 If
you find a bird stuck in a glue trap, the first thing you need to do is
calm the bird by covering its' eyes with a cloth or your hand.
Quickly cover the open areas of the glue trap with tissues or a napkin
to stop the bird from thrashing and gluing itself down further.
If this is a bat, they
are considered rabies vector species in New York State and you should
NOT handle under any circumstance. Please contact a rabies vector
species rehabilitator as soon as possible for further instruction.
Use cornstarch, flour or
baby powder to put around the gluey feathers of the bird. BE VERY
CAREFUL to cover the nostrils of the bird lightly with a tissue to act
as a mask. Inhaling the floating particles can kill the bird.
Use the powder to free up
the feathers and
remove the bird from the trap. Be careful to keep feathers
intact. Remember flight feathers on a bird which are damaged will
render the bird flightless. If you can not remove the bird
yourself, at this point, put the bird into a shoebox with air holes and
contact a wildlife rehabilitator for help immediately.
Once the bird is removed
from the glue trap, still covering the beak, lightly powder any sticky
feathers so that they do not stick to any other feathers. Place
the bird into a shoebox with air holes to relieve it from the stress of
the ordeal. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator as soon as
possible. The rehabilitator will need to use Dawn Dish
Detergent to cut through the grease and remove the ruined
feathers. This is an even more stressful procedure for the
bird. Please get help as soon as possible. |
