Indian Myna Control Program

Dung Beetle field day

The revised Indian Myna Control Project Handbook is now available.

This informative booklet will be provided to all trappers. For your free copy please contact Hastings Landcare or your local community contact person. This handbook was funded by the NSW Environmental Trust, Holiday Coast Credit Union, Port Macquarie Hastings Council and supported by NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Landcare, Coffs Harbour City Council, Bellingen Shire Council, Northern Rivers CMA and Nambucca Shire Council.

The Indian Myna Acridotheres tristis (also known as the Common Myna) was introduced into Australia in the late 1860s to control insects but has since become a huge problem in cities and urban centres along the Eastern seaboard. Indian Mynas compete for nesting hollows with native birds, destroying their eggs and chicks and interrupting natural breeding. They will also evict small mammals from their hollows leaving them potentially unusable due to their messy nesting habits. The Indian Myna is listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as one of the worlds top 100 most invasive species, of which only 3 are birds.

Indian Mynas can pose a threat to human health, especially if they nest in your roof where they can start a bird mite infestation in your house, which is highly unpleasant and can last up to 3 weeks.

A new two year program to control the spread of the pest bird Indian Myna has begun in the Hastings and Camden Haven, which will build on the previous funding.
Hastings and Macleay Landcare organisations were jointly successful in securing funds from the Environmental Trust to run an education and eradication program in the Macleay and Hastings areas. Project officer Justine Elder has been employed to run the program, which will focus on monitoring the spread of the birds, and establishing local Action groups in Indian Myna hot spots to trap and remove the birds.
It is relatively easy to distinguish between the Australian native Noisy Miner and the imported menace. Indian Mynas are brown with a black head and a yellow beak, eye and legs. (insert Pictures)
If you think you have Indian Mynas then why not become part of our monitoring program.
There are many things that individuals can do to reduce the numbers.
These include:
•             Making sure food scraps, pet food, and native bird feeders are not available to them.
•             Blocking holes in roofs & eaves to deny Mynas roosting sites.
•             Removing exotic trees with dense foliage such as palms and conifers
•             Planting natives to encourage native birds.
Justine will be running a series of workshops throughout the valley to train volunteers in the art of trapping. Under the trapping program, volunteers will be trained to catch the menace birds in specially designed traps and euthanise them in a humane manner. Any native birds which enter the traps are promptly released unharmed. Spring and Summer is the best trapping time, as Mynas form breeding pairs and look for nesting sites, and gather in family groups of 6 to 12 to look for food.
If you have noticed Indian Mynas in your neighbourhood, and would like to be involved in the monitoring or trapping program, please call Project Officer Justine Elder at Hastings Landcare on 0428 864 465.
The community needs to work together if we are to protect and maintain our local biodiversity and our peace of mind. Your input is most appreciated.
For further information please follow the link www.indianmynaproject.com.au.

The following pictures will assist you in clearly identifying the  Indian Myna vs the Noisy Miner

Indian Myna Noisy Miner

Further Information

Trap Designs