How to Kill Bird Seed With Heat
Birds are messy eaters. If you stock your bird feeder with a seed mixture, then you are going to have to face the fact that a lot of your seeds will end up on the ground thanks to picky eaters who only like sunflower seeds and others that are just plain careless. While your neighborhood squirrel may clean up the area fairly well, when spring comes it is likely you will notice some unfamiliar foliage in your feeder area. In order to prevent the spilled seeds from germinating, you can "kill" the bird seed with heat before putting it in your feeder. This will not alter the nutritional value for the birds, and it will prevent sprouts in your lawn later in the year. It will also prevent moth larvae from hatching out of the seeds. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not put the seeds in the oven until it is completely heated.
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Pour an inch of seeds into the casserole dish. Much less than an inch, and you may end up roasting the seeds, which does decrease nutritional value. Much more than an inch, and you may not thoroughly heat all the seeds. Be careful to get as close to an inch as possible in that dish.
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Cook the seeds in the casserole dish for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes are up, you can remove the seeds from the oven and let them cool. Once they are cool, they can be returned to storage or placed in your feeder. They will not germinate if they fall on the ground.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also microwave the bird seed in a paper bag on high for five minutes.
