How do you clean a nest box?

[slowmotion]

Our nest box was occupied by blue tits earlier this year. Eleven eggs, nine of which hatched. They survived for a long time due to the tireless work of their parents, all observed by our camera in the nest. Three fledged and were picked off by a jay, and disgusting cats. The rest died in the nest box, I think due to some horrible mite infestation. Anyway, the corpses of the chicks are still in there, and I didn't hook up the tit-cam to have a look.

I can tip out the bones and the feathers, easily enough, but what should I do then? I don't think that the next tits would want to smell Febreze. Boiling water?

 

[PaulSB]

I have the same question only our box was occupied by tree bumblebees. I understand these don't return and another swarm won't use a dirty box. I'm very keen to attract some more next year.

I was thinking of scraping out the rubbish and then plunge in boiling water, leave to soak and scrub out.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I remove old nest and give it a quick spray with bird feeder disinfectant.

Rspb guide here

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-w.../nestboxes-for-small-birds/cleaning-nestboxes

 

[Dave7]

I remove old nest and give it a quick spray with bird feeder disinfectant.

Rspb guide here

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-w.../nestboxes-for-small-birds/cleaning-nestboxes

Thats a good link.
What is "bird feeder disinfectant" ?

 

[Levo-Lon]

This type of cleaner

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inspired-B...4627&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+feeder+disinfectant

 

[Dave 123]

When I kept chickens I'd use stuff on the house to get rid of mites. A pet shop will sell that.

A very weak solution of Jeyes fluid will do the trick.

 

[MikeG]

Whatever you use now will have worn off by next spring. I'd just use a watered-down bleach. There'll be no remnant smell in 6 months time.

 

[steveindenmark]

To start with it is important that you buy boxes you can get into to clean to start with. This is a good time of year to clean them because birds use them to shelter in over the winter.

I clean them the easy way. Tip out all the old straw and nesting. Give them a brush out and then I take a gas blow torch and let the burner burn out any crap, bugs or disease that may be in there. I suppose that takes the place of disinfecting, which I do not like to use. I don not know what goes in disinfectant. But I am quite sure that it cannot be all that enviromentally friendly.

We do this every year and we have birds nesting every year.

 

[Poacher]

Use the nestbox as kindling and buy a new one? Keep the nestbox-builder in business.

Do not attempt this with a Schwegler!!!!

 

[uphillstruggler]

this year I made a bird box from some cut off panels I rescued from an installation our company did. Ive had no residence as yet and am wondering if I have situated it incorrectly or the box isn't attractive to any particular species.

guidance needed I think, over to the CC bird watchers.......

 

[uphillstruggler]

[QUOTE 5373089, member: 9609"]out of direct sunlight and not too high - 6 to 12 foot is best hight.

what size hole did you use ? if its too big they won't use it as bigger birds can get can get in and evict them
25mm blue tits, coal tits
28mm great tits, tree sparrow
32mm house sparrow, nuthatch[/QUOTE]

Thanks @User9609

im thinking I need to move it, as it gets a lot of direct sun in the afternoon.

also, the hole may be too big. I can do something to reduce that.

not quite back to the drawing board

 

[night cycler]

What is the maximum distance the hole should be from the base of the box? Just thinking of the difficulty there may be for the chicks to eventually make their maiden flight.

 

[simonali]

Pressure washer. Make sure the birds have moved out first...

 

[PaulSB]

Use the nestbox as kindling and buy a new one? Keep the nestbox-builder in business.

Trouble is aged about eight my lad made it at school 22 years ago!!!

 

[nickyboy]

Blue tits etc are naturally hole-nesters. There is, presumably, a finite supply of natural holes. So how does most of the blue tit population cope? Presumably they just nest in a hole that was used a previous year with no cleaning?