I live out in the country, so I have had my full share of sparrows and their obnoxiousness. My brother and I used to hunt them with BB guns when we were younger.
The reason they have become such a problem for us is because they would go into our Purple Martin house and take up room for their own nests. Plus, sparrows are awful because they will literally peck the heads of other birds' offspring until they die. We don't like them because they're not as useful as other birds, like Mockingbirds, who eat plenty of bugs and attack snakes. Plus, anytime they make other nests around the house or in our open garage, it's a huge mess. They're just an all around nuisance.
We have tried shooting them, and trapping them worked pretty well for a while. Catching and releasing never works because they simply fly right back.
Have any of you had problems with bothersome sparrows? How did you get rid of them?