Are you considering installing a few birdhouses on your property soon? You might have seen people in your neighborhood putting up birdhouses in an effort to attract more birds.
Do birds actually like birdhouses, though? Are you guaranteed to attract birds if you put birdhouses on your property?
There are actually several things you should consider before putting birdhouses on your property. This will ensure that you make a good decision based on your desires.
Below, you’ll learn what you need to know about birdhouses and whether birds like them. Once you’ve learned everything, you can decide if installing some birdhouses in your yard is a good choice or not.
Many Birds Like Birdhouses
Many birds do indeed like birdhouses. However, not all birds are going to use birdhouses.
Whether birds will utilize birdhouses or not will depend on their nesting habits. Birds that are considered to be “cavity-nesting birds” will use birdhouses.
These are birds that will nest inside hollow trees or other such things. So you’ll only be able to attract birds that will be willing to nest in birdhouses.
Your area is going to have specific types of birds that you can try to attract. You’ll need to look up the birds in your area to see which ones you might expect to draw to your birdhouses.
Some birds that you’re interested in might not like birdhouses. You must focus on birds that will use birdhouses.
The Birds Need to Fit in the Entrance Hole
The birds that you’re trying to attract need to be able to fit in the entrance hole. If the birds can’t fit, they won’t be able to use the birdhouses that you’ve installed.
Every birdhouse is going to have some type of entrance. Generally, birdhouse entrances will be circular.
If the diameter of the entrance hole is too small, certain types of birds won’t be able to get inside the house. You have to factor this information in when picking a birdhouse for your property.
Each type of bird that you might want to attract to the yard will need entrance holes that are a particular size. You’ll have to look up information about the size that you need.
Therefore, you must do a little bit of research ahead of purchasing and installing birdhouses. If you don’t, you might place birdhouses that your preferred birds won’t even be able to use.
The Birdhouses Must Be Installed Properly
Installing the birdhouses properly is going to get the best results. If you put the birdhouses in a bad location, none of the local birds are going to want to nest inside of them.
Typically, you’re going to want to place the birdhouse somewhere that’s safe from predators. Birds have to worry about many predators such as snakes.
If you install the birdhouse on a tree, it’s possible that snakes might slither up and consume the birds. This isn’t ideal, but you do have other options to consider.
It’s better to install birdhouses using some type of pole. You can hang the birdhouses on a pole that you stake into the ground.
You want the pole to stand at least five feet tall, but some people go with even taller poles. If you don’t want to purchase a pole from a store, it’d be easy enough to use old PVC piping to make your own birdhouse pole.
Once the pole has been erected, you can install the birdhouse. The birdhouse should be harder for predators to reach when it’s positioned in a safe spot.
You can further protect the birdhouse by making it difficult for snakes to slither up the pole. Some people wrap objects around the pole that make it difficult or nearly impossible for snakes to get up and reach the birdhouse.
Make the Yard Attractive to Birds
Making your yard attractive to birds is also important. If your yard isn’t a convenient place for birds to live, they aren’t going to use your birdhouses.
Even if you buy a nice birdhouse, a bird is going to be more likely to choose a nesting location that’s close to things that it needs. Birds need access to food, and they also need water.
Thus, it’s a good idea to install both feeders and bird baths in your yard somewhere. This will make your yard far more appealing to the local birds.
Place feeders somewhere that’s a bit away from the birdhouses. You don’t want the feeders to be directly next to the birdhouses since the birds in the house might be bothered by other birds coming to check the feeders.
The bird bath can be positioned somewhere in the yard. This will give the birds a place where they can drink water and bathe as necessary.
Place Nesting Materials Near the Birdhouse
Placing nesting materials near the birdhouse can also be quite helpful. You want to make it easy for the birds to build a nest inside the birdhouses that you put up.
However, it’s not wise to put nesting materials directly inside the birdhouse. This is because birds prefer to build their own nests rather than having things done for them.
As you’d expect, different types of birds use different types of nesting materials. As such, you’ll want to place materials based on the types of birds that you’re attempting to attract.
You might want to have piles of twigs nearby for the birds to use. It can also be useful to place hanging baskets with bits of string, straw, hay, and other materials that birds might utilize.
Doing this will make your birdhouse a lot more appealing to birds. They will be more likely to use it if it seems easy for them to build a nest.
Potential Problems with Installing Birdhouses
Of course, there are potential problems that you should look out for when installing birdhouses. Sometimes other creatures besides birds will take up residence in the birdhouses.
You already learned that snakes will try to feed on birds. If the snakes are able to climb up to your birdhouse, they might wind up living in there.
This can be troublesome, but you can call a pest removal service to get help if necessary. You’ll want to take steps to make it harder for snakes to reach the birdhouse in the future.
Bees and wasps are also known to occupy birdhouses. The tiny houses give bees a perfect place where they can build a little hive.
Wasps will build their nests inside of birdhouses, too. You can try to keep this from happening by rubbing soap on the inside of the roof since this will deter both bees and wasps.
Should You Install Birdhouses?
Is installing birdhouses the right decision for your property? It all depends on what you want to accomplish and whether you’re willing to do things right.
You’ll need to install the birdhouses the right way to keep the birds safe. It’s best to use a pole and to take precautions to protect the birds from snakes.
It’s also wise to make your yard as appealing as possible to local birds. You want to install feeders as well as a bird bath.
Place nesting materials in the yard to make the birdhouses more appealing to the birds in your area. If you do things right, you should be able to attract birds.
Buying the right birdhouse is important as well. You need to make sure that the birds you’re interested in will fit in the birdhouse that you choose.
Keep all of this in mind and then make your decision. It can be fun to have birdhouses on your property, but not all birds like birdhouses since some birds only create other types of nests.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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