?

Advice from master trappers appreciated.

[farmaholic]

Natures house keepers... and thieves.

No practical solutions here because we no longer have livestock or a bunch of trees to harbor them, we don't have them. Nothing worse than trying to sleep in a rainy summer day and having those things squawking at 5 in the morning.

[riders2010]

fortunately our border collie pup hates them so they wouldn't get a chance to land for more than a minute so they ve seemed to moved on. Hope the pup continues his ways. lol

[mcfarms]

the round rebar and stucco wire ones work well just google magpie trap. Throw some dry cat food on the ground in front with a trail leading to a pile inside. think my record was 11 one morning . Might have been the bait , not so much a master trapper maybe more of a master baiter.
(Could not ,not say that LOL)

[Richard5]

This thing works. Wish I would have bought one years ago

http://www.magpietrap.com/

The guy is from Yorkton and will ship it to you

[boarderbloke]

mcfarms,,truly LOL Even a small tear. Thanks for the input or was it output.

[AllisWD45]

Will vouch for guy from Yorkton caught about 50 in last 2 years in my yard. You get rid of them and soon more move in so keep trap set always. Also kill the little bastards as they are smart and you only get one chance. Best 150$ i ever spent

[boarderbloke]

Great link Richard5, liked the Johnny Cash music in the first vid too.
Fair price to get rid of this aggravation, especially over time. Beats making one without the spring loaded door, plus it's mobile too.

[ColevilleH2S]

Other than steal dog food, what do Magpies do to piss you off?

[boarderbloke]

Raid the nests of song birds. We have plenty of scavenger birds to clean up the dead already, including crows, a variety of hawks, eagles and vultures(which will all return), plus ravens and owls that stay all winter. No need for magpies. Rather hear a owl or hawk any day, or night.

[15444]

I have been 20 feet from them as they pick sores into the hide of a standing cow.

Tried baiting them once with meat and tiny fish hooks, but that doesn't work. Have heard about these traps for years, guess it is time to give it a try.

[BFW]

They work unbelievably well. Too well maybe. Have a trap like mcfarms describes and caught over 50 in two tries. it is magpie annilihation.

[fjlip]

This is our trap, not sure if still available...Kitty Kitchen from 1998

Dick’s Samplers introduces a product to protect outdoor feed from scavengers such as magpies.

The Kitty Kitchen protects cat food and traps magpies.

Dogs can’t get in, cats can enter and leave as they choose and magpies get trapped. The product is made of 16 gauge, one-by-one inch (2.5-by-2.5 centimeter) steel mesh over a steel frame. It has a diameter of four feet (1.2 meters). There is an access hatch in the top for food or bait.

For more information contact Dick’s Samplers at Box 41, Brock, Sask., phone 800-379-0151, fax 306-379-4405

Works great, NO moving parts, bait with dog/cat food, caught a dozen at a time. Neighbors have borrowed it and cleaned up many farm yards.
One caveat, the OLD mature pairs will NEVER go in, way to smart. We catch all the dumb young ones every year.

The Larsen catches two and then needs YOU to reset the sticks? Ours works all night and you get rid of up to a dozen , no attention needed.

[Richard5]

And just another tip as he suggests on the video

Catch a pie from the neighbors first and then bring the trap back to your yard with the new pie as the bait bird. They are teritorial so will kick up a lot of fuss and be caught quicker

Don't destroy the caught birds in the trap. Just put on a long glove, reach in and grab them and teach them the lesson of life somewhere else

[fjlip]

And just another tip as he suggests on the video

Catch a pie from the neighbors first and then bring the trap back to your yard with the new pie as the bait bird. They are teritorial so will kick up a lot of fuss and be caught quicker

Don't destroy the caught birds in the trap. Just put on a long glove, reach in and grab them and teach them the lesson of life somewhere else

We never did either, and always killed them in the trap, never made a diff. Moved to a new spot.