Made for permanent outdoor use. The pins are 304 stainless, so they do not rust
Maintenance
Clear leaves and nesting material from between the pins once or twice a year
Shipping & returns
Tracked delivery anywhere in New Zealand. Free on orders of $75 or more; below that the only method offered is Express Delivery at $25, which is also available above the threshold as a paid upgrade. Allow 5 to 7 days, after a 24 to 48 hour handling time.
We give you 14 days from delivery to change your mind on an unused item. That is our own policy, not a New Zealand statutory right, because there is no statutory cooling-off period for an online purchase here. Send it back unused and in resaleable condition and we refund what you paid for it. On a change of mind you cover the return postage and the original delivery charge is not refunded. If the item is faulty.
If it arrives faulty, damaged or not as described, we put it right at no cost to you under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, return postage included. That is a statutory right and nothing on this page limits it.
Sparrows carry nesting material about, so this is the run that fills up fastest. Clear it out annually or the packed material becomes the flat surface the spikes were fitted to remove.
For Narrow LedgesWhere a small bird has nowhere to go
304 StainlessThin pins, low profile, no rust
Honest About LimitsCavities need netting, not spikes
Not Protected HereThe house sparrow is introduced
About this product
Small birds are the honest hard case.
Stainless strips will keep a house sparrow off a narrow ledge, and they will not close a cavity. Read this page before you order, because for sparrows netting is often the right answer.
The house sparrow is an introduced bird in New Zealand and is not protected, which makes the legal side of this simple. The physical side is less simple.
A sparrow weighs about 30 grams and is small enough to settle between spike pins on a wide ledge, so spikes suit narrow surfaces where the pins fill the available space.
The strip is 304 stainless pins on a clear polycarbonate base, 500 mm long, giving 70 mm of protected width.
Fitting is a clean, dry surface and a good exterior sealant, or screws where there is something to screw into. Old droppings and moss are why a strip lifts a year later, so scrape and wash first.
Measure the whole run, divide by 50 cm and round up. A bare half metre at the end of a ledge is exactly where the birds will go.
This page exists to be useful rather than to sell you the wrong thing. Spikes are a large bird product. On a narrow sill, a pipe run or a sign top they will move a sparrow along, because there is nowhere left to stand. On a 250 mm ledge a sparrow will pick a gap between the pins and stay there.
Almost every serious sparrow problem is a cavity problem rather than a ledge problem. Sparrows nest in gaps: under lifted roof tiles, behind fascia boards, in a soffit vent, in the end of a corrugated roof sheet, in a broken air brick. Nothing you fix to a flat surface addresses that, and the fix is to close the gap after the nest is finished with, or to net the area.
So the honest order of preference for sparrows is: close the cavity first, net the space second, spike the narrow ledges third. If your sparrows are on a sill and nothing else, the strip on this page is the right buy and it will work. If they are going in under the eaves, please spend the money on netting instead.
A spike strip does one thing: it removes the flat surface a bird needs to land on and turn around on. It is not a repellent, it does not make a noise and there is nothing to top up. That is why it keeps working long after a decoy or a gel has stopped.
It also means placement decides the result. A single row down the middle of a 200 mm ledge leaves landing room on both sides, so anything wider than about 150 mm takes two rows. Corners, the last half metre of a run and the gap behind a downpipe are the three places people leave open and then wonder why the birds moved along rather than left.
On what these strips will not do: they are a surface treatment. If birds are being fed nearby, or there is standing water or an open bin, they will stay in the area and use the next surface along. Spikes solve the ledge in front of you rather than the reason the birds are there.
Still deciding?
Not sure yet? That is fine.
You can change your mind. We give you 14 days from delivery on any unused item. That is our own policy rather than a New Zealand statutory right, because there is no statutory cooling-off period for an online purchase here, and we would rather say so than imply a right you do not have. Send it back unused and in resaleable condition and we refund what you paid for it; on a change of mind you cover the return postage.
If it turns up faulty, damaged or not as described, that is on us. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 gives you a repair, a replacement or your money back, we pay the return postage, and nothing on this page limits that. Read the detail on our refunds and returns page, or ask us anything before you order.
On a narrow surface, yes, because there is nowhere left to stand. On a wide ledge a sparrow can settle between the pins, and we would rather tell you that before you order.
What counts as narrow?
Roughly speaking, a surface the 70 mm of pin coverage fills: a slim sill, a pipe run, the top edge of a sign, a slender beam.
What should I use on a wide ledge?
Netting, or gel on the parts a strip cannot sit on. Spikes on a wide ledge give sparrows a sheltered spot between the pins.
My sparrows are going in under the roof tiles.
Then this is not the product. That is a cavity, and the fix is to close it once the nest is finished with, or to net the eaves.
Are house sparrows protected in New Zealand?
No. The house sparrow is an introduced species and is not protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. Native birds are, along with their nests and eggs.
Can I remove a sparrow nest?
Legally, for an unprotected introduced species, yes. Practically, wait until it is finished with, then close the gap so they cannot rebuild.
When is the nesting season?
Broadly spring into summer, and sparrows often raise more than one brood, so the window for closing gaps is later than people expect.
Will spikes stop them nesting in a soffit vent?
No. A vent is a hole, not a perch. Fit a vent guard or net it.
Do sparrows damage anything?
The nest material does. It blocks gutters and vents and it is a fire consideration near a flue or a light fitting.
Will spikes work on a sign?
Yes. The top edge of a sign is narrow, which is exactly where spikes suit small birds.
