Should I clean out my Bluebird house
Anything that is designed to be used by wildlife must be cleaned out to be used again, or it can lead to it going rotten, to never be used again.
You should clean out your Bluebird house of old nesting material made up of straw and dry grass. Focus on washing off stubborn material fused to the walls with hot soapy water, while using a bleach solution if needed. Time to clean out your bird house is in August, to guarantee all occupant have left.
No doubt about it, you absolutely must clean out your Bluebird bird house, with the only time not to is if you can be sure it wasn't used to begin with.
Bluebirds build a nest within the bird house made up of dry grass and straw. While over the course of its use condensation would normally dampen the interior box which would lead to rot setting in the interior walls made out of wood, which would probably be constructed in Cedar if it were a quality built bird house.
Cleaning out a bird house is a vital part of owning bird houses, so its now up to you to clean it out every year, and thereafter.
If the box wasn't used, and you can be sure of that, I would recommend to still clean your bird house in case it was used for roosting birds in the winter.
No big fuss when it comes time to clean your Bluebird house, with only boiling water needed with diluted dish soap. Simply allow it to air dry before mounting the Bluebird house on the tree or on its original wooden post.
What's involved when cleaning out your specialty Bluebird box is removing the metal mesh, lining the base to not only to give it a soak - but so you can access the bottom to remove the residue leftover.
At this point be sure to clean all four interior walls, including the inner roof top section, along with cleaning out the bird house entry hole, drainage holes and ventilation.
While exterior maintenance isn't really all that important in what is a moisture absorbent wooden Bluebird house, it can help to scrub the exterior to remove any moss attached to the outside, due to a possible branch or tree limb suspended bird house location - where a bird house can become covered in natural vegetation, which grows on tree trunks.
Clean out matter of hygiene
Its a matter of cleaning up any bacteria leftover in the Bluebird house, resulting in nesting material or food brought to the hatchlings by the parents.
You should clean out your bird house for this reason alone, or else you risk making other birds poorly, if they were ever to re-use a birds nest - in which it is very rare, but can happen in the same bird house with Bluebirds.
Bacteria present in a Bluebird bird house in particular is due to filthy nesting material, which might not happen to be all organic matter.
Mostly made with straw and dried grass, other material can be perishable, thus leading to it getting damp, and rotting inside the bird house.
Felled in-between this nesting material would be the feed the parents bring back to the nest for the hatchlings, with food dropping to the base of the bird house where it would go unnoticed for the remaining time the occupants are in the box.
While parenting birds keep the bird house clean of poop be taking it out, leftover poop residue is guaranteed to be present.
Its imperative then you clean your your Bluebird box just as you would for other species, by pulling out all nesting material while using boiling soapy water to kill off bacteria.
August is time to clean
With a Bluebirds nesting season beginning as early as February, but generally from April through May, but still as late into June.
It would then be advisable to wait until early August to clean our your Bluebird house.
Why this is because Bluebirds, as mentioned can overstay their welcome in your bird house; in particular if they nested later into the year, thus their nesting period can last a month or two longer.
Never open a Bluebird house by what you believe to be taking an empty box for granted, Bluebirds could still be in the box with hatchlings, or unhatched eggs.
If this were to happen on your part, you may very well scare away the parents, thus leading them to abandoning their eggs indefinitely.
I believe August must be the time you decide to clean out a Bluebird house, and it must clean it out in this time if you want it to be used again.
Bluebirds do re-use nests in the wild so may re-use your bird house; in anticipation of this be sure to get it ready come the winter, in case of roosting birds arrive in the box.
Quick clean under 10 minutes
No need to be to concerned about cleaning out your Bluebird box, as its only a 10 minute job if that, with no expense needed on your part.
Fill up a set-aside bowl for cleaning backyard bird products in your yard, with boiling hot soapy water using dish soap.
Detach the Bluebird house off its post or tree trunk within reach, as its far easier and safer to clean something on the ground, where hot water in involved.
Empty the bird house of its leftover nesting material by throwing it all in the trash.
Its then time to loosen up the remaining, stubborn material fused to the interior walls using the hot water - in which would be poured into the wooden box.
At this stage, and while wearing protective gloves at all times, is time to scrape the wall interior before emptying the mess onto the ground. Bird houses can be left untreated if it were to blend in with its surroundings, so if the bird house is painted go carefully.
Finally allow the Bluebird house to air dry outdoors before attaching back in its place.
What truly makes a Bluebird house is a complex mess of a metal mesh lining the base, with multiple holes for vents and draining - all that needs to be cleaned or removed and put back in place if applicable to your bird house.
Repeat process every year
Be sure to clean out your Bluebird house as early as you can to get it other with, failing to ASAP would only force you to put it off indefinitely.
Bird houses must be cleaned out every year, and the years following until you can stay motivated enough to accommodate wild birds in your backyard for many years to come.
New pairing Bluebirds won't use your bird house again until February to April, but a short stay in this time is a possibility.
Bluebirds are one of few backyard bird species who roost in a bird house, thus the bird house must be cleared of old nesting material to make room, while a thorough clean to remove bacteria is a must.
Come winter, a number of Bluebirds can use the bird house to roost in over the cold winter months, so be sure to get ready for their potential arrival.
What else is of interest, the Bluebirds you accommodated in the Spring are now likely to turn up each year to re-use your bird house.
Do be sure to set the stage for a repeat of this every year and thereafter, by not making too many changes. Once you found success the first time, a drastic change of a bird house, in terms of a new location or a new bird house in use, can be a deterrent.
Conclusion
It can be an exciting time when cleaning out your Bluebird house because you can explore what the interior now looks like after its been used,
Likely scenario would be a beautifully constructed organic nest within the box made up of dried grass and straw.
Sitting on the bed of straw would be the broken blue shells belonging to the hatchlings.
Unfortunately, admiration must turn to a bit of grafting as you need to remove this nesting material - after documenting it with pictures if you wish - to then kill off bacteria with boiling water using dish soap only.
If you wanted to you can use a 1 part bleach to 9 part water solution to be sure of killing off the bacteria.
You must clean out your Bluebird house or else no others Bluebirds are likely to use it.
And while Bluebirds can return to the same bird house every year, it still must be cleared of its nesting material so it can be cleaned thoroughly.
Its only a 10 minute job once a year with hot water, soap and a bowl to clean the bird house that is needed.
This process would then be repeated every year come early August at the latest, once the parenting Bluebirds and their hatching's have left the nest.
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