[Dave]

No, not custard and ice cream, but birds that come to excavate a brick
wall. I have had an e mail from a friend who is having problems with
birds that are attacking his house wall. He said they were sparrows, but
to my eyes they are black with a white chest and a flash line of white
similar to that a sparrow has on its shoulder/wing.
What they are doing is pecking at the brick work and eroding it.

Anyone got any ideas?

Dave

[Cerberus .]

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:04:17 +0100, Dave wrote:

No, not custard and ice cream, but birds that come to excavate a brick
wall. I have had an e mail from a friend who is having problems with
birds that are attacking his house wall. He said they were sparrows, but
to my eyes they are black with a white chest and a flash line of white
similar to that a sparrow has on its shoulder/wing.
What they are doing is pecking at the brick work and eroding it.

Anyone got any ideas?

Dave


He could try putting a silhouette of a hawk on the wall to scare them off.

Don.

[dennis@home]

"mike" wrote in message
...

She is
the same fruitcake that won't have her 70' (yes SEVENTY foot) ash tree
pruned

What's wrong with a 70 foot tree?

[Andy Hall]

On 2008-06-11 23:56:43 +0100, "dennis@home"
said:



"mike" wrote in message
...

She is
the same fruitcake that won't have her 70' (yes SEVENTY foot) ash tree
pruned

What's wrong with a 70 foot tree?

Nothing as long as it's a very long way from any houses. It has a
root spread at least as much as its height.

[dennis@home]

"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:4850d02c@qaanaaq...
On 2008-06-11 23:56:43 +0100, "dennis@home"
said:



"mike" wrote in message
...

She is
the same fruitcake that won't have her 70' (yes SEVENTY foot) ash tree
pruned

What's wrong with a 70 foot tree?

Nothing as long as it's a very long way from any houses. It has a
root spread at least as much as its height.



Pruning won't reduce that spread.

[Bob Mannix]

"Dave" wrote in message
...
No, not custard and ice cream, but birds that come to excavate a brick
wall. I have had an e mail from a friend who is having problems with birds
that are attacking his house wall. He said they were sparrows, but to my
eyes they are black with a white chest and a flash line of white similar
to that a sparrow has on its shoulder/wing.
What they are doing is pecking at the brick work and eroding it.

Anyone got any ideas?


They sound like House Martins who can build nests under the eaves of houses
out of mud. If they are doing this they are quite nice really and you are
quite lucky as the prefer non-urban environments


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

[George \(dicegeorge\)]

I thought that pruning does stop the roots growing.

The tree tries to balance roots and branches
so if a lot of branches are pruned off
it will put all its effort into growing above ground.

Am i right or wrong?

(pruning also reduces the shade / shadows !)

[g]


What's wrong with a 70 foot tree?

Nothing as long as it's a very long way from any houses. It has a root
spread at least as much as its height.


Pruning won't reduce that spread.

[Rod]

George (dicegeorge) wrote:
I thought that pruning does stop the roots growing.

The tree tries to balance roots and branches
so if a lot of branches are pruned off
it will put all its effort into growing above ground.

Am i right or wrong?

(pruning also reduces the shade / shadows !)

But pruning branches doesn't shrink its existing root spread - even if
were not to grows any more roots at all.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

[dennis@home]

"Rod" wrote in message
...
George (dicegeorge) wrote:
I thought that pruning does stop the roots growing.

The tree tries to balance roots and branches
so if a lot of branches are pruned off
it will put all its effort into growing above ground.

Am i right or wrong?

(pruning also reduces the shade / shadows !)

But pruning branches doesn't shrink its existing root spread - even if
were not to grows any more roots at all.

But it does alter its water usage and may cause ground shift where the roots
are.

[Rod]

dennis@home wrote:


"Rod" wrote in message
...
George (dicegeorge) wrote:
I thought that pruning does stop the roots growing.

The tree tries to balance roots and branches
so if a lot of branches are pruned off
it will put all its effort into growing above ground.

Am i right or wrong?

(pruning also reduces the shade / shadows !)

But pruning branches doesn't shrink its existing root spread - even if
were not to grows any more roots at all.

But it does alter its water usage and may cause ground shift where the
roots are.

Absolutely. But I couldn't decide whether the overall effect would be to
increase or decrease water uptake - so I made no comment on that.
Whichever it does (or even if it does not change the actual amount one
jot), the root spread will not be reduced by pruning branches.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

[The Natural Philosopher]

Rod wrote:
George (dicegeorge) wrote:
I thought that pruning does stop the roots growing.

The tree tries to balance roots and branches
so if a lot of branches are pruned off
it will put all its effort into growing above ground.

Am i right or wrong?

(pruning also reduces the shade / shadows !)

But pruning branches doesn't shrink its existing root spread - even if
were not to grows any more roots at all.

However it DRASTICALLY reduces the water uptake, which in many cases is
what affects the subsidence.