oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on May 9, 2022 15:51:23 GMT
Help! Does anyone have experience driving away an unwanted, stalker crow!?
DD is a young mama and has another one on the way. She does a lot of UberEats deliveries and twice now she's had this stupid effing crow eat her food before she can even get to the door!
When we were leaving her house yesterday we saw the crow sitting outside her front door just waiting.
I went to Amazon and they sell all kinds of gadgets like flashing lights/solar powered owl scares. Has anyone had any luck with any of these types of gadgets?
For now she's going to put out some sort of box for the deliveries to protect the food but she wants scare that creepy big crow away.
Anyone here dealt with this problem, I'd appreciate any tips or recommendations.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 9, 2022 15:58:44 GMT
Call local animal control, but I doubt they can do much. Crows are VERY smart. May well learn how to open the box, but might get stuck in it.
Sorry she is having to deal with the crow.
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Post by Mel on May 9, 2022 16:00:29 GMT
Have her put a cooler out so it can't open it and get trapped inside. Not sure what else she can do...
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Post by busy on May 9, 2022 16:03:59 GMT
Crows are smart and thus difficult to dissuade. This one has learned easy food can be had at your DD’s door, so it’s inclined to stick around. Having a secure container for deliveries will be the best thing - if it’s no longer a profitable place to be, the crow will eventually remove itself. But she should keep using the box because crows have excellent long-term memory and it’s likely to do fly-by checks of historically good feeding spots. If it see food out again, ir will be a chronic visitor again. In the meantime, the Humane Society has some tips that might help. www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-crowsSeriously, though, making sure there is no longer ever any high value food for it to eat there is going to be the best course of action. Did i mention crows are smart and have long memories? Animal control isn’t going to do a thing about a crow eating food left on porches. Also, fake owls etc will not work. With other birds, maybe, but crows - nope. Reflective tape is the most like to work because it hangs loose and moves in unpredictable ways. Anything with a clear pattern, like the sound machines, lights, etc will be picked up on by the crows as artificial and not a threat.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 9, 2022 16:14:58 GMT
How about a bag with just crumpled paper in it for while... Nothing edible though.
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Post by littlemama on May 9, 2022 16:22:07 GMT
I have a note on my grocery delivery app not to leave the food without ringing the doorbell (for squirrel related reasons). Door Dash, I keep an eye out for them and meet them at the door.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 9, 2022 16:46:32 GMT
A bag of rocks... Won't fly away...
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Post by mollycoddle on May 9, 2022 16:48:59 GMT
A box with a lid should fix the problem.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on May 9, 2022 17:28:27 GMT
Crows are smart and thus difficult to dissuade. This one has learned easy food can be had at your DD’s door, so it’s inclined to stick around. Having a secure container for deliveries will be the best thing - if it’s no longer a profitable place to be, the crow will eventually remove itself. But she should keep using the box because crows have excellent long-term memory and it’s likely to do fly-by checks of historically good feeding spots. If it see food out again, ir will be a chronic visitor again. In the meantime, the Humane Society has some tips that might help. www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-crowsSeriously, though, making sure there is no longer ever any high value food for it to eat there is going to be the best course of action. Did i mention crows are smart and have long memories? Animal control isn’t going to do a thing about a crow eating food left on porches. Also, fake owls etc will not work. With other birds, maybe, but crows - nope. Reflective tape is the most like to work because it hangs loose and moves in unpredictable ways. Anything with a clear pattern, like the sound machines, lights, etc will be picked up on by the crows as artificial and not a threat. ah thank you, I read so many varied reviews on Amazon for all these gadgets I was suspicious, that's why I came to the Peas! I told DD to get a secure box that the crow can't get into and save her money on all those gadgets, because although she watches out for the driver's message that he's on his way, being pg and with a squirmy year old who's just started walking she can't move fast enough to get to the front door in time. That crow knows the dinner is served right at her front door so there won't be any way to get rid of him anytime soon. Its just so creepy with that huge bird just SITTING there, he wasn't even afraid of us all walking out, he barely moved! Smart little effer.
