Subject: [Tweeters] farmer looking for relief from flicker damage
Date: Jan 17 10:22:33 2007
From: Suzanne Krom - szkrom at drizzle.com


The other day I met a farmer at my local farmer's market who asked for suggestions on non-lethal ways to deal with flickers. The birds are apparently drilling/drumming along the roof-line and flashing, and near the ventilation vents of his two-story house, and he spends considerable time perched precariously on his ladder patching the damaged areas. It used to be seasonal but now they drill year-round. He admitted to killing them on rare occasions, and said that other farmers regularly kill them in order to reduce the damage they cause. It was very clear that he hated taking this last resort measure and wants to find a harmless alternative.

He's used a variety of materials, the latest being hardware cloth. The stuff tears his gloves and cuts his hands -- and it's not working. The birds are able to break off enough of the metal bars to access the house. If you have suggestions for him, I'll pass them along. I know he would appreciate it.
Suzanne Krom
West Seattle
szkrom at drizzle dot com