Duncraft's Guide to Bird Houses

More Bird House Info:

1. Before Buying a Bird House
2. Specs for Bird House Nesting Boxes
3. List of Birds That Live In Bird Houses
4. The Right Placement & Territory Size
5. When, Where and How Many Houses
6. Solutions on How to Keep Predators Out
7. How to Help Birds Make Nests
8. Building Habitats for Birds

Solutions on How to Keep Predators Out

Other birds, squirrels, snakes, raccoons, cats, yellow jackets, wasps, and even ants can harm parent and baby birds. Help keep them safer by following these suggestions:

1. No perches! We have said this elsewhere, but it bears repeating. Do not use a house with a perch in front of the entry hole. The perch can be used by predators to gain access to eggs or nestlings. And a perch is not needed by the birds themselves. If you purchase a house with a perch, do remove it!

2. In some areas it may be safer to mount the bird houses on PVC or metal poles, instead of trees or fences. Trees and fence posts give many predators an easy way to climb right to the nestbox.

3. Metal baffles placed on the pole below the bird house can help deter some animals. These baffles are like metal collars that make it hard to climb over and continue up the pole. There are also baffles that can be placed on tree trunks. Metal baffles will withstand chewing and destruction better than plastic ones.

4. For some types of birds, metal plates are available that have the entrance hole cut out from the center. These plates can be nailed or screwed onto the bird house to keep the entrance hole from being enlarged by squirrels, raccoons, or even other birds. A larger hole will allow a small animal to get inside, or to reach inside to grab the baby birds.

5. A block of wood ¾" or 1" thick with a hole cut in the center the same size as the entrance hole can be nailed or screwed onto the bird house over the entrance. This block of wood makes it more difficult to reach inside the house.

6. Make sure the entrance hole is no larger than the type of bird that is nesting or that you want to nest. Larger holes invite House Sparrows, Starlings, and other birds to come in. They may kill the baby birds and oust the parents from the nestbox, taking it over for themselves.

7. Check the poles regularly, looking for ant beds near them. If you find an ant bed, be careful about treating it, using a method that is not toxic to the birds.

8. Some people have reported success from keeping yellow jackets and wasps from building nests on the inside roofs of the nestboxes by putting a very thin layer of petroleum jelly to the inside roof. Be aware that any petroleum products can be harmful to the birds.

9 . Crows and ravens are very beneficial birds. But these birds require some protein in their diets. Unfortunately, sometimes they get this protein from other baby birds or eggs. You can decrease the raids on nests in your area (from both nestboxes as well as open nests) by putting out eggs or even uncooked hamburger in an area distant from the nesting areas.

10. If you use a metal pole to mount your bird house, you can put a large PVC pipe over it before mounting your bird house. The PVC pipe deters snakes from climbing the pole as well as makes it more difficult for squirrels and raccoons. You can also grease the pole using vegetable oil.