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,623
Oct 11, 2014 3:17:29 GMT
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Post by bethany102399 on May 9, 2022 17:30:16 GMT
I have now learned more than I ever wanted to know about Crows. Wow. I'm sorry OP I had no idea they were so smart.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on May 9, 2022 17:36:59 GMT
I have now learned more than I ever wanted to know about Crows. Wow. I'm sorry OP I had no idea they were so smart. right? ME TOO sister. I know they are an important part of the eco system yadda yadda but that little shit has quite a fondness for carne asada burritos!
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 9, 2022 17:38:43 GMT
I have now learned more than I ever wanted to know about Crows. Wow. I'm sorry OP I had no idea they were so smart. A crow can be taught to talk... About a 4 yr old!!
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J u l e e
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,531
Location: Cincinnati
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on May 9, 2022 17:44:18 GMT
I would be so mad if a crow ate my food! Twice! That’s awful!
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Post by Lexica on May 9, 2022 17:47:50 GMT
I agree with using an ice chest with a turning tab lock switch of some type. Crows are extremely smart and can recognize faces and remember them for years. And a crow can live to be 30 years old. They can use tools and teach other crows what they have learned. Before she gets a flock of crows at her door, place the ice chest, maybe with a couple of bricks inside for weight, and have the delivery drivers place the food inside. I wouldn't be surprised if the crow doesn't attempt to rob the delivery person before they put the food into the cooler, swooping near them to get them to drop the food.
An option to try until she can acquire a cooler is to put something out for the crow on the opposite of her house to keep it occupied. Crows will eat fruit, seeds, peanuts, etc. I would toss a handful of peanuts, grapes, crackers, or something out in the backyard right before the order is to arrive. Hopefully, the crow will prefer that to whatever she is ordering. And yes, it will start to expect food to be placed in the backyard. I personally love birds so I would go ahead and start feeding it away from the front door. But having a small child, that might not be a good idea because the bird may swoop down and scare her child whenever it enters the backyard.
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Post by CardBoxer on May 9, 2022 18:05:13 GMT
Cooler or box with lid that can’t easily be pushed off. Gotta admire a bird who recognizes food delivery and has a plan. Bird nerd here. Crows are pretty brilliant. They make tools to get treats or bugs, use jar lids to slide down roofs (wheee), much more. They recognize faces too. During a study people wearing halloween masks climbed ladders to crows’ nests and maybe banded nestlings, but didn’t hurt them. The crows quickly began warning each other when the people in the study would first leave the building wearing the masks. They’d circle around them, go to their cars. Other crows learned to sound the alarm the next semester or year—even though the mask wearing stopped for a good amount of time. They passed on the knowledge to the next generation too. Lots of videos about studies and sliding crows if your daughter might be interested in seeing coolness rather than creepiness, though I get that some are afraid of birds. One crow used to fly to our deck to get a snack when I called her. Sometimes she’d follow from tree to tree when I walked our dog. Once I was holding a little can of mealworms to put into a bluebird cage feeder on the deck. and she cautiously sidled over on the rail and tried to pull the can out of my hand. There were tons of crows but she was the only one who wanted contact; someone else must have interacted with her. Crows sometimes leave gifts—shiny objects they find—for people who regularly feed them. ETA Yes to Lexica ’s post. I hadn’t read it before I posted.
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Post by katlady on May 9, 2022 18:21:12 GMT
I love crows/ravens. We get quite a few in our neighborhood. But, they can be a nuisance. It kind of surprises me that they can make off with the daughter's packaged food! I hope she can find a solution!
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Post by Zee on May 9, 2022 18:30:21 GMT
Crows are really smart and there's probably not much she can do other than to put a box out there for deliveries. And he'll learn how to open it unless it has a good strong latch!
