When managing bluebirds for your first season, or maybe you’ve hosted them for years, but now you’re really getting into the care aspect, a question that comes up quite often is, “should I clean out the old nest and the nest box after my baby bluebirds have fledged?”
The standard practice is to always clean your bluebird house after the babies fledge . However, the amount of cleaning required differs depending on the situation, and why you should clean it is also important to consider.
In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about cleaning out a bluebird house after babies fledge. This includes information about why you need to clean it out each time, how much you need to clean it, and what to do when nesting season ends or begins.
If you would rather watch than read, take a look at our video we made on this topic.
Bluebirds have more than one brood
Before we dive into how clean your nest box needs to be, and all the reasons it is so important to clean your nest box after babies fledge, we should point out a very important fact:
Bluebird have multiple sets of babies during a nesting season. Depending on where you reside geographically, your resident bluebirds could have between 2-4 broods during the nesting season, with southern states usually having more, and northern states typically having less.
The reason this is important to know is that it sets up the rest of this article. Knowing that bluebirds have multiple sets means that after the babies fledge, they’re likely going to nest again. And even though you might think it helps to save the old nest, there are several reasons to remove the old nest and clean out the box.
With that out of the way, let’s get right into it.
How much cleaning is necessary after baby bluebirds fledge?
Different bluebird landlords have different opinions when it comes to how clean a nest box should be for the next brood. Some take a putty knife, scrape out the old poo and crud, dump the old nest, and call it clean.
Others take the whole nest box down, clean it with a 10% bleach solution or a vinegar solution along with soap and water, deeply rinse it, set it out to dry and then reset the nest box.
So what should you do?
- Always always always remove the old nest. Do not just dump it on the ground. Dispose of it in your yard waste, far from the nest box or in the garbage so that predators are not attracted to the area.
- Assess the condition of the nest box after disposing the old nest. If it’s pristine – no poop, no bugs, no crawlies, no stains, no nothing – it’s probably safe to do a dry brush to dust it out.
- If there is poop or berry stains or mites or bugs or ants or anything, we recommend being conservative and safe by doing a full cleaning. Take the box down, clean it with soap and water and vinegar or bleach. Rinse it very thoroughly, and dry it completely before resetting the nest box.
- Take this time to refresh the nest box and do maintenance. For example, reapply soap to the roof and upper sides of the interior of the nest box, and even around the overhangs to prevent wasps. Some bluebird landlords also take this time to begin heat shielding the nest box because the later in the season it is, the hotter it gets.
All of these instructions change when it’s the beginning of the nesting season or the end of the nesting season.
Cleaning out your bluebird nest box at the end of the nesting season
The bluebird nesting season spans between mid March to mid August for many areas of the United States. This can vary depending on where you’re located. But overall, if your bluebirds have fledged in mid August, it is very unlikely you’ll have another set. So what do you do with the nest box?
Even when the nesting season is over, you should thoroughly clean your bluebird nest box after the baby bluebirds have fledged. This is because other birds, including your resident bluebirds or migratory populations may use the nest box as a roosting shelter for the fall and winter.
In this case, no matter the condition of the nest box, we really recommend a very thorough cleaning. Take the box down, spray it out, apply a cleaning solution along with soap and water, thoroughly rinse it and set it to dry before resetting the nest box.
As the temperatures fall throughout the remainder of the year and into the new year, you’ll find other birds using the nest box as a shelter. It’s important to give them a clean and safe environment to seek warmth.
Cleaning your bluebird nest box at the beginning of the nesting season
Even if you’ve thoroughly cleaned the nest boxes out after the last nesting season ended, and you have had your boxes safely stored away for the fall and winter, it’s really important to clean them out for the next season.
Begin first by inspecting the nest box. If it is pristine, you are probably safe to do a dry brush or dusting before resetting.
If you find there are resident bugs or spiders that camped over the winter, it wouldn’t hurt to fully clean the nest box out.
These steps also apply to nest boxes that have been left out over the fall and winter for birds to roost in. Though, nest boxes and bluebird houses that have been left out all year will probably need the full cleaning before being ready for house hunting bluebirds of the early spring months.
Again, we also stress spending time preparing the box for other hazards. Make sure you have a baffle. Make sure you’re mounting your nest box to a pole. If you have been thinking about installing a nest box camera, this is a good time to research and do so.
In addition to all of that, apply soap to the interior roof and top-sides of the nest box to prevent wasps from building a nest inside.
Why do you clean out your bluebird house after baby bluebirds fledge?
Now that we’ve talked about how much cleaning is necessary for your bluebird nest box, it’s time to really explain why, especially since we’re talking about removing the old nest.
There are several reasons why it is so important to clean out your bluebird nest box each time a group of babies have taken their first flights:
- Health: The primary reasons you want to clean out the nest box every single time the baby bluebirds leave is to maintain the health of the mother bluebird and her next set of babies. Things can get messy in the bluebird nest box, so it’s important to keep it clean for the next batch.
- Momma bluebird is going to spend time refreshing her nest: Nest building does take up a considerable amount of energy for birds. It’s the female bluebird that builds the nest, and all the trips there and back paired with the labor of shaping the nest can take a lot out of a songbird. So you might think you’re sparing her the trouble by keeping the old nest. The thing is, that old nest is not so fluffy like it used to be. Nor is it that thick. So mama bluebird is going to spend time refreshing the nest. What happens is she ends up layering on top of the old nest, raising it higher and closer to the entry hole, which increases predation risks for the mother and nestlings. Since she’s going to spend a lot of energy refreshing, and since having a not-so-tall nest protects them, It’s important to throw out the old nest.
- Other cavity birds might use the box: We’ve been talking solely about bluebirds. But what if you are asking if you should clean out a nest box that chickadees raised their young in? The answer is still yes. Even though chickadees only have one brood per year, another cavity nesting species might be interested in the nest box. The way a nest is built and the material used is species specific. Chickadees consistently build nests out of moss, bark and fur. House wrens consistently build a nests out of sticks. Bluebirds consistently use straw, grass or pine needles to form a nice nest cup. The point is, if a new bird wants the box, you need to throw out the old nest because otherwise you’ll have a layered, tall nest situation that increases predation risk.
- Baby bluebirds don’t return to their nest box: If you’re wondering if you’re destroying the fledgling’s home by removing their nest after they fledge, don’t worry. Once they take their first flight, that’s it. They do not go back in the nest box to sleep or live. Nest boxes are just used for eggs and caring for young nestlings. The only time your fledged baby bluebirds would return is after they’ve grown up and are planning a family of their own.
The ultimate takeaways from this article is that you should always clean your bluebird nest boxes after the babies have taken their first flight. The level of cleaning required depends on the condition of the nest box and how far into the nesting season you’re in. Finally, there are several reasons to throw out the old nest and clean out the nest box, and these reasons outweigh keeping the old the nest.
