Are bird houses bad

Bird houses are famously safe for wild birds in our backyards, with only a poor design leading to mishaps or something far more serious.

Not so much are bird houses bad, but it be you that is responsible for endangering the occupants. Poorly built bird houses can lead to leakage to overheating, but more so a poor mount in the rear or base can result in a fall with nesting birds. More so, a too big hole size could be accessible to predators.

Bird houses only go towards assisting birds in a safe and secure environment, so anything that goes wrong can largely be blamed on the person responsible for setting it up.

Nesting boxes are tough, waterproof and above all else, are a quick and easy way to attract birds to nest in our yards.

Without a bird house birds would manage, but a steady decline nationwide is a possibility.

Its important to offer a bird house if you can afford the space in your yard, but unfortunately care and attention is where people go wrong - so in a word, bird houses can be bad for birds.

Commit to locating one to two bird houses in your yard by knowing you would need to secure it in a safe area - with a minimum of 8 feet off the ground - to keep it safe from predators directly below, or squirrels who would descend.

Once you have dealt with knowing how to mount a bird house safely, its then up to birds to occupy or ignore your new bird house.

When it comes to color theme however, its important to maintain an untreated bird house if you can, as a colorful bird house of sorts can attract the wrong kind of attention.

Bird houses really aren't all that bad once you gain enough confidants, but its important to remember where you place the bird house is really where it can go wrong. To begin with, to hang a bird house on a tree limb or branch - which I don't recommend you do - can see the bird house collapse if not probably suspended.

Bad if poorly built

Rest assured 99.9% of bird houses you can buy, as oppose to those made at home, are safe for birds in our yards.

Bad bird houses can be constructed in such a way, it can lead to the nesting or roosting birds being injured or killed - so a quality bird house by a well known brand is a must.

Despite that, let's take a look at a few must-have attributes of a bird house:

• Air vents: several vent hole must be present for air to ventilate in extreme heat or in the dead of winter, thus preventing overheating or build up of condensation
• Angled roof: cause less issues with leakage over a flat roof option or a roof on a low angle, as oppose to a roof set on 45 degrees angle
• Drainage hole: similar to vent holes but holes must be present on the base of the bird house for water or moisture to escape
• Accessible to you: without unrestricted access you'd be unable to clean out the bird house interior come September
• Fledgling skerfs: not essential but ideal to assist young birds exist the bird house with grooves leading up to the entry hole on the inside only
• Assembly: sign of a bad bird house to buy is one that would need assembling, as bird houses must come ready to use at all times
• Entry hole: birds nest in an entrance hole specific bird house, so a bird house could be attracting the wrong species, so could lead to no success

Unstable bird house mount

Vital part of any bird house is how its mounted to a tree, post or wall, with fixings included or what you would have to supply.

I believe mounting a nest box to be the worst thing about setting up a bird house, as it can lead you to put up an unstable bird house, with a mount that can come unstuck with occupants inside.

What else doesn't help is you or anyone in your household must have basic DIY skills, as it means to drill a hole into the adjoining wall or post - to allow you to drill the bird house flush against the object its mounted to.

Supplied screws to accompany the pre-drilled holes would help, but unfortunately screws are not always included.

Result is a loose fit or a bird house that if it becomes too heavy, can slip off its mount.

To put up a bluebird house with its pre-drilled holes is done so via the rear, but it won't hurt to drill more holes for securing or if need be - but you do have the option to drill holes at the bottom to mount on top of a wooden post.

Its not fun at all to securely mount a bird house to a wall, as wall plugs would first need to be inserted, whereas a fence or bird house post is easier to deal with.

Accessible to predators

If you manage to put up the bird house securely as it can possibly be, and remember there's no rush, so be sure it is safe before leaving it to birds to nest.

Anyway, the bird house you have decided to put up in your yard must now be impenetrable by predators, such as squirrels or predatory birds.

Its not a case of mounting any old or cheap wooden bird house when the size of the entry hole must be a serious feature to consider.

First of all, size matters with bird houses as its wild bird species specific, so if birds don't nest in your box, this could be why.

Worst still, a too big entry hole can be made easy for natural predators of birds to reach in or enter the bird house to steal the unhatched eggs or kill the young.

Bad for you because you would be responsible for this if you didn't do your due-diligence before committing to a bird house setup. You must then only use a bird house hole size that is for the species you intend to attract.

Refer to strict bird house requirements as to use it as a checklist to buy a bird house or if you want to build one yourself in the workshop.

To summarize

Bird houses can be bad in a way that it can only be contributed to its construction, as many things can go wrong over the cause of its use, so would not be known right away.

Insolated walls is a must to keep birds warm in the cold, whereas ventilation holes must always be included, to prevent birds and their young from overheating.

This would be in conjunction with drainage holes drilled out of the base to allow water that enters the box, to escape at the bottom. But to use an angled roof can help but only if its open joints are sealed.

What I believe to be the worst thing about setting up a bird house, is the need to mount it on a wall or post all by your own.

Not an issue for many folks but those with limited DIY skills would struggle too, or not know if its a bad mount to a wall or post.

If I was you, I would therefore be sure to understand what is involved with putting up a bird house, including buying any screws, wall plugs and borrowing a power drill if need be.

Further to that, it can be a devastating thing to happen if predators were to access the bird house, as that can be something a fault of your own.

Its imperative then to make sure you are using the correct hole size, in a location that is not accessible, or is not currently present with snakes, squirrels or predatory birds.

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