Well many members of this family have been to exotic and warm places recently but they are choosing not to share the experience with the rest of us. So here is a blog that will bring you down to earth with a bump.
I love garden birds, a love that probably came from Mum. I have always been delighted that a family of starlings have chosen to nest under the eaves of our roof every year. They are positioned over the loo so they don't wake us with those 4.30am feeds in mid June. They vacate the nest in the late summer but occasionally shelter in the loft when it is very cold. Trev did a brilliant recreation of "The Birds" when he went to put something in the loft one evening and startled the starling. (Although unlike the film there was no eye gouging or rubbish acting).
However, we are now beginning to wonder if the starlings are such an honour.
When Kieran moved to Southampton we redecorated his room including changing his carpet. So over the summer when he and Alice were staying and Alice mentioned that she thought she saw some beetles in the carpet, I was convinced that it was simply the carpet settling down. Why would creatures be in this brand new carpet. Erin has a 20 year old carpet in a fairly appalling state. Infact whenever you try to vacuum in there the hoover hangs back and starts crying!
However at Xmas Alice mentioned it again and I had to admit that she was right (and that probably she has made a mental note to definitely not take us in when we are in our dotage).
We attacked the black bugs with fly spray and that seemed to do the trick. However they have appeared again. A friend suggested that they could be carpet beetles. So I looked them up and apparently the likeliest source is sparrow or starling nests!
I think the existing structure will be demolished on Saturday in daylight but I don't think there is much we can do to stop the starling rebuilding it and if the nest is active it is against the law to remove it. I think if we remove it every autumn then hopefully it won't be full of so much ancient feathers and stuff. Hey ho Bill Oddie never mentioned this in Spring watch!
6 comments:
When Brian got rid of birds nests when doing up the cottage they didn't return. They obviously thought it was above their touch afterwards.
Hello! Just bloghopping. Great blog!
Happy blogging! :)
Ah well.....lets hope it does the trick.
Or you could just put less observant guests in that bedroom.
At least it's not rats like we had in our attic :(
Oh dear, what a cafuffle! I'm sorry my powers of observation are a little too acute. It comes from years of crawling into small spaces as a child and spending hours spotting creepy crawlies. We have crickets spawning somewhere around the flat in Southampton, they're much more of a menace! xxx
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