Facts on Birdhouse Gourds
A birdhouse gourd provides a good nesting box for some types of birds. The gourds can be grown in a garden and then recycled into birdhouses that can hang near the same garden. Does this Spark an idea?
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Types of Gourds
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The gourds used for birdhouse gourds are called birdhouse or bottle gourds. The scientific name is Lagenaria siceraria.
Which Birds Like Gourds
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Gourds are good nesting houses for swallows, wrens, purple martins and chickadees. European starlings and house sparrows do not like the gourds because they are afraid of the swinging movement of the gourd.
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Growing the Gourds
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Birdhouse gourds grow on vines over an approximately 100-day season; they're ready to harvest when their stems turn brown. The seeds are planted several inches to several feet apart, depending on whether they're planted on mounds or near a trellis.
Making the Birdhouse Gourds
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When the dried gourd's seeds rattle inside, it's ready to wash, scrape and scour with steel wool. Small holes drilled in the top and bottom, a larger entrance hole on the side and a small perch below the hole finish the birdhouse.
Where to Put the Birdhouse
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The birdhouse gourd should hang about 10 to 15 feet from the ground with the entrance hole facing an open area. In rainy areas, the gourd can hang under a roof overhang. Both sun and water weather the gourds faster.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of John Haslam
