1. The one-week rule

Depending on the time of year, sometimes food can be left behind in feeders. This is most common in spring and summer when natural food sources are readily available, and birds don’t require the same amount of top-ups to their daily diets. However, this is also a time when food can heat up quickly and become inedible. And this is a good time to clean your bird feeder.

A good rule of thumb is to clean your feeder at the end of the week whether it has food leftover or not. Even if your feeder hasn’t got a morsel left, it still needs to be cleaned. Cleaning your feeder helps to keep harmful bacteria from building up, and makes sure feeder borne diseases such as Trichomonosis don’t come into contact with your birds. To learn how to clean your feeder, read our guide here.

2. Choose a good feeder

Choosing a quality feeder takes half the battle out of cleaning it. A feeder that makes ports easy to remove and clean is ideal, especially if your feeder is particularly popular! Our Ring-Pull™ Click and Flo™ Feeders feature a twist-off base that makes cleaning and refilling your bird feeder easy. As your feeder will see a lot of cleaning throughout its lifetime, your feeder must be made from durable materials that will withstand regular cleaning and handling. Make sure when choosing your feeder you look for strong materials such as metal, and extra reassurance in the form of guarantees.

3. Choose good food

The more your birds eat, the less uneaten food there will be to remove, so make sure to provide your visitors with the best. All birds enjoy a selection of seeds, nuts, grains and some fruits to keep them healthy. Providing a mixture will encourage more of them to your garden, and with plenty of hungry beaks to feed you can make sure that all the food you provide isn’t going to waste. Make sure to avoid mixes that are full of filler products such as wheat, as birds tend to ignore this and won’t flock to your feeder for it. Our Four Season Feast, Everyday Essentials and Songbird Sensation mixes are suitable for all year feeding and will attract all types of UK birds to your garden.

4. Use a weak disinfectant

There are lots of different guides on how to clean your bird feeder, but we advise that however you decide to clean it – make sure to use a weak disinfectant. Some guides will suggest just using hot water, but to make sure that there is no possibility of bacteria or parasites in your bird feeder use a mild 5% disinfectant. To make sure you get into every nook and cranny, use a helpful bird feeder cleaning brush.

5. Keep it fresh

There are other ways you can help to keep your feeder and the food within it fresh. Feeder Fresh™ is a safe and non-toxic solution that works by combatting the growth of harmful moulds that can build up in feeders. Simply sprinkle in the base of your feeder after clean your bird feeder, fill it up with food, and then sprinkle some more! Using this every time you clean your feeder will keep your bird food fresher for longer and help to combat the effects of condensation and moisture build-up.

For more tips on bird feeders, read our guides here.