Bird feeding is an enjoyable hobby for nature lovers, allowing you to observe beautiful birds up close right in your own backyard. However, with the pleasures of birdwatching come responsibilities – keeping your feeders clean is critical both for the health of wild birds and for your own enjoyment of birdwatching Dirty feeders can spread disease, deter birds from visiting, and simply look and smell unpleasant
Picking bird feeders that are made to be easy to clean is the best way to make sure they stay clean. Although any feeder can be cleaned with some work, easy to clean feeders are designed in a way that makes them easy to keep up.
This article will talk about why it’s important to clean your bird feeders, how often you should do it, what makes a feeder easy to clean, and how to keep your easy-to-clean feeders sparkling.
Why Regular Cleaning is Crucial
Cleaning bird feeders is probably not very high on the list of things that people want to do. After all, birds eat in the wild, where no one is cleaning up fallen leaves or old seeds on the ground. But messes and germs can spread quickly when birds are forced to be close to each other at an artificial feeder.
Here are three critical reasons to keep your bird feeders clean
-
Prevent disease. Salmonella, Avian Flu, conjunctivitis, and other dangerous bird illnesses can breed and be transmitted at dirty feeders. Cleaning feeders helps keep diseases from spreading between birds.
-
Attract birds. Birds will avoid feeders that look dirty, smelly, or have old, rotten food. Regular cleaning keeps your feeder looking welcoming.
-
Reduce mess. Seed shells, spoiled food, and bird droppings accumulate quickly. Regular cleaning keeps your yard looking nice.
By choosing an easy to clean bird feeder and washing it routinely, you ensure your backyard birds stay healthy and happy.
How Often to Clean Feeders
To reap the benefits of clean feeders, how often should you be washing them? Here are some general guidelines:
- Seed/suet feeders: Every 2 weeks
- Hummingbird feeders: Every 2-3 days
- Platform/hopper feeders: Monthly
- Birdbaths: Weekly
However, those are just minimums. During warm weather or periods of heavy use, aim to clean all feeders more frequently than that. It’s easy to tell when a feeder needs cleaning – look for built up debris, cloudy nectar, wet seed, or anything unsightly. Don’t wait for the scheduled cleaning time if the feeder looks dirty now.
Features of Easy to Clean Bird Feeders
Some feeders are made to make cleaning them as easy as possible, but any feeder can be cleaned with a little muscle work. When shopping for a bird feeder that is easy to clean, keep these things in mind:
-
Few or no hard-to-access nooks and crannies. Feeders with simple, open designs allow you to easily wash all surfaces.
-
Smooth materials. Glass, metal, and smooth plastic are easier to clean than porous wood or textured plastics, where debris can become trapped.
-
Removable parts. Components that completely detach make scrubbing every surface a breeze.
-
Wide openings. Feeders with large reservoirs, like hopper or platform styles, allow you to easily reach inside to clean.
-
Quick draining. Feeders that empty quickly and fully are easier to clean than ones that allow moisture to pool.
-
Dishwasher safe. Feeders that can be popped in the dishwasher truly make cleaning a snap.
Tips for Cleaning Easy to Clean Bird Feeders
Once you’ve chosen a feeder designed for quick and easy maintenance, use these tips to keep it sparkling:
-
Take it apart. Disassemble all possible components so no surface is missed.
-
Use bottle brushes. Flexible brushes allow you to scrub out the insides of tubular feeders.
-
Use mild soap and water. An environmentally gentle cleaning solution will lift dirt without leaving residue.
-
Follow up with bleach. Sanitize feeders by soaking in a 10% bleach solution after washing.
-
Rinse thoroughly. Bleach and soap must be fully rinsed off to keep birds safe.
-
Let air dry. Allowing feeders to fully dry prevents mold from accumulating.
-
Clean the area. Don’t forget to clear old seed and wipe down poles and hangers too.
-
Establish a routine. Add feeder cleaning to your regular to-do list so it never gets skipped.
