Common Bird House Problems

How to Keep Sparrows out of my Wren/Chickadee House

House Sparrows prefer a 1 ½ inch entrance hole. If you purchased a house with a larger hole or it has been expanded by squirrels or other birds, we have metal portal protectors. Wild Birds Unlimited’s round 1-1/8" and 1-1/4" metal portals are suitable for the chickadee and wren houses and prevents sparrows from entering the house.

How to Keep Raccoons from your Birdhouse

If your bird house is on a pole, we have raccoon baffles that you can put around metal poles or 4”x4” wooden posts. This will stop all squirrels and raccoons from climbing to the house. It won’t stop them from dropping down from a nearby tree.

To protect the birdhouse itself from unwanted predators reaching in and stealing eggs, attach the Screw Mount Birdhouse Guardian. These will prevent squirrels, raccoons, opossum and cats from bending their arms to reach the resident birds. Crows, Blue Jays and grackles can't get their bodies through the guardian and are also deterred. I have the decorative version on a house that was being raided by the neighbor’s cat. So far it has stopped the cat from reaching in and destroying the nest.

How to Deter Sparrows from your Bluebird Box

This is the most frequently asked question in the spring. House Sparrows are very clever and very persistent. You must repeatedly remove any nests that sparrows have built and leave the clean out door of the house open until the sparrows give up guarding the house.

If a bluebird family has already started to make a house and sparrows are harassing them put up a sparrow spooker. Basically once the bluebirds are committed to a nesting site you can hang shiny flutter ribbon above the birdhouse (you can find this "scare tape" at our stores). Studies have shown that certain bird species, including house sparrows, will not fly under the ribbon. For more detailed plans to make your own sparrow spooker, click HERE to visit the very informative Sialis.org website.

Another possibility is to put two bluebird boxes back to back or within a few feet of each other. Bluebirds defend large feeding territories around their nests from other bluebirds. Experts recommend that bluebird boxes be spaced at least 300' apart. However when you pair bluebird houses close together, it is possible to get a bluebird in one and a Tree Swallow in the other. Together the birds can coexist and battle any predators or interloping sparrows. More information on this technique can be found HERE.

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Category › Bird Basics