Greetings:Anybody out there have to deal with quail in the garden.A large flock lives nearby and will completely destroy my garden,if I don't cover it with netting,etc.A real pain in the neck,when hoeing.I can't shoot them,as where I live is citified to the extent that these garden pests are called "cute" and Safeway is close at hand,convenient to pop in for some poisoned produce.Anyone have to deal with these devils? Thank You

-- Ken Davis (Pike8888@aol.com), December 08, 2000

Answers

Quail are easy to trap and good to eat even if they are small. Get a net with 1 1/2" to 2" weave made out of thin line, like fishing line. The idea is to tangle them in the net. Set the net so they will fly into it when disturbed off your bait. Flush them, take them out of net, wring necks and eat.

-- JLS in NW AZ (stalkingbull007@AOL.com), December 08, 2000.

I'll take some!Here we have one flock of abt.15.When Nick put down the cover crop seed one evening, the next day they were in the garden eating the seed.I swear they had watched him. They didn't eat too much though, and moved on.

What are they eating in your garden?For rabbits in the peas I put chicken wire over the bed till the peas are big enough to not be bothered.Then I can remove the the wire.

Also mulch heavily to avoid weed problem,so you don't have to hoe.

Finally live funnel traps are available for trapping and relocating them9or eating them) .Nick said he thinks it would illegal to poison them bc they are a game bird.And,there are reg's to follow to keep from getting into legal trouble. Also, the poison is not discriminate.It will poison a variety of birds.He also said put up nestboxes for hawks and owls,as well.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 08, 2000.

In Texas I lived on a certified bird hunting ranch. We had to buy quail for hunts since the fireants have killed off all the native quail. It is a shame these quail are being pests....I sure do miss seeing wild ones. Anyhow the way we would recapture quail after a hunt is to put a catch cage down. This trap has a funnel leading in. Sprinkle scratch grains on the ground around and under the wire cage. You ought to catch your quail quickly. Once you have one in the cage it will call the rest.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), December 08, 2000.