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on May 9, 2022 19:05:13 GMT
I would be so mad if a crow ate my food! Twice! That’s awful! yes! She's a craving preggo mama too, she cried over her stolen burrito and then called back to order another
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on May 9, 2022 19:08:37 GMT
Holy cow what an educational thread! I mean, I knew crows had a reputation for being smart..but these stories I'm sitting here going 'whoa..'. Funny, at DD's condo before they bought this house they had a lovely patio set up with string lights etc. The first time they tried to entertain out there a killer hummingbird attacked them and they had to relocate indoors because this bird would not let them be! The next day DD found a nest so they stayed away for a while and then after some time she cleaned up only to have the hummingbird come back and start attacking again so she gave up.
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Post by hop2 on May 9, 2022 19:09:17 GMT
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Post by 950nancy on May 9, 2022 19:12:46 GMT
Crows are something else. Yesterday we were sitting outside and my husband tried to shoo away a busybody crow. I happen to love crows and was delighted that he was so friendly or unafraid. After my husband talked to him, he went to one of our aspen trees and proceeded to break off small branches and toss them on the ground. After about half a dozen broken branches, he cawed and flew away. We have a gang of them in the neighborhood and this guy is my fav.
Now if one had stolen my burrito as a pregnant lady? I would be out for vengeance. You don't mess with a pregnant lady's food.
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Post by 950nancy on May 9, 2022 19:13:54 GMT
Holy cow what an educational thread! I mean, I knew crows had a reputation for being smart..but these stories I'm sitting here going 'whoa..'. Funny, at DD's condo before they bought this house they had a lovely patio set up with string lights etc. The first time they tried to entertain out there a killer hummingbird attacked them and they had to relocate indoors because this bird would not let them be! The next day DD found a nest so they stayed away for a while and then after some time she cleaned up only to have the hummingbird come back and start attacking again so she gave up. I was just telling my husband yesterday that crows will sometimes become friendly with a person who has saved them and the crow will bring them "gifts."
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Post by monklady123 on May 9, 2022 19:22:54 GMT
This has been a fascinating thread! I knew crows were smart but never really paid attention to details. Thanks oh yvonne for the thread, although I'm sorry we've learned it at your dd's expense! Hopefully a cooler or other box/bin with lid will solve the problem.
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muggins
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
Jul 30, 2017 3:38:57 GMT
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Post by muggins on May 9, 2022 19:33:01 GMT
I hate crows. There are thousands of them in Tokyo, especially in our local park. All trash needs to be placed in bins made of plastic netting, otherwise crows will rip open the plastic bags and scatter the trash all over the street looking for food. They are a nuisance. I really don’t know why the city doesn’t cull them. And as people have said, they’re smart and can remember faces. There are many stories of people who have shooed away crows from their balconies or trash, only to be attacked by them when entering or leaving their apartment. A big cooler with a heavy lid should solve your daughter’s problem.