Top Easy to Clean Bird Feeder Picks
If you’re looking for easy to clean bird feeders to start or upgrade your backyard bird habitat, here are some excellent options:
-
Songbird Essentials Quick-Clean Tube Feeder – This tubular feeder lives up to its name with plastic construction, removable base, and wide seed ports. The most popular style feeder made hassle-free.
-
Nature’s Way Cedar Double Suet Feeder – Beautiful cedar wood feeds two birds at once yet has removable suet cages for easy cleaning.
-
Perky-Pet Triton Hopper Feeder – Generous seed capacity and fully detachable roof makes keeping this feeder clean a cinch.
-
Aspects Upside Down Hummingbird Feeder – Nectar drips out instead of pooling, and the bottle shape is easy to thoroughly wash.
-
Squirrel Buster Legacy Squirrel-Proof Feeder – Although it looks high-tech, this smart feeder comes apart for cleaning and even pops conveniently into the dishwasher.
With one of these quick-clean feeders and regular maintenance using the tips above, you can relax knowing your backyard birds are dining from a clean, disease-free feeder. And you’ll continue enjoying the pleasures of birdwatching without the hassle of scrubbing a messy feeder. Choosing an easy to clean model sets you up for success in keeping your bird habitat healthy and welcoming.
Why you should trust us
I lived in a tent in a tree in Hawaii for six months and fed birds from store-bought and homemade feeders. I have also cleaned, refilled, and watched over my parents’ feeders for years in Upstate New York. But that wouldn’t necessarily make me an expert.
In the bird-feeding world, the experts are also often the manufacturers themselves. I also had a number of in-depth conversations with Christen Brewer, who is the designer and marketing coordinator for Droll Yankees, and Margaret Collins, who is the media manager for Wild Birds Unlimited, to learn more about the feeders.
How we picked and tested
There is no “best” bird feeder. But there are many ideal bird feeders for different situations and regions. A good bird feeder should be tough enough to withstand all four seasons and the tactics of other animals interested in the seed, such as squirrels. And a good bird feeder should be tight enough to keep the seed dry while also being easy to disassemble, clean, and refill. To attract the greatest variety of birds to your home, it’s best to offer a variety of feeder types with different high-grade feeds.
You can find an overwhelming number of general bird feeders of all types and sizes. We knew going into this guide that we would never be able to test and look at every single model. Unfortunately, there is very little independent research on bird feeders, despite the popularity of the hobby.
There is no “best” bird feeder. But there are many ideal bird feeders for different situations and regions.
After talking to experts, we decided to look at feeders designed specifically for the four most common types of feed.
Seed feeders: These feeders are the most common and usually come in a tube design with large open ports for medium- to large-size seeds, or encased in a wire mesh cage or sock for nyjer (thistle) seed. The tube shape allows the most flexibility for the type of feed, while also attracting the widest variety of birds to a single feeder. Sunflower-seed tube feeders are very popular and usually come with four to six perches. “Black oil sunflower seeds attract more kinds of birds than any other single food,” said Stephen W. Kress, vice president of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society and author of National Audubon Society North American Birdfeeder Guide.
Nectar feeders: These feeders are often red in color and serve primarily to attract hummingbirds. The glass or plastic reservoirs have small built-in ports to provide access to simple syrup. Because sweet nectar is also attractive to bugs, it’s important to be aware of bees and ants when considering the design and placement of your nectar feeder. Some nectar feeders come with helpful ant moats and bee guards.
Suet feeders: Suet is often made from rendered animal fat and can be an important source of calories for accelerated avian metabolisms. You can produce it at home. However, most store-bought bird-feed suet is perfectly suitable and often comes formulated with extra ingredients such as seeds, insects, and dry fruit. You can also find melt-resistant recipes for use in summer. Suet feeders are often the simplest of all feeders, with just a metal cage for the food.
