Birds get sick as a normal part of the living process. When they get sick and die out of sight, we can remain blissfully oblivious to this reality. But when a sick bird huddles on a bird feeder and dies in the night, the situation can seem horrible.
What’s even more horrible is when a bird enthusiast gets sick because he or she never cleans up after the birds.
Last month, I mentioned four diseases known to be spread at birdfeeders — aspergillosis, avian pox, coccidiosis and salmonellosis — and promised to explain how to clean bird feeders this month.
You have four basic cleaning chores to attend: the birdfeeders, the ground beneath thebird feeders, birdbaths and the storage areas and containers for the food put into the feeders.
We’ll cover them in that order.
Cleaning bird feeders takes a little time and some effort, but it is not a monster chore. All you need is a garden hose, a standard three-gallon utility bucket, a long-handled brush, a bottle of chlorine laundry bleach and some disposable gloves.
With gloves on, mix one part of chlorine bleach with nine parts of water in the bucket.
Prepare enough to submerge a long tube feeder. Hose out the feeder to remove food debris.
Put the feeder in the bucket and use the long-handled brush to scrub the feeder inside and out. Don’t overdo it. A few up and down strokes to cover the entire inside and outside surfaces are adequate. Also brush the perches and the holes where the birds get the food.
Leave the feeder submerged in the bucket of chlorine water for two to three minutes.
Remove the feeder, hose it off, let it dry in the sun then refill it and hang it.
You can leave several feeders in the bucket at the same time.
Also, if you use tray feeders rinse and scrub them. When you’re done soaking the tube feeders immerse the tray feeders in the bucket; or if they are too large, pour some bucket water over them.
Using a general utility vacuum cleaner such as a Shop-Vac, remove the food debris on the ground beneath the feeder. You don’t have to suck up an inch of soil; just get the debris on top of the soil.
When done vacuuming the food debris and all the feeders have been cleaned, gently pour the bucket water on the ground beneath the feeder.
If you never see an obviously sick bird at your feeders, do this once a month. If you do see a sick bird at your feeder, do this once a week for a month or two.
And finally, don’t just continuously fill the birdbath, clean it once in awhile, as in weekly!
A scrubber pad like you use for cleaning cookware in the kitchen — but a different one, not the same one! — makes an excellent cleaning tool.
Pour the old birdbath water on a tree or shrub, hose out the dish, add a capful of the chlorine bleach, use the scrubber to lightly clean the inside of the birdbath then hose it out thoroughly before refilling it. Save the scrubber pad to use many times.
I have seven bird feeders and using this protocol can clean all of them and the birdbath in 15 minutes.
Finally, keep the area where you store the food clean by sweeping or vacuuming.
Take this seriously. Don’t wait until you get salmonellosis to wish you had washed things sooner.