What about on a security light or camera housing?
Yes, and it is a good use. Keep the pins clear of the lens and the sensor.
Can I use gel instead?
On a narrow moulding or a corbel, gel is often easier than a strip, and the two are commonly used together.
Will they harm a sparrow?
No. The pins are blunt at the tip. The bird finds nowhere to settle and moves on.
What if sparrows are already using the spikes as a nest base?
That is the packed debris problem. Clear the run out; once material has bridged the pins, the strip has effectively become a shelf.
How often should I clear them?
Once a year on a sparrow run, which is more often than most surfaces need.
Are they visible?
The base is clear and the pins are thin, so on a sill at height they are not obvious.
How many strips for a 3 metre sill?
Six, because each is half a metre.
Can I cut a strip to fit a short sill?
Yes, with a hacksaw through the base.
Which fixing on a painted timber sill?
Clean it, dry it and use a UV stabilised silicone adhesive. Screws split old sill timber more often than people expect.
Do they work in winter?
They are a physical barrier, so the season makes no difference to the product. It makes a difference to the birds' behaviour, not to the strip.
Will they stop starlings too?
Better than sparrows, because a starling is bigger. Starlings are also introduced and unprotected here.
What about wax eyes and fantails?
Those are native and protected, and they are not building pests. If a native bird is using a ledge, leave it be.
Do sparrows come back after I close a gap?
They will look for the next gap. Closing one hole in a soffit usually means going along and closing the rest.
Should I buy spikes and netting together?
If you have both a ledge and a cavity, yes, and that is a common combination on an older house.
Do you sell netting?
Yes, in two sizes, and for a sparrow problem it is often the better half of the order.
Do you install any of it?
No, we supply only.
Is there anything I need to know about New Zealand law?
Yes, and it is worth reading before you fit anything. Native birds are absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953, and that protection covers the nest and the eggs as well as the bird. Deterring a bird from a surface is lawful. Damaging an active nest is not. Fit outside the nesting season.
How much is delivery?
Free on orders over $75. Below that the only method offered is Express Delivery at $25, and there is no minimum order. Express is also available above $75 as a paid upgrade.
Can I return it if I ordered the wrong number of strips?
Yes. We give you 14 days from delivery to change your mind on any unused item. That is our own policy rather than a New Zealand statutory right, and it sits on top of your Consumer Guarantees Act rights, which are not affected.
Who do I ask if my question is not answered here?
Email theteam@birdspikes.co.nz. Tell us the bird, the surface and roughly how long the run is, and we can usually answer in one reply.
The complete guide
Small birds: what works, in order
5 min readBird Spikes Company
The honest order of preference
For sparrows, the ranking is: close the cavity, net the space, spike the narrow ledges. In that order. This page sells the third thing, and it is the third thing for a reason.
Why spikes struggle on small birds
A house sparrow weighs about thirty grams. It does not need to land, turn and settle the way a pigeon does; it can drop between spike pins and sit there quite comfortably, and on a wide ledge it will. Where spikes do work on small birds is a narrow surface where the seventy millimetres of pin coverage fills the available width and there is genuinely nowhere left to stand.
Slim sills, pipe runs, the top edge of a sign, a slender beam. Those are the wins.
Most sparrow problems are holes
Walk around the building and look up. Sparrows nest in gaps: a lifted roof tile, a gap behind a fascia board, a soffit vent, the open end of a run of corrugated roofing, a broken air brick. If the birds are going INTO something rather than standing ON something, nothing you fix to a flat surface will help.
The fix is to close the gap once the nest is finished with, or to net the area. Closing one hole usually means going along and closing the rest, because the next one is now the best one.
The law here is simple
The house sparrow is introduced and is not protected in New Zealand. So is the starling. That makes the timing question practical rather than legal: wait until the nest is done so you are not sealing anything in, then close it.
Silvereyes are native and protected, and they are worth learning to recognise before you start work.
Maintenance is not optional on a sparrow run
Sparrows carry material about. A spike run near a nesting area packs with it faster than anywhere else on a building, and once it has packed the strip is a shelf. Clear it annually.
If you only do one thing
Buy the netting. On a sparrow problem it is more often the right answer than the strips are, and we would rather you spent the money once.
Tell us the bird, the surface and roughly how long the run is, and we will tell you what suits it before you buy. Free delivery across New Zealand on orders over $75.
Anti-Sparrow Spikes sold by Bird Spikes Company at birdspikes.co.nz. Stainless steel spike
strips, 304 stainless pins on a clear polycarbonate base, 500 mm long, 115 mm pins, 70 mm
protected width, NZD 12 per 50 cm strip with no minimum. IMPORTANT LIMITATION stated on the page:
a house sparrow weighs about 30 grams and can settle BETWEEN pins on a wide ledge, so spikes suit
NARROW surfaces (sills, pipe runs, sign tops) and are not a reliable answer on a wide ledge. Most
serious sparrow problems are CAVITY problems rather than ledge problems - lifted roof tiles,
behind fascia, soffit vents, open ends of corrugated roof sheets, broken air bricks - and no
surface treatment addresses those; closing the gap after the nest is finished with, or netting the
area, is the correct fix. The store's stated order of preference is: close the cavity, then net,
then spike narrow ledges. The house sparrow is an INTRODUCED species in New Zealand and is not
protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. No effectiveness percentage, service life or warranty is
claimed. Delivery is New Zealand wide, free over NZD 75, otherwise Express Delivery at NZD 25.