Fruit and berry feeders: These models are also referred to as tray feeders. You lay out fresh and dried fruits and berries in a covered receptacle or tray for birds such as orioles to land on and enjoy. Like suet feeders, fruit and berry feeders require minimal maintenance but have no protection from precipitation.
Most experts agreed that the simpler a bird feeder was to clean, the better it would be for both the birds and the owners.
Our experts overwhelmingly recommended the sunflower-seed tube feeder for most beginners. Invented by Droll Yankees in 1969, tube feeders usually consist of a plastic or acrylic tube capped on each end by a tough plastic or metal base and lid. They’re robust and fairly easy to maintain.
Nancy Castillo, a member of the American Birding Association and longtime owner of a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise, said, “A tube feeder is compact, it keeps food safe in bad weather, and can hold different blends for different birds. And it can be easily cleaned if there is a removable base. You’re going to enjoy the hobby more if your bird feeder is easy to maintain.”
You need to keep a bird feeder tidy in order to minimize bacterial growth, so we looked for models that were easy to clean. Most experts we spoke to agreed that the simpler a bird feeder was to clean, the better it would be for both the birds and the owners. The two most commonly spread diseases are salmonella, which can spread when seed comes into contact with bird feces, and avian conjunctivitis, which passes between birds as they rub against the same surfaces. (You should monitor your local U.S. Fish and Wildlife service for any widespread outbreaks in your area. Sometimes it will advise taking feeders down for a while to help stop an outbreak.) A removable base—the only feature universally recommended by every expert we spoke to—can facilitate regular cleaning. Better models have a cone-shaped bottom that feeds the last seeds to the lowest feeder ports so that the birds can clean out a feeder themselves.
Our experts overwhelmingly recommended the sunflower-seed tube feeder for most beginners.
Top models have smooth metal components lining any openings (such as the feeder ports), both to protect birds and to thwart squirrels. Likewise, a well-fitting, secure lid can keep squirrels and rodents from gnawing their way into the feeder or lifting the lid from the feeder itself.
For our initial testing we talked to experts about cleaning habits, design considerations, and what they looked for in a good bird feeder. To narrow things down a bit further, we researched the most reputable brands we could while also considering online reviews and hobby blogs. The three brands we focused on were Wild Birds Unlimited, Aspects (which also manufactures some of Wild Birds Unlimited’s exclusive models), and Droll Yankees. We picked these companies for their reputation, quality, and ability to provide verifiable guarantees on their feeders.
After talking to the experts, we reduced the field to the top 10 contenders and called them in to compare the build quality. The sturdier a bird feeder felt, the higher the marks we gave it. We filled and cleaned our bird feeders many times each to find the rhythm and flow of that task. We found that our interviewed experts were right: Having a removable bottom made a huge difference in the ease and enjoyment of this task and probably increased the likelihood that we would clean our bird feeders the recommended four times a year.
We also read as many owner reviews as possible, on company websites and Amazon, to see if there were any larger customer concerns that we had missed.
Deluxe Easy Clean Tube Feeder | Tube Bird Feeders | Nature’s Way Bird Products
FAQ
What is the easiest bird feeder to clean?
Our Quick-Clean® Seed Tube Feeders are the absolute easiest to clean feeders on the market. A quick press of two buttons and the base pops off for easy access. It attracts birds such as finches, nuthatches, chickadees and woodpeckers.
What is the ultimate easy clean cheater bird feeder?
The Ultimate easy-clean cheater feeder features a solid metal tube with powder-coated metal fittings, designed to withstand the elements. Its lid and base are made of durable zinc alloy, so they’re longer lasting and more resistant to damage from unwanted visitors such as squirrels and parakeets.
What is the 5 7 9 rule for bird feeders?
Why put a potato in the bird feeder?
‘Potatoes help boost calorie consumption for birds, especially during colder weather, and when you mix them with their usual seeds and nuts, you can offer them a strong and balanced diet from your bird feeder. It helps support your local ecosystem, and you’ll find you get a lot more birds visiting you.