Nest box cleaning (1 Viewer)

[Backyard Sanctuary]

Last year I bought a dual purpose nesting/roosting box. I got lucky with Chestnut Back Chickadees calling it home last spring. Just before this winter I cleanout the box and hit it with a blast of water from the hose. Now with nesting season here (or soon) I was told by a customer at my local birding shop to spray it down inside and out with white vinegar to get rid of mites, spiders and other pests. My question is do you use full strength (5%) or dilute it? Other suggestions?

 

[etudiant]

This is an unneeded precaution.
Birds often reuse nest cavities, just building a new nest over the old one.
Your cleanout last fall was more than sufficient. Also, vinegar will soak into the wood and could harm the birds.
Save your money and just buy another nestbox instead of the vinegar.

 

[Nature__lover]

All I've heard is that each year after the nesting season has finished you should remove old nesting material and clean with boiling water.
the RSPB say that just doing that will kill the parasites and Insecticides and flea powders must not be used.

 

[TheBirdGarden]

This is the thing I don't get because natural nests such as in trees will be reused and won't be cleaned out. If you clean out the nest boxes wouldn't this make them more prone to parasites in the future?

 

[AnotherNightOwl]

This is the thing I don't get because natural nests such as in trees will be reused and won't be cleaned out. If you clean out the nest boxes wouldn't this make them more prone to parasites in the future?

Good question, I would also be interested in the answer to this.

 

[Nature__lover]

This is the thing I don't get because natural nests such as in trees will be reused and won't be cleaned out. If you clean out the nest boxes wouldn't this make them more prone to parasites in the future?

I don't know about that either, but, I usually go off what the RSPB say, they are an excellent charity.

and I guess in the wild, their isn't an option of cleaning old nests out, so they make do . but it must give them a better start in life if the nests clean.

 

[Joe1980]

Mites and parasites need a host bird to live. When a parasite has no host, it will go find one, or die. I just pick the old nest out, toss it on the ground nearby, and move to the next one. As mentioned, natural cavities don't get cleaned out and sterilized, and birds have used them for as long as they have been around.