Martin Gourd Birdhouse Cleaning Tips

Here are some great tips you can follow to clean your martin gourd birdhouses (or any of your birdhouses) at the end of each season.

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As the winter turns to spring and the geese once again begin flying north in those beautiful V formations you hear flying overhead, it is time to check your nestboxes once again. Even if you cleaned your birdhouses out in the fall, after all the nesting activity was over, you need to check them all and make sure they are once again ready for the return of all of your cavity nesting birds.

You may find that your birdhouses were used by some bird species during cold winters to stay warm at night. You may even find evidence that mice were using some of your nestboxes for homes. No matter what birds or animals took advantage of the warmth of your birdhouses during the winter, there are important considerations you need to know when you begin cleaning out those nestboxes in the spring.

Position yourself to avoid inhaling any dust from the nestbox and wear gloves while cleaning out the boxes. I use a putty knife to remove any old birds nests or wasps nests and put them into a plastic bag with a tie or a zip lock bag in case there are any parasites in the nestbox material. Dispose of old nest materials in the trash. Do not dispose of the old nesting materials close to the birdhouse as this may attract predators.

Once you have scraped out the nestbox and made sure all of the drain and vent holes are open, you can disinfect birdhouses by spraying them with a 10% bleach solution (one part bleach, nine parts water). If you decide to disinfect your birdhouses, leave them open for 24 hours to allow them to dry before closing them back up. I recommend disinfecting your nestboxes if you have evidence of parasites in any specific boxes. Many times you can simply scrape the insides of the birdhouses and wash them out with a sharp stream of water.

Just as I’m sure you like a clean house, your bird friends enjoy a clean birdhouse when they arrive in the springtime to bring all of their beautiful color and song to your backyard. Make them welcome by keeping your birdhouses clean before they arrive in the spring and, if you have nesting birds that produce more than one brood per season, clean out the nestboxes after each brood.

Let’s get ready for a great birding season by cleaning out your birdhouses now and enjoying all of your feathered friends and their offspring for years to come. Happy birding!

Author: Larry A Jordan

Larry Jordan has been bird watching for many years and building birdhouses for over 26 years. For quality bird products including bird feeders, bird houses, binoculars, scopes, birding field guides, CDs and DVDs and much more, go to Birds In My Yard for some great deals.

If you want to learn how to build your own birdhouses go to Build Your Own Birdhouse Plans and while you’re there, sign up for my newsletter to receive a free mini-course on how to attract birds to your yard! Plus you can go to my resources page for free plan downloads and a link to my Blog.

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Purple Martin Gourd Houses

In addition to the joy of having the birds, this is a reason many people construct artificial nesting houses to attract martins to their home for natural insect control. One type of nesting structure is a gourd house.

The Purple Martin Gourd: A Relationship Between Man and Bird

Whatever happened, it was discovered by man that a large gourd with a hole in it could entice the Purple Martins to nest in it. thus was born, the Purple Martin Gourd.

Purple Martin Houses

Then I turned my attention to the purple martin gourd houses. I had no idea the Amish were professional gourd bird house makers. Their website contains detailed instructions for creating your own gourd purple martin house.

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Bird houses can be a great way to attract birds to your yard and if you want a unique natural look, the gourd bird houses may be the way to go. The first thing that comes into mind when it comes to creating bird houses is to find the perfect gourd. This can surely help in saving effort and money.

Gourds can be easily found or grown in the garden. Gourds are distinctly identified by their eye-catching colors and markings. They can even be said to resemble alien forms. This happens especially during the late summer and they can be very entertaining to the eyes.

Gourds will normally be something that have to be intentionally grown. To grow one, certain steps have to be taken and regular tending must be done. Apply fertilizer in the soil where you plan to plant the gourd. For a plant grown in the space of the garden, a half dozen seeds should be placed. Then follow properly the directions in the seed packet. Thereafter, the plant should be regularly watered and the fertilizer reapplied every month. For creating bird houses, a large gourd has to be cultivated. This type normally takes 130 days to mature.

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Turning the Gourd into a Bird House

Once you have the right gourd at hand, it can be easily crafted to make a good bird house that you can put in your yard or garden space to attract the birds.

Working with the gourd is relatively easy. It is just like working with the wood. However, doing so will require some tasks to be fulfilled. These steps are necessary to make a bird house successfully out of the gourd.

1. Put hot water with soap in a pail. Get the gourds and soak them. When at least 30 minutes have passed, take out the gourd and clean it.

2. Cleaning the gourd will require the use of a scrub. Do this until the gourd is entirely clean. Just take into account the possibility of discolorations in the gourd. This will not normally take off so do not fret over the stains.

Dry the gourds after cleaning.

3. Select the dried gourds that have the right length for your bird house. a diameter of 8 to 14 inches will be proper enough.

4. Make sure that the walls of the gourds are properly measured so as to make it most comfortable for the birds. It should be at least quarter of an inch thick so as not to make the bird house too warm.

5. Next detail to work on is the hole for the birds to enter. Most of the gourd bird houses are created for martin birds. A hole of two and a half inch are normally sufficient for the martins to enter into.

Drill a hole also at the bottom of the cage for the drainage system.

6. Clean out the insides of the gourd. Scrape out the seeds inside. You can also pour water inside to make sure that the dusts created by drilling are removed.

7. Preserving the gourd is also necessary. Purchase copper sulfate from hardware shops and follow the instructions on how to prepare the mixture. Soak the gourd in the preparation for 15 minutes and let it dry.

Make sure your hands are properly protected with gloves in preparing the mixture.

8. Paint the exteriors of the gourd house. White house paint is normally used to make the bird house to easily attract the birds. Just ensure that no drain holes are left unclogged.

9. Then, make a hole on the top neck of the gourd. This is to give way for the wire that will be used to hang the bird house.

Being closer to the birds is not a difficult task. Again, you only need the gourd at hand and some handy skills. Build a gourd bird house and the birds will come to you.

Author: Lee Dobbins

Lee Dobbins writes for http://birdhouses.garden-g8way.com where you can learn more about bird houses and find out about more about gourd bird houses.

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Gourd Bird Houses- A Step-By-Step Guide To Making The Best Gourd

Gourd bird houses are very simple to create. Even small children are capable of making these homes for birds. If you are new to making gourd bird houses, just follow these simple steps and you will soon have your own gourd bird house.

Gourd Bird Houses – How to Make a Gourd Birdhouse

This is to give way for the wire that will be used to hang the bird house. Being closer to the birds is not a difficult task. Again, you only need the gourd at hand and some handy skills. Build a gourd bird house and the birds will come.

Natural Organic Gourd Birdhouse for Wrens And Chickadees

Don’t tell the Chickadees at my house about that myth!! They DO use hanging birdhouses. The birdhouse is 11" long from tip of the stem to bottom. The circumference is 18.5" at the widest part of the gourd.

Organic Natural Gourd Birdhouse

All gourd birdhouses and bird feeders are one of a kind. They cannot be duplicated. Mother earth is the designer of all these beauties.

Organic Natural Wren Gourd Birdhouse

Spring has sprung!! The birds are returning and we must have birdhouses ready for them.This is a wonderful little apple gourd that any Wren will be pleased to see.

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