The most effective way to get rid of blackbirds depends on where they’re causing problems. If they’re raiding your bird feeders, simple changes to feeder design and seed type can stop them within days. If they’re roosting on your property in large flocks, you’ll need a combination of physical deterrents, habitat changes, and sometimes chemical repellents. Before you start, it helps to know which birds you’re actually dealing with, because the legal rules differ significantly between species.
Know Which Birds You’re Dealing With
The term “blackbird” covers roughly 10 species of North American birds, including red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, brown-headed cowbirds, and Brewer’s blackbirds. European starlings, an introduced species, share similar behaviors and often flock alongside true blackbirds, so most people lump them together.
The distinction matters legally. Native blackbirds and grackles are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which means you cannot trap, kill, or disturb their nests without following federal rules. A Federal Depredation Order does allow people to take certain species, including grackles and crows, without a federal permit when they’re actively causing damage, but you must try nonlethal methods first each year before resorting to lethal control. For species not covered by that order, you need a Migratory Bird Depredation Permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
European starlings are the exception. As an invasive species, they receive no federal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Some states still regulate hunting seasons for starlings, so check your state and local laws before taking action. But in general, you have far more flexibility managing starlings than native blackbirds.
Stop Blackbirds at Your Bird Feeders
If your main frustration is blackbirds and starlings devouring everything you put out for cardinals and chickadees, the fix is straightforward: change what you offer and how you offer it.
Feeder Design
Caged feeders are the single most effective solution. These place a wire cage around the feeder with openings large enough for small songbirds to fly through but too small for blackbirds, grackles, and starlings. Cage-style guards are sold separately to fit over tube feeders, peanut feeders, and cylinder feeders. Smaller birds pass right through, and larger woodpeckers can reach food by extending their long necks and beaks through the cage. Blackbirds cannot.
Upside-down suet feeders force birds to cling beneath the feeder to eat. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees handle this easily, but starlings struggle with it enough that they often give up. Perchless “clingers only” feeders work on the same principle: with no ledge to sit on, blackbirds find them far less accessible than goldfinches and titmice do.
Seed and Food Choices
Switching your seed type can be just as effective as changing the feeder itself:
- Safflower seed: The hard shell is difficult for starlings and most blackbirds to crack. Cardinals, house finches, and doves love it. For this to work, safflower must be the only seed in the feeder. Mixing it with other seeds defeats the purpose.
- In-shell peanuts: Starlings lack the beak strength to crack hard peanut shells, so whole peanuts attract jays, woodpeckers, and titmice without drawing starlings.
- Pure rendered suet: Suet with no added nuts or fruit has very little appeal to starlings. If you’ve been using flavored suet cakes, switching to plain suet can make a noticeable difference.
- Sunflower chips: Not a starling favorite. While they may eat some, straight sunflower chips slow them down considerably compared to mixed seed blends.
Deterrents for Yards and Buildings
When blackbirds are roosting on your roof, nesting in eaves, or gathering in trees by the hundreds, feeder tricks won’t solve the problem. You need to make the entire area less attractive.
Bird Netting
Professional-grade bird netting with 1-1/8 inch mesh is the right size to exclude starlings, grackles, and blackbirds while still being nearly invisible from a distance. This mesh size is specifically designed for medium-sized birds; larger mesh meant for pigeons won’t stop them. High-density polyethylene netting can last up to a decade when properly installed, making it a worthwhile investment for covering loading docks, warehouse openings, building alcoves, fruit trees, or any structure where blackbirds roost or nest.
For smaller areas like garden beds or berry bushes, lightweight garden netting works fine as long as the mesh is tight enough. Drape it over the plants and secure the edges at ground level so birds can’t slip underneath.
Visual and Sound Deterrents
Reflective tape, predator decoys (owls, hawks), and spinning reflective devices can discourage blackbirds from settling in an area. The key with visual deterrents is moving them every few days. Blackbirds are intelligent and habituate quickly to anything that stays in one spot. A plastic owl that hasn’t moved in a week becomes part of the scenery.
Sound deterrents range from ultrasonic devices to recordings of predator calls and blackbird distress calls. Distress calls tend to be more effective than random noise because they trigger an instinctive flight response. These work best in agricultural settings or large properties where the noise won’t bother neighbors.
Chemical Repellents
Several chemical bird repellents are registered for use in the United States. The most relevant active ingredients include methyl anthranilate (a grape-flavored compound that irritates birds’ sensory nerves), anthraquinone, and capsaicin. These are classified as “primary repellents,” meaning birds reflexively withdraw from them on contact rather than needing to learn to avoid them over time.
Methyl anthranilate is commonly used as both a surface treatment and an area repellent. It can be applied to turf, crops, standing water, and structures. Anthraquinone is typically used as a seed or bait treatment to protect newly planted crops. Capsaicin-based products are sometimes added to birdseed specifically to deter squirrels and large birds while leaving smaller songbirds unaffected (most birds don’t have capsaicin receptors, but the coating still discourages some species through texture). These products are available through agricultural suppliers and pest control companies.
Reduce What Attracts Them
Blackbirds and starlings gather where food and shelter are easy to find. Removing those attractants is often the most sustainable long-term solution, even if it takes longer to show results than a deterrent device.
Keep garbage in sealed containers. Pick up fallen fruit from trees promptly. If you have livestock, store feed in enclosed bins and clean up spillage, as cattle feedlots and horse barns are magnets for starling flocks. Trim dense ornamental shrubs and trees where large numbers of birds roost at night. Thinning the canopy makes the roosting site feel less protected, and many flocks will relocate on their own.
Standing water is another draw. Birdbaths and decorative ponds attract blackbirds just as they attract songbirds. If you’re trying to discourage blackbirds specifically, removing open water sources during peak season (late summer and fall, when flocks are largest) can help reduce traffic.
Timing and Persistence Matter
Blackbird pressure is seasonal. Flocks are smallest during breeding season in spring and early summer, when pairs spread out to nest. The real problems start in late summer and fall, when birds gather into enormous roosting flocks that can number in the thousands. Winter roosts in the southern United States can be even larger.
No single method works perfectly on its own. The most successful approach combines multiple strategies: caged feeders with safflower seed, netting over vulnerable areas, visual deterrents that you rotate regularly, and habitat modification to remove easy food sources. Start with the nonlethal options. For native blackbird species, the law requires it. For all species, it’s usually the most practical path anyway, since killing individual birds does little to reduce a flock that may include thousands of members spread across a wide area.