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Clean Nestboxes in October

October 28, 2021
Time to prepare for next year!
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Black-capped Chickadees in nestbox Expand Image
© Thomas LeBlanc monarchbfly.com

It’s a wistful moment when your backyard birds — like these Black-capped Chickadees — depart their nestboxes. By October, it’s time for one last duty as nestbox landlord: to clean it out. Cleaning will reduce the incidence of parasites in the box and make it more inviting to next spring’s tenants. It will also help you know for sure if it gets used again. Watch a video about how to clean a nestbox in Related Resources below.

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BirdNote®  

October Nest Box Cleaning

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Song of an Eastern Bluebird]

It’s a wistful moment when your backyard swallows or bluebirds depart each fall — like the Tree Swallows we’re hearing now [Tree Swallow song]. Still, it’s a comfort to know you provided a nestbox for them to raise their young. The nestbox served the birds well. [Eastern Bluebird song]

But by October, it’s time for one last duty: to clean it out.

Cleaning will reduce the incidence of parasites in the box and will make it more inviting to next spring’s potential tenants. It will also help you know for sure if it gets used again. [Eastern Bluebird song]

Some experts* recommend removing old nests into a plastic bag for disposal. Use gloves and a dust mask to avoid exposure to any avian diseases. Use a stiff brush or scraping tool to further clean the interior. Some people opt to disinfect the box with hot soapy water or even a mild bleach solution**.

A grubby bit of work perhaps, but you’ll be glad when, next spring, those avian gems, like the Eastern Bluebirds, grace your landscape once again. [Eastern Bluebird song] 

See a video about how to clean a nestbox when you come to our website birdnote.org. 

That’s birdnote.org.     

###

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Eastern Bluebird song [107204] recorded by W.L. Hershberger; song of Tree Swallow [94295] recorded by W.L. Hershberger
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org    October  2013/2017/2019/2021   Narrator: Mary McCann

ID#     box-04-2013-10-23box-04          

* e.g. the Bluebird organization, Sialis http://www.sialis.org/clean.htm provides many details about how and why of cleaning nest boxes

** no more than one part bleach to nine parts water, please - and rinse thoroughly

Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Mary McCann
Narrator
Tags: backyard sanctuary, nesting, urban

Related Resources

Learn how to clean a nestbox in this videoMore nestbox cleaning tips from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

More About These Birds

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Poecile atricapillus

Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

Sialia mexicana

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Sialia sialis

Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)

Tachycineta thalassina

Sights & Sounds

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