Tips for Building Bird Houses

If you enjoy watching birds, you may like having bird houses in your yard. Building bird houses from scratch can be a nice "do-it-yourself" project. If you are not that handy, you can buy a kit or buy a bird house. Part of the challenge of building bird houses is also placing the houses in the right place.

Tips on Building Bird Houses

• Use real wood when making your birdhouse. Treated wood can be dangerous to birds because when the wood gets wet, it gives off dangerous fumes.
• Pick a design that has a hinged side or roof. This will not only help make cleaning your birdhouse easier, it will allow you to peek at eggs and baby birds.
• You can find free bird house building plans online.
• If you are planning to build a bird house for a specific type of bird, research in advance to find out if this type of bird has specific bird house requirements. Don't forget to pick up wild bird seed, if that's what your favorite bird eats.
• While it is fine to paint the outside of a birdhouse, never paint the inside.
• If you do choose to paint the outside of your bird house, pick a lighter color. Dark colors can attract and hold heat, which may, in turn, be harmful, particularly to eggs and to the young, during the heat of the day.
• Most birds, with the exception of starlings and house sparrows, don't need perches. If the design that you have includes a perch, don't add it. If you buy a ready-made house with a perch, cut off the perch.
• Birds are territorial. Therefore, if you decide to have multiple bird houses, leave at least 25 feet between each house. However, if you are interested in bluebirds, the space between houses should be about 300 feet. Another exception to the "25 feet rule" would be bird houses for purple martins, which will want to live close together in housing clusters.