Are your birds all finished with their nest? Perhaps you’re taking over an established nest trail. Either way, it’s time to clean and disinfect your boxes, but how? You can use one of many different cleaning mixes for your nest box, including a bleach solution, a vinegar solution, boiling water, brushing out the boxes, and enzymatic cleaner. What you choose can depend on a few considerations such as safety and how dirty the bird houses are.
Why you should disinfect your bird nest boxes
No matter the bird, they are great vectors of parasites and diseases. And a nest in your bid house is a great incubation chamber for these things.
Therefore, it is important to clean and disinfect your nest box. This is especially important when resetting your boxes for nesting season, or after you’ve taken over established boxes on a nest trail.
Disinfecting your boxes helps ensure the health and safety of your nestlings. And it gives you a little reassurance when managing the boxes later.
Safety considerations when choosing a cleaning solution for your birdhouse.
Proper disinfection requires a lot of heat, or the use of chemicals. Of course, that might make you a little nervous. But when it comes to properly cleaning a nest box, chemicals are important. The best solution to use involves bleach. However, after several hours, bleach won’t have the potency it originally had and therefore will not harm your birds.
We do list other cleaning options to consider, but these may not be as effective in disinfecting your birdhouses.
The cleaning recipes we pose in this article have been tried and tested by many cavity nesting landlords. From this list, you can decide what is the best approach for your birds.
Bird nest box cleaning solutions and approaches to disinfection
- Just a brushing – Some bluebird landlords are comfortable dry brushing their birdhouses out. This is especially true between broods during a nesting season. However, not all landlords of cavity nesting birds recommend this method. Even between broods, there are many parasites that can reside in the nest box. Dry brushing won’t truly disinfect. When dry brushing with a scrub brush, it can help to use an old paint brush to get debris out of the corners and cracks can also be a huge help.
- Boiling water – Some landlords of cavity nesting birds just pour boiling water over the boxes. If you do this, our suggestion is to use a large stock pot to boil water, and do a couple of pour-drain cycles. Even better – Dip the nest box in the stock pot so it has a chance to soak in the boiling water. This gives ample time for boiling water to truly neutralize anything in your nest box. After that, get a scrub brush out, give your bird house a good scrub and then rinse. After you’re done, make sure you leave your nest boxes open and let them air dry for a few days. While this is a chemical free option, if you’re monitoring a nest trail and need to do the cleaning on site, this is not going to be the easiest approach.
- Vinegar solution – First, be sure to clean out old nests from your birdhouse and give it a dry brushing to remove debris. Take a hose and rinse out any mud or sticking objects. Then mix 8 parts water to 2 parts white vinegar (80% water, 20% vinegar) into a small bucket or an old bowl. Use your scrub brush to generously scrub and distribute the cleaning mix around the entire nest box. After you’re through cleaning, rinse the box very thoroughly using a hose and air dry for a few days.
- Bleach solution (your absolute best option for a DIY cleaning solution) – Bleach might sound a little too abrasive for your nest boxes, but it’s actually not. And if you’re making a solution, this is the surest way to really disinfect your nest boxes. After application, the chlorine is quick to oxidize, which means in a matter of a day, the chemical harshness is gone. Make a solution of 10% bleach, and 90% water. The Sialis site recommends making the solution in a spray bottle for ease of use.
- Carefree Birdhouse and Bird Feeder Cleaner (great option for disinfection) – Carefree Birdhouse Bird Feeder Cleaner is a concentrated enzymatic cleaner. This is also a great option to consider, not only for your bird houses, but also for your bird feeders. Simply mix 4 ounces of this concentrate to 1 gallon of water. Their instructions say to dip the house or feeder into a bucket containing the solution. If you’re going to do that, you might want to use more than a gallon of water. And a bucket from the hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards) that runs about $2-$5 will make this process even easier.
Which cleaning recipe is the absolute best to use on my birdhouse?
Of the five options listed, to really disinfect your nest box, we recommend either the bleach solution or the Carefree Cleaner.
While the other options use more natural approaches, they will not completely disinfect your boxes.
Nest box cleaning supplies
This list of bird house cleaning supplies is kind of a catch-all, and might not apply to what you’re doing specifically. But we try to give some explanation.
- Dishwashing gloves – Use for all aspects of nest removal and cleaning to protect from mites and other parasites.
- Mask – You do not want to breath in any nesting material. Wear a mask or use a handkerchief to cover your face while cleaning your nest box.
- Scrub brush – to try brush and later scrub your nest
- Old paintbrush – Great for cleaning corners and crevices of your box.
- Small bucket – great holding your cleaning solution and dipping your scrub brush.
- Hose and water line – If working at home, get your hose ready for rinsing.
- Hose sprayer – Use to easily rinse out your boxes
- Spray bottle – Great for misting in your cleaning solution
- Kneeling pad – Save your knees. Get a nice garden cushion to kneel on as you work.
- Step ladder – Great for getting your nest box off and back on its pole
- Hardware store bucket – if you want to dip your nest box into a solution, this is a great container to dip into.
- Stock pot – if you’ve chosen to do the boiling water method, a stock pot is a great tool to pour boiling water into.
- Screwdriver – It’s never a bad idea to be a little extra prepared. You never know when you might need this tool to do a quick repair or open something up more in order to disinfect.
- Garbage bag – To contain and dispose nesting contents.
The process of cleaning out your bird houses
Now that you’ve chosen which cleaning formula to do, what is a good way to get started cleaning your nest box?
- Suit up with PPE – Nesting material harbors a lot of bad stuff for your lungs and body. Get your gloves and a mask on to protect yourself.
- Make sure the wind isn’t blowing at you – Even with protection, do what you can to prevent nesting material from blowing on your clothes or in your face. Make sure you position yourself so that the wind is not causing problem.
- Inspect the nest – You don’t always know what is in there – wasps, ants, snakes. Make sure you clearly inspect the box and have clear sight into what you’re doing.
- Use a tool to remove nesting material – It’s best not to use your hands or stick your arm into a nest box. Instead, use a long tool to do initial nesting removal. It’s always safety first. Dump old nesting material into a garbage bag. Make sure to tie up the garbage bag and dispose of it properly.
- Dry brush your box – Use a dry scrub brush to dust out the debris. You may also want to use other tools like a paint brush or scraper to ensure everything is cleared from the nest.
- Spray out the nest boxes – After you’ve dusted out the nest, you can use a hose and sprayer to spray out anything.
- Use disinfectant to clean your nest box – Use a disinfecting mix to rid your nest box of bacteria and potential parasites. The easiest way to do this is to use a spray bottle to distribute the mix all around the nest box. Remember, the two best options are a bleach mix or an enzymatic cleaner.
- Rinse your nest box. After using a cleaning solution, and giving it ample time to work throughout your nest, give your birdhouse a good rinse. Use a hose and sprayer.
- Air dry your birdhouse for a day or two – It’s a good idea to let your birdhouse dry out for a few days. Make sure to leave the access door open to allow air to circulate throughout.
- Don’t forget to wash your hands – Even after wearing gloves and taking precautions, wash your hands very thoroughly.
According to the Sialis website, if your box had a mouse nest in it, you want to use added caution when cleaning it. They suggest soaking the box in a 10% bleach solution for 20 minutes. Then follow cleaning procedure.
