Birds pecking at lawn - insects?
October 24, 2016 4:25 PM Subscribe
Over the past week or so, I've noticed a whole bunch of small birds pecking at the lawn in our back yard. And something has also torn one edge of the lawn. So I'm wondering if there's an insect problem, and if so, what the correct treatment is.
Some Googling has suggested this could be grubs. But most of the information I've read about handling grubs says that it needs to be done earlier in the year. And there's a lot of conflicting information about what works and what doesn't.
Does anyone have real-world experience with this problem, and what actually works? I'm in Southern California, if it matters. We've had rain today, but the problem has existed for several days (before the rain started).
Some Googling has suggested this could be grubs. But most of the information I've read about handling grubs says that it needs to be done earlier in the year. And there's a lot of conflicting information about what works and what doesn't.
Does anyone have real-world experience with this problem, and what actually works? I'm in Southern California, if it matters. We've had rain today, but the problem has existed for several days (before the rain started).
It could also be that seeds are being dispersed from nearby plants or trees this time of year, and that's what the many birds are pecking at.
Do the birds have an insect-eating beak or a seed-eating beak?
posted by mudpuppie at 4:33 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Do the birds have an insect-eating beak or a seed-eating beak?
posted by mudpuppie at 4:33 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's entirely possible that whatever the problem is, the birds will solve it.
If you have grass, and sprinklers, the end of the hot season has meant - in my LA yard anyway - an uptick in the general enthusiasm of my grass, which might mean more seed. But I have grubs all the time as well (I don't treat for them, I like my birds and squirrels and dogs, and the birds and squirrels keep the population low), and you probably do too, it's just that it's fattenin' up time now that the nights are a little cool.
If you have a photo of your lawn damage, someone might be able to better identify what's going on.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:42 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you have grass, and sprinklers, the end of the hot season has meant - in my LA yard anyway - an uptick in the general enthusiasm of my grass, which might mean more seed. But I have grubs all the time as well (I don't treat for them, I like my birds and squirrels and dogs, and the birds and squirrels keep the population low), and you probably do too, it's just that it's fattenin' up time now that the nights are a little cool.
If you have a photo of your lawn damage, someone might be able to better identify what's going on.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:42 PM on October 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
What kind of birds?
There are some very short grasses that go to seed and birds eat those.
posted by ReluctantViking at 4:59 PM on October 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
There are some very short grasses that go to seed and birds eat those.
posted by ReluctantViking at 4:59 PM on October 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
How, exactly, are the birds a "problem" to you? Are the insects they are eating a problem to you? Presumably neither. So sit back and enjoy your avian visitors. They don't need any "treatment".
posted by beagle at 5:37 PM on October 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by beagle at 5:37 PM on October 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
It is a time of year where a lot of the world is seeing migrating birds, many of them small.
Don't assume a small flock of unfamiliar birds in the yard indicates any pest problem.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:04 PM on October 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
Don't assume a small flock of unfamiliar birds in the yard indicates any pest problem.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:04 PM on October 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
So I'm wondering if there's an insect problem, and if so, what the correct treatment is.
If there is an "insect problem", the fact that there are birds in your yard means that your treatment has already arrived. And as an extra bonus, your treatment is really cute, too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:35 PM on October 24, 2016 [8 favorites]
If there is an "insect problem", the fact that there are birds in your yard means that your treatment has already arrived. And as an extra bonus, your treatment is really cute, too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:35 PM on October 24, 2016 [8 favorites]
primethyme - whereabouts are you?
In Vancouver BC, must be almost 8 or more years ago, there was an issue of urban racoons digging up lawns in East Van. No-one knew what was going on at first; randomly dug up lawns.
At first it was nuisance, but more and more lawns were affected. People started reporting racoons digging up lawns successively further out - this is not normal behaviour as they usually just knock over trash bins, bypass the 'anti-animal mechanism' and strew trash all over the alley.
Anyway, it started spreading to Vancouver (West), and then even more outward. I saw my first 'wild' dug-up-lawn in Richmond a couple of years ago - only it's crows instead of racoons.
