Photo: Woodpecker Killed By 'Misguided' Spotted Lanternfly Traps In BK
"They kill anything," an expert warned after glue traps near Brooklyn Army Terminal meant for invasive insects instead scores of birds. Quayle said the Wild Bird Fund has dealt with glue traps meant for rodents instead snaring birds in the past. But she said their use against spotted lanternflies is new, although she emphasized the group hasn't confirmed that's what Brooklyn Army Terminal intended. More information on circle traps can be found here. Such circle traps won't turn into the avian death traps that Valeri saw near Brooklyn Army Terminal — a field of trees studded with dead birds, struggling live ones and pulled-out feathers from others that somehow came loose.
Published : 2 years ago by Matt Troutman in Science
But when Valeri took a closer look, she saw something that left her "horrified": a live downy woodpecker struggling to escape a glue trap wrapped around the tree trunk. What Valeri stumbled onto wasn't art, it was an accidental avian slaughter caused by glue traps apparently meant to kill invasive spotted lanternflies.
"It was quite a grisly scene," she said.
Artist Sarah Valeri spotted a downy woodpecker stuck in a glue trap on a tree near Brooklyn Army Terminal. She rescued it, but the bird later died. (Courtesy of Sarah Valeri) Valeria, an artist and art therapist, rushed to rescue the woodpecker. But the bird later died, just like scores of others in what the Wild Bird Fund dubbed a "misguided pest control project."
New Yorkers have seen spotted lanternflies explode in numbers across the city this year as the sap-sucking insects flit through the air and swarm tree trunks with their bug orgies. Fears the lanternfly's spread could harm the state's grape vines prompted the city's parks department to issue a "one-time call": squish the bug on sight.
But experts have also warned New Yorkers against going overboard with measures that do more harm than good. Glue traps are one such step that's literally overkill, said Catherine Quayle, social media director for the Wild Bird Fund. “People should know that glue traps are indiscriminate, they kill anything that comes in contact with them,” she said. "We do not ever recommend using glue traps."
Quayle said the Wild Bird Fund has dealt with glue traps meant for rodents instead snaring birds in the past. But she said their use against spotted lanternflies is new, although she emphasized the group hasn't confirmed that's what Brooklyn Army Terminal intended.
Valeri, however, said she learned that's exactly what those traps were for — a case of good intentions gone wrong. "They were definitely there for lanternflies,” she said. "They were catching a ton of lanternflies, but also bees and moths and birds." The Wild Bird Fund instead recommends using a "circle trap" — essentially a plastic-coated tunnel that bugs walk into — to capture lanternflies. More information on circle traps can be found here. Such circle traps won't turn into the avian death traps that Valeri saw near Brooklyn Army Terminal — a field of trees studded with dead birds, struggling live ones and pulled-out feathers from others that somehow came loose.
And Quayle warned Good Samaritans against trying to remove the stuck birds from the glue traps themselves. She said the Wild Bird Fund recommends covering exposed sticky paper with paper towels and placing the entire package, bird and all, inside a ventilated container such as a cardboard box. People should bring those bird-filled containers to the Wild Bird Fund or a licensed wildlife rehabber, which can be found here. But even then the birds still aren't out of the woods, she said. "Even if you can rescue a bird stuck in a glue trap, they typically take a long time in captivity for the feathers to regrow,” she said. The woodpecker that Valeri tried to save likely died from stress, as did the other birds, Quayle said.