Can I Clean Out My Birdhouses in the Early Spring?

Birds welcome a sparkling-clean birdhouse in the spring.

Just as you enjoy a clean home after a long winter, birds returning in the spring will welcome finding sanitary houses. Clean your birdhouses out in early spring to keep those backyard birds healthy and thriving.

Timing

Birds like this tree swallow stay healthier in a clean birdhouse.

Take your birdhouses down and clean them well in early spring before the birds that will use them return. Because birds or small mammals that overwintered in your yard may have found shelter from the cold in your birdhouses, even those cleaned in the fall need another scrubbing, advises The Birder's Report website.

Methods

Remove nesting material, feed and other materials left behind by birds or small animals and then kill germs and get the house really clean with a dousing of boiling water, Birds & Blooms advises. You also can use a mixture of one part bleach and nine parts water to sanitize the birdhouse and kill parasites, especially if you see proof of any such invaders, the Birder's Report notes. Allow the house to dry for a day before closing it back up.

Warnings

Protect yourself from parasites and irritating dust by wearing gloves and making sure not to breath in any debris. Carefully pry out old nesting material or insect nests and place them in a sealed bag to keep parasites from spreading. Throw the debris in the garbage away from the birdhouse to keep from attracting predatory animals, The Birder's Report advises.

References

• The Birder's Report: Birdhouse Spring Cleaning and the Great Backyard Bird Count
• Birds & Blooms.com: Spring Cleaning for the Birds