Cleaning Out the BB Boxes

[Terry Suchma]

Cleaning Out the BB Boxes

Cleaning out the box is a very important part of nest box monitoring. When LBBS was first organized, the calls began pouring in with all sorts of questions. A lot of people told me they had never cleaned their boxes out. Many didn’t know that bluebirds will do two or three (sometimes four in south LA) cycles during the nesting season. Sometimes, bluebirds or other cavity nesters will build over the nest, but that makes it higher than it should be to the entry hole, plus the nest is so nasty usually and there’s more chance of problems occurring from that.

I just don’t think cleaning out the box once a year is as helpful to the bluebirds as regular cleaning after each cycle and also at the end of the nesting season. Bluebirds like to roost in the nest boxes. They should be empty of old dirty nests and whatever is in there. I have found three nests stacked on one another and remains of birds in boxes on trails that had not been monitored correctly and I don’t think a bluebird can roost in those conditions.

One tip I found to be so useful is to take a bottle of water with me and spray the nest down before removing it. It helps to keep the fine grit and particles from flying all over the place. I really like to have a spare box with me and just take that old box down and take it to the house where there is a water hose with a nozzle on it and a long handle brush. It can be clean in a few minutes. I have a bottle with Clorox solution to spray in it and then rinse. I hate the idea of all that fine grit flying in my face and even though I wear a mask, I still don’t like to get that close to the box cleaning it out. Some of them are absolutely filthy.

If the box is not so dirty after a cycle, I will spray it with the water and remove the nest and spray more Clorox water in to rinse it out. Let them air dry for a few hours.

I always wear disposable plastic gloves that I can find very cheap at my grocery store. They are about as thin as handiwrap, but sturdy enough to use monitoring. I wear them and change them out after each nest check if I have to put my hands on the nest for any reason.

Evelyn
Delhi, LA