How to Clean a Birdhouse

Calendar time! Somewhere on your fall calendar, be sure to schedule time for the birdhouse cleaning (spring for your house, fall for the birdhouse).

Taking down the birdhouse, cleaning and storing it for the winter, will ensure the rodents don't take over in the winter. Your birdhouse will last longer and provide a clean, disease-free home for our friends next spring.

1. Open the house or remove a roof or wall if you are able.

2. Removing nesting materials and any other unwanted items.

3. Use a 10% bleach formula (9 parts water, 1 part bleach), along with a brush, and scrub the birdhouse. Some of the fancier houses that are made of polyresins and such can be soaked in the bleach solution before scrubbing.

4. Allow to dry in the sun before putting parts back together. Woods may take 2-3 days to dry completely.

5. Wrap in used plastic grocery or shopping bags to prevent pests from getting inside if you plan to store the house in an outdoor building. Sealed with plastic packing tape will help keep it closed up.

Now that was easy, and you are ready to re-hang a clean house for our friends in the spring.