Bird Feeders and Disease Prevention: How we can all help save our British birds

A bird feeder in your garden is one of the great joys of life. However, bird feeders, bird baths and bird tables can easily assist in the transmission of diseases that are killing large swathes of our bird population. Birds are affected by viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases, and the transmissible diseases are known to spread when birds congregate in large numbers. This means that whilst gardens are an increasingly important habitat for birds, congregation at bird feeders creates the perfect environment for disease to spread. But what can we do?

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Disease Prevention in Your Garden

• Keep feeders free from bird’s feet and poo. If a bird can stand and poop in a feeder and walk on their food, it can spread disease. They should only be able to access the food with their beaks.
• Buy specialist safe feeders that ensure this, we like feeders from the company ‘Finches Friend’ (https://www.finchesfriend.com/shop)
• Ditch bird tables as they are prime places for disease to spread.
• Offer a variety of foods from accredited sources.
• Feed in moderation so that feeders are emptied roughly every 1-2 days.
• Regularly rotate your feed sites and use the opportunity to thoroughly clean each area, allowing no food or droppings to fester and accumulate on the floor around the feeder. Be vigilant.
• Regularly clean your feeders. Buy a feeder that can easily be taken apart and each part scrubbed in a bucket with very hot soapy water and rinsed thoroughly. Always make sure you wear gloves and use them only to clean the bird feeder. After washing treat the feeder with a non-toxic disinfectant solution, we like Ark-Klens.
• Keep food dry and ensure your feeder never lets the food get wet and mouldy.

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