I'd hate to try to net 100 apple trees. The cost would be huge. I agree a shotgun probably won't be a long term fix either. Gala If you're serious about protecting your apples, you're going to have to trap the starlings. When I used to farm, we had a real problem w/ sparrows and starlings all year round. These trash birds go after loose grain on the ground and can carry diseases detrimental to hogs. Some naturalists don't even like these birds because they crowd out less competitive species. Sparrows were particularly thick at the farm. There were hundreds of them nesting under the eaves of buildings, or anyplace else that was sheltered. I tried trapping them with one of the small box nest type traps and it was a waste of money. I think I caught three birds over several months. Eventually, I bought the type of trap listed in the link below. The trap was very expensive (something like $300 fifteen years ago, and I think that included shipping) but it really worked. It would catch 25-30 sparrows every few days. And the trap never caught non-target birds. Apparently, trapped sparrows and starlings "call" their brethern into the trap. The man who sold it to me said the large size of the trap was the key. The only difference between their sparrow trap and their starling trap was the size of the opening to let the birds in. Starlings are larger birds, and so need a larger opening. Our problem was more with sparrows, so we used the smaller opening. If interested, and you're handy at making things, I can tell you from memory how to build this trap, which was an incredibly simple design. You could probably save a little money building it yourself. Here is a link that might be useful: Sparrow/Starling trap

My bluebird house hole is 1-3/8 inches. We went and measured it again last night to double check. My husband said he could put some kind of metal ring around the hole to see if that would work. And if you are thinking....Are you sure that's a starling that is getting in that small of hole in a BB house? It's unbelievable to see, but yep, it sure is! We have been bluebirding for awhile, but we have never had any problems with starlings before. It is a first. We have had great success with all bluebird nesting so far. Last year, we had 7 beautiful little bluebirds. They are so fun to watch splashing in the birdbath.

I don't have any problems with squirrels, but they can't get past the plastic discs that hang above my feeders. All my feeders hang from trees and are at least 6' off the ground. As for the Starlings and Grackles, they were having a field day at my platform feeder and big suet feeder. I replaced the platform with an upside down suet feeder they can't access like this (though at half the price): http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Choice-Single-Upside-Feeder/dp/B0012SCNBI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top So far, it looks like the other birds aren't too interested in dining down under either. I put my Nyjer feeder back in place of the bigger suet feeder, and the unpleasant birds are left with no feeders they can access. They still hang around on the ground, but not nearly as many. I see them working for their worm and grub meals on my lawn more often now. vince This post was edited by farmboy1 on Mon, May 5, 14 at 23:49

Lucky for me starlings are only an occasional problem in my yard. Hordes fly in, stay a week or so and vanish. When they come I use a recycled recycled plastic upside-down feeder like this: (from Suet Bird Feeders) I am loving the recycled plastic over wood, it's so easy to clean and you can even use bleach against mold. Don't think I haven't done a load of bird feeders in my dishwasher. BUT it's not perfectly starling proof - one starling will always figure it out. As an alternative I have a ground table feeder for starlings like this one: from Ground Table Bird Feeders. I use super cheap chicken feed cracked corn (was about $6 for a 50lb bag) and a super cheap millet/milo seed blend ($6 a 25lb bah) that I buy at a local feed store. The ground feeder is a lot easier for the starlings to use, plus they seem to prefer the corn food, so it at least keeps them busy and out of my other bird feeders to a great extent. They don't go through my pricey seed as fast. I've found offering starlings and grackle sort of birds alternative food works pretty well since they are going to be there no matter what I do. Jays also like the ground table.