Monthly Scrubbing Keeps Birdbath Tidy
Question: What advice do you have for cleaning birdbaths? I scrub mine with bleach whenever it starts to turn green. Is this enough to keep the many birds who use it healthy?
S.G., Lomita
Answer: It’s super that you’re thinking of cleaning it at all--that’s half the battle. But to keep birdbaths in tiptop shape they should be scrubbed monthly with a cup of bleach diluted with two gallons of water. Be sure to rinse thoroughly to get all the bleach out, then refill.
In spring and summer when the birds are thick, give a quick scrub when you see bird droppings starting to pile up and foul the water. Rinse and refill with clean water.
Because you want to keep their droppings from the water, you will naturally want to place any feeder you have away from the bath.
Keeping Woodpeckers Off the Siding
Q: We have woodpeckers pecking the house down. As of this moment, I am thinking about killing a couple then nailing them to the building for other birds to see what happens when they destroy my home, but I’m afraid I would end up in jail.
There must be something to discourage them from destroying our siding and cedar trim. I have heard about pepper mixed in the paint, a concrete-type finish, vinyl materials and stucco. All these fixes, with the exception of the pepper and paint, exceed what I am willing to spend. Got any suggestions?
H.S., Laguna Hills
A: Get real! You don’t think that old farmer’s trick of nailing a (sometimes live) bird to the barn to teach other birds a lesson will work, do you?
And you’re right about ending up in jail, with a tidy fine too--money that could have been spent protecting the house, without the jail time.
So here’s a suggestion. Spring for some quality bird netting and install it pronto. You can use the same 3/4-inch type I recommend for swallows, and install it in the same manner. Try the black netting, which blends in better than any other. For specifics, contact Bird Barrier, (800) 503-5444, or visit their Web site at https://www.birdbarrier.com.
Incidentally, there are two entirely different reasons for the kind of hammering your house is taking. One is a territorial display of sorts, involving the birds drumming on anything hollow-sounding that will reverberate. This is pretty much a spring phenomenon.
The other, more likely to occur year-round, is drilling for bugs under the siding’s surface. Often, if you get rid of the bugs, you’ll get rid of the woodpeckers.
Give some thought to how long the birds have been at it. You might even tear a little siding off and take a look at what’s going on underneath to give you some clues. If you’ve got bugs galore, treat it with an insecticide labeled for exterior use against wood-infesting insects. Then hang some suet feeders for the birds so they’ll move away from the house.
If there aren’t any bugs and they’re just drumming, scare them off with loud, surprising noises until you’ve got the netting up.
Reader Tips for Baffling Squirrels
The problem J.K. faced in your Feb. 13 column interested me. We had a similar problem with squirrels getting to our feeder, which is mounted atop a 4-by-4 wood post about 5 feet off the ground. I lined the wood post vertically with duct tape all the way around and voila! The squirrels cannot get a grip on the duct tape and cannot climb up the pole.
It’s been on the pole more than eight months now and I haven’t lost one grain of birdseed to the squirrels. The 50 to 60 wild quail, finches, blackbirds, blue jays and many other varieties are very happy.
J.F., Arroyo Grande
After reading with great interest about the squirrels gorging on the bird feeder, I thought I’d pass along what I’ve learned.
I know there are feeders that are supposedly squirrel-proof, but my solution is cheaper than the pricey feeders. Most pet stores and some catalogs sell squirrel baffles, an upside-down bowl made of hard and slippery plastic that you simply attach on the chain about a foot above the feeder. The squirrels can’t get a hold on it and simply slide off. It works very well.
It has provided me with some great laughs, as I watch the squirrels try to bypass it, lose their grip and go flying off onto the ground. So far, in three months, I have seen only one extra-large squirrel manage to get past it, by hanging onto the chain by his toes and pushing the baffle down far enough to let him drop onto the feeder.
K.R., Thousand Oaks
Your recent column on bird feeders that thwart squirrels eating the birdseed brought back great memories of my mother’s attempts to solve the problem.
She hung the bird feeder on a clothesline and had threaded empty orange juice cans with bottoms cut out onto the line. (They were painted green for aesthetics.) She put three cans on each side of the feeder. The pre-TV era entertainment of the squirrels’ log-rolling antics while navigating the cans gave us unending laughter.
H.K., Camarillo
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Got critter conflicts? Send your queries to wildlife biologist Andrea Kitay at P. O. Box 2489, Camarillo, CA 93011, or via e-mail to andrea@livingwithwildlife.com.
