House sparrows are consuming all of my sunflower seed and driving my other birds away. How can I control them?
House sparrows are an introduced species and are a major problem for several of our native birds. They are not a protected species and their nests should be removed whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Controlling house sparrows at your feeders can be a challenge but here are a few tips.

1. Use tube feeders with shortened perches or the perches removed altogether. Chickadees and other species will still be able to feed.

2. For goldfinches try feeding thistle (Nyjer) in seed socks.

3. Offer suet in your own homemade feeder or in one of the commercial upside down suet feeders.

4. Safflower is popular with cardinals but is less liked by house sparrows.

Male house sparrow.

How can I keep house sparrows out of my purple martin house?
How can I keep house sparrows out of my bluebird boxes?
House sparrows have a significant negative impact on both nesting bluebirds and purple martins. They have been known to kill adult bluebirds on the nest. Sparrow traps are available from the North American Bluebird Society Web site and several different purple martin house manufacturers. In many cases there is no easy deterrent. When selecting a bluebird box or purple martin house be sure the design allows for easy inspection and cleaning. Watch for signs of house sparrows and remove the sparrow nesting material as soon as you are aware of its presence. If you do not have the time to care for the bluebird box or martin house please close it for the season to prevent house sparrows and starlings from taking advantage of the situation.