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Otago Witness, Issue 4042, 1 September 1931, Page 16

When blackbirds and thrushes ignore most life-like scarecrows to the extent of perching on them, and calmly disregard the jangle of tinware contraptions, the suburban strawberry grower thinks hard of new methods of waging war on the songsters. “ Mouse traps are the best,”' said an Auckland strawberry grower the other day (states the Star). He explained that His method was to set small break-back wire mouse traps, each baited with a red, luscious strawberry. It was, he said, a fatal attraction. During last strawberry season he accumulated dead blackbirds and thrushes at the rate of dozens a day, until most of the surrounding districts seemed to be cleared of the feathed pests. “And as soon as the strawberries begin to ripen in the coming season,” he added, “ I will have all my strawberry-baited traps ready again.”