I enjoy sitting outside and watching the birds. Often times I catch the mother bird flying in and out of my birdhouses to feed her babies, which is always a real treat. Birdwatching is a great way to de-stress and relax.
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As a person who enjoys birding, I have several birdhouses in my backyard. Some are hanging down from tree branches and others are mounted directly onto the side of the tree. I have birdhouses that are made from a wide variety of materials: wood, ceramic, metal, plastic and even from a dried gourd!
Tips on How to Clean a Birdhouse
1. You should clean out the birdhouse after the nesting season and/or after all of the baby birds have fledged the nest. In other words, once the nest inside is empty and no longer being used.
2. All of my bird houses have trap doors that open up for easy cleaning. Remove the nest and dispose of it. I like to toss mine into the wooded area in the back of my yard. Others recommend that you bag up the old nest and dispose of it in the trash.
3. Use an old cookie spatula to scrape out any bird droppings (poop) or harden debris. Toss the spatula away once done.
4. Mix up a homemade cleaning solution. I like to use 1 tablespoon of household bleach along with tap water in a spray bottle. Spray the inside with the bleach solution and let sit for approximately 5 minutes. Use an old scrub brush to loosen up debris. I like to use a baby bottle brush (from the Dollar Store) and old toothbrushes for this particular cleaning task.
5. Use your garden hose to thoroughly rinse out the inside and outside of the birdhouse. Once done, sit it out into the sunshine to thoroughly air dry before closing it back up.
6. Once it has dried, take the time to do an overall maintenance inspection. Make sure that all hinges, latches, air vents, hanging hooks, etc. are in proper working order. This is a good time to make repairs.
7. Depending on the type of birdhouse that you own, you can use a hand-held steam cleaner to clean them out too! Just use the smallest nozzle attachment.
Birdhouses add beauty to your yard, while giving them a place to nest and have their young. It’s your responsibility to clean out your birdhouses regularly to keep parasites & diseases at-bay and to keep the birds coming nesting season, after nesting season.
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I wanted to buy a birdhouse, but I was not certain about the maintenance. Thanks for all the tips.
I am glad we dont have one of those high martin houses! I clean ours out much the sane as you do. Hubby loves birds and feeds them through he winter. We have seen so many migrating birds. He has a woodpecker that would yell at him to feed him every single morning while it was passing through. It was funny !
Thanks for the info. I was always afraid to use any cleaners. Good tip to use bleach.
These are great tips. We just recently hung two birdhouses and even though no birds are in them yet I would have never thought to clean them out! Thanks!
I have not thought much about cleaning the birdhouses. I will have to check them now. Thank you for the information and reminder.
I have to admit, I hadn’t considered that birdhouses need to be cleaned. I wonder how many people know that???
I live in a townhouse so no birdhouses around here. I like to watch the swallows in the parking garage at the botanic gardens. They build their nests on the ceiling (about 10 feet up)
I really enjoyed reading this post and learned a lot. We have some old bird houses outside that need to be cleaned. It is strange the birds here prefer to build their nest at the top of the telephone pole where it is impossible to reach.