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Post by CardBoxer on May 9, 2022 19:43:32 GMT
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Post by CardBoxer on May 9, 2022 19:48:30 GMT
I hate crows. There are thousands of them in Tokyo, especially in our local park. All trash needs to be placed in bins made of plastic netting, otherwise crows will rip open the plastic bags and scatter the trash all over the street looking for food. They are a nuisance. I really don’t know why the city doesn’t cull them. And as people have said, they’re smart and can remember faces. There are many stories of people who have shooed away crows from their balconies or trash, only to be attacked by them when entering or leaving their apartment. A big cooler with a heavy lid should solve your daughter’s problem. Crows will dive bomb to drive people away. We destroy so much wildlife habitat so problems occur. Crows trained to pick up cigarette butts youtu.be/U3julrRxEWQCrows trained to pick up trash in park youtu.be/zk644QrklNE
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Post by Lexica on May 9, 2022 19:55:12 GMT
Cooler or box with lid that can’t easily be pushed off. Gotta admire a bird who recognizes food delivery and has a plan. Bird nerd here. Crows are pretty brilliant. They make tools to get treats or bugs, use jar lids to slide down roofs (wheee), much more. They recognize faces too. During a study people wearing halloween masks climbed ladders to crows’ nests and maybe banded nestlings, but didn’t hurt them. The crows quickly began warning each other when the people in the study would first leave the building wearing the masks. They’d circle around them, go to their cars. Other crows learned to sound the alarm the next semester or year—even though the mask wearing stopped for a good amount of time. They passed on the knowledge to the next generation too. Lots of videos about studies and sliding crows if your daughter might be interested in seeing coolness rather than creepiness, though I get that some are afraid of birds. One crow used to fly to our deck to get a snack when I called her. Sometimes she’d follow from tree to tree when I walked our dog. Once I was holding a little can of mealworms to put into a bluebird cage feeder on the deck. and she cautiously sidled over on the rail and tried to pull the can out of my hand. There were tons of crows but she was the only one who wanted contact; someone else must have interacted with her. Crows sometimes leave gifts—shiny objects they find—for people who regularly feed them. ETA Yes to Lexica ’s post. I hadn’t read it before I posted. CardBoxer , you and I could be great friends! I also love birds. I had a wonderful cockatoo when I was first married. I loved that bird. Then after I divorced and was raising my son, I started finding baby birds in my yard. Starlings. I know most people consider them pests, but we loved them. We would feed them and when they were fully feathered, let them fly away. Then one day we found two babies that were not yet ready to fly in my front yard as we were on the way to take my son to school one morning. Of course, we had to bring them into the house and put them in front of the vent to keep them warm. We fed those babies until they were fully feathered and capable of flying, just like all the others. I kept them in a cage that I would put outside my upstairs window so that the mom bird knew they were alive and safe. When they were capable of flying (we tossed them between us to strengthen their wings) I wired the door of the cage open to let them go with the mom, who had remained around for the weeks that this process took. I put the cage out of my window again. One bird accompanied her to the tree in my front yard. The other bird hopped around on the roof a bit, then returned to the cage. I kept him for a few more weeks. I took him outside every day to let him hop around the tree and get used to being outside. His mom would fly to the tree and encourage him to follow her, but he wouldn't. I guess he bonded with me instead of her. We named him Fluffer because he was a ball of fluff when we found them. Fluffer lived with us for several more years. He would fly around the neighborhood and return to fly into my bedroom window when I whistled for him. That bird had so much personality. He learned to mimic my house sounds - the squeaking of my cabinets opening, the noise the refrigerator made, my dogs barking, me telling my dogs not to bark, and the most annoying sound - the telephone ringing. I can't tell you the number of times I was swimming laps in the pool and heard the phone ring. I quickly swam to the edge and scrambled out of the pool to answer the phone. No one was there. Then I would see Fluffer sitting on the back of a chair and he would "ring" again. I'm sure he had no idea that the noise would summon me from the water, but it sure felt like he was pranking me. We would put out a big bowl of water for him to bathe in. And he would steal things that appealed to him and stash them in one of his cages. I wore toe rings and he was so frustrated that he couldn't get them off of my toes. He would try, then get irritated and peck at my feet. It was so funny. When anything shiny was missing, we knew to go check both his flight cage and indoor cage. He was put out every day to fly around the neighborhood. I often told my son that he might meet a girl bird and not return and that we shouldn't