Hi Peter -
At 08:53 AM 15/11/02 +1100, you wrote:
>A neighbour phoned last night to say the birds have attacked and wrecked my
>verandah posts and cross members and window sills at my bush home near the
>Grampians. All Meranti and Oregon.
>Any ideas about control would be appreciated.
An extract from one of our information sheets reads:
""Help! Cockatoos are eating my house!" This seemingly bizarre cry for
help is heard regularly. Cockatoos, especially Sulphur-crested Cockatoos,
like to chew on materials of certain textures and hardness. These
materials include the softwoods such as Western Red Cedar used extensively
for window-frames and other non-structural house timbers, including
weatherboards. If the cockatoos are not stopped, over a period of weeks
they can cause considerable damage. The best solution lies at the
architectural design stage of the building - vulnerable softwoods should
never be used externally in buildings where cockatoo chewing damage is
likely. With existing buildings, it may be possible to hang out
sacrificial pieces of softwood for the cockies to chew on in peace, while
deterring them from attacking your house by spraying them with a hose
whenever they try. If the house is not constantly attended, however, the
solution may be to cover the wood with wire-mesh or metal flashing.
Alternatively, protective shade cloth or bird netting can be hung on a
roller, attached to the eaves, so that it can be rolled up when the house
is occupied. Very often, house chewing by cockatoos seems to be associated
with somebody in the neighbourhood providing food for the birds, thereby
attracting them close to houses. Feeding of birds in these circumstances
is not recommended. Chewing of houses is only one of the problems
generated by providing food for birds."
Cheers,
Hugo
Hugo Phillipps
Communications Coordinator
Birds Australia
415 Riversdale Road
Hawthorn East 3123, Australia
Tel: (03) 9882 2622, fax: (03) 9882 2677
Email: <>
Website: <http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au>
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