Putting up bird feeders and boxes is essential if you want to attract feathered friends to your garden. The feeders give them food sources, while the boxes provide a safe place for nesting.
Once they are up, you must also maintain them by regular cleaning, and this blog is a guide to that task.
Cleaning feeders
The first step in cleaning your feeders is to empty out any food that is left in them. This usually means bird seed or nuts.
Then, you should wash them thoroughly inside and out using warm water with either soap or a disinfectant. Give them a real soaking in a bucket of this, and use a small brush to scrub them if you need to remove stubborn bits of food. Then, rinse the feeders off in clean water and leave them out to dry in the air.
Cleaning empty nest boxes
Put on rubber gloves and clear all nesting materials from the box. Then, start the cleaning process by pouring water all over it.
The water for bird boxes must be boiling hot, rather than warm. This will ensure all parasites that may have got into the box are killed off. Do not use disinfectant – just scalding hot water.
Again, you may need to scrub the box using a sponge to make sure it is clean. Let it dry in the air before adding fresh wood shavings and hay, closing it tightly once finished.
Be sure to give these methods a try when cleaning your nest boxes and feeders.