be sad about that. Then one day he didn't come to my whistle. I got up several times that night to try to call him in. This went on for 4 days. I figured he wasn't coming back. As much as I mentally knew this might happen, I was so saddened. Then I was in the backyard to do some yard work and as I was kneeling down at one of the flowerbeds, I heard "hello" coming from next door. I recognized that voice immediately. Fluffer! He was in the neighbor's tree. I called him and he came flying over to land in front of me. I immediately fed him because I had been worried about whether or not he was finding adequate food, even though I had been leaving a bowl of seeds out for him at my bedroom window. He ate and I gave him his bowl of water for his daily bath. He drank and hopped into the bowl to splash water everywhere with an enthusiastic bath. My son was overjoyed when he came home from school to find Fluffer in his flight cage in the backyard. We got so much enjoyment out of that little guy. There was one incident where I was washing dishes in the kitchen and Fluffer was outside in his flight cage. Fortunately the cage door was closed. I heard him squawking and flapping around and went to the door to see a huge hawk hanging onto the side of the cage trying to get at Fluffer. I thought just seeing me at the door would scare it off but it didn't budge. I went back into the kitchen and grabbed a large cutting board. I opened the door just enough to fit my hand out and used the cutting board to pry the hawk off of Fluffer's cage. It took several tries. I also tried hitting at the hawk with the dish towel from my shoulder. It didn't flinch. This entire time I was trying to get the hawk away from Fluffer's cage, Fluffer was pecking at the hawk's huge talons and squawking at it. I was so afraid he would get caught by those sharp talons and be killed before I could get the hawk off the cage. I stopped putting him in the flight cage unless I was home. I was just thankful that he wasn't flying loose at that moment. Fluffer remained with us for many years until he eventually passed away from old age. So yeah, I have a deep love and respect for birds. I would be befriending that crow, but I understand that having a child that young around a bird that big might be fearful. When I was about 10, we had a crow die in our backyard. It flew to the grass and just sat there. Suddenly dozens of other crows came and filled the trees and electric wires around the yard, calling out to the crow on the ground. That is what got my attention. There had to be 100 crows gathered around the backyard, cawing and cawing at the bird. Mom wouldn't let me go back there for fear of getting hurt and really, we had no idea how to help. The crows stayed for about a half hour while this crow on the ground became weaker and eventually died. As soon as it died, they all flew off. It was instant. They knew. Of course, I was standing at my mom's bedroom window watching and crying because I couldn't help. At dinner that night we decided the crow that died was the king and all the others were his subjects. Mom did allow me to bury the king of the crows in our planter as long as I put on a pair of plastic gloves. I made it a box and my sisters and I had a bird funeral for it. It really impressed me that the birds knew the instant the bird on the ground was dead. It had stopped moving many times, but was still alive. How they realized it was actually dead and not just stopping like before, I will never know.
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muggins
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
Jul 30, 2017 3:38:57 GMT
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Post by muggins on May 10, 2022 4:08:45 GMT
I hate crows. There are thousands of them in Tokyo, especially in our local park. All trash needs to be placed in bins made of plastic netting, otherwise crows will rip open the plastic bags and scatter the trash all over the street looking for food. They are a nuisance. I really don’t know why the city doesn’t cull them. And as people have said, they’re smart and can remember faces. There are many stories of people who have shooed away crows from their balconies or trash, only to be attacked by them when entering or leaving their apartment. A big cooler with a heavy lid should solve your daughter’s problem. Crows will dive bomb to drive people away. We destroy so much wildlife habitat so problems occur. Crows trained to pick up cigarette butts youtu.be/U3julrRxEWQCrows trained to pick up trash in park youtu.be/zk644QrklNEAbsolutely. I’ve heard of a few people who have moved apartments due to being targeted by crows. I just walked through the local park and there are hundreds all over the place. There are estimated to be between 20k - 100k crows in Tokyo. They breed very quickly as they thrive on the amount of garbage available in such a densely populated city. www.tokyoweekender.com/2017/07/the-misunderstood-crows-of-tokyo-why-they-dont-deserve-their-bad-boy-image/
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,804
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 10, 2022 5:07:49 GMT
I’d suggest a slingshot and a few marbles.
I’m not generally in favor of hurting animals but crows are a nuisance,
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Post by revirdsuba99 on May 10, 2022 5:15:45 GMT
They also carry West Nile Virus.
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