Apparently, crows learned from the racoons and spread it to other crows. Most of the lawn damage these days (all across the whatever the lower mainland officially calls itself now) are by crows, at least during the day. Maybe racoons are still ripping them up nights.
They're all apparently going after this beetle larvae that's starting to infest SW British Columbia in the suburban areas.
Anyway, sorry, bottom line is not much unless you want to murder the environment. Or get rid of your lawn/ameliorate-the-heck out of the drainage of said and switch to drought grasses/zen-garden.
posted by porpoise at 9:13 PM on October 24, 2016
In Vancouver BC, must be almost 8 or more years ago, there was an issue of urban racoons digging up lawns in East Van. No-one knew what was going on at first; randomly dug up lawns.
At first it was nuisance, but more and more lawns were affected. People started reporting racoons digging up lawns successively further out - this is not normal behaviour as they usually just knock over trash bins, bypass the 'anti-animal mechanism' and strew trash all over the alley.
Anyway, it started spreading to Vancouver (West), and then even more outward. I saw my first 'wild' dug-up-lawn in Richmond a couple of years ago - only it's crows instead of racoons.
Apparently, crows learned from the racoons and spread it to other crows. Most of the lawn damage these days (all across the whatever the lower mainland officially calls itself now) are by crows, at least during the day. Maybe racoons are still ripping them up nights.
They're all apparently going after this beetle larvae that's starting to infest SW British Columbia in the suburban areas.
Anyway, sorry, bottom line is not much unless you want to murder the environment. Or get rid of your lawn/ameliorate-the-heck out of the drainage of said and switch to drought grasses/zen-garden.
posted by porpoise at 9:13 PM on October 24, 2016
California has had some good days for swarming termites recently (the swarmwrs are called "alates" and their appearance often follows rainy weather). They look quite a bit like ants with wings. Maybe your birds are eating termites.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:19 PM on October 24, 2016
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:19 PM on October 24, 2016
This is the birds' job! If there's a bug problem, they will sort it for you.
We have ducks. Sometimes certain bits of lawn make them very happy. Then they move on.
posted by kitten magic at 3:44 AM on October 25, 2016
We have ducks. Sometimes certain bits of lawn make them very happy. Then they move on.
posted by kitten magic at 3:44 AM on October 25, 2016
Response by poster: How, exactly, are the birds a "problem" to you?
Since I'm seeing some hostility in some of these replies, I'd like to follow up to clarify.....
The birds are not "a problem" to me. I was worried that they were a symptom of an actual problem that would be better treated sooner than later. For example, I did one time have a lawn completely ripped to shreds by raccoons looking for grubs. If it's just birds enjoying themselves, fine. I don't care. But if three months from now I'm going to have to replace the lawn, due to not taking care of some problem now, I don't think that's an unreasonable thing to want to avoid.
So, my question is not "how do I get rid of birds?" It is "are the birds a sign of some underlying issue that needs attention?" I'm not talking about two or three birds, I'm talking about 20 or 30 on a relatively small lawn. In a place we've lived for over four years, and have never seen anything like this. It's definitely a change.
Thanks for the replies.
posted by primethyme at 11:55 AM on October 25, 2016
Since I'm seeing some hostility in some of these replies, I'd like to follow up to clarify.....
The birds are not "a problem" to me. I was worried that they were a symptom of an actual problem that would be better treated sooner than later. For example, I did one time have a lawn completely ripped to shreds by raccoons looking for grubs. If it's just birds enjoying themselves, fine. I don't care. But if three months from now I'm going to have to replace the lawn, due to not taking care of some problem now, I don't think that's an unreasonable thing to want to avoid.
So, my question is not "how do I get rid of birds?" It is "are the birds a sign of some underlying issue that needs attention?" I'm not talking about two or three birds, I'm talking about 20 or 30 on a relatively small lawn. In a place we've lived for over four years, and have never seen anything like this. It's definitely a change.
Thanks for the replies.
posted by primethyme at 11:55 AM on October 25, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 4:33 PM on October 24, 2016 [5 favorites]