How To Easily Attach A Birdhouse To A Pole

Adding a birdhouse to your yard is a simple way to lure feathered friends who will entertain you with their signature songs and help keep garden pests in check. To set yourself up for success, choose a birdhouse size that suits your backyard as well as the species you'd like to attract. Also make sure to mount the house at the right height for the species you're targeting and ensure that it's facing the correct direction. Determining the best direction for a birdhouse involves assessing wind and weather patterns. Some bird species have specific location preferences to consider, too. For instance, bluebirds like houses that face open spaces. Mounting your birdhouse on a pole or post makes it more visible to potential residents and keeps it in the right position.

Attaching a birdhouse to a post is pretty simple if you have the right supplies. These include a shovel, a bag of concrete, a bucket of water, an L-shaped bracket, long and short screws, a drill, and a long, sturdy piece of wood — a 4-by-4, for instance. It's best to place the house somewhere that gets shade during the hottest part of the day. This prevents it from becoming too warm for its residents. Also put the house in a quiet spot to help the birds inside feel more secure. Speaking of security, it's crucial to protect your birdhouse from raccoons after mounting it, so add a baffle that's 2 feet tall and 10 inches across to your supply list. If you'd rather not deal with a baffle, install spiky plants at the base of the post to repel raccoons.

To mount your birdhouse, your first step is digging a 6-inch-wide hole for the pole or post you've selected. The pole should sit 1½ to 2 feet below the ground's surface. Hold the pole at that depth while pouring concrete mix and water into the hole, following the package instructions. You may want to find a friend to help with this step. One of you can hold the pole while the other pours the concrete. Then, mound soil or sand on top of the concrete-filled hole. You don't have to wait for the concrete to cure before continuing, but doing so helps keep debris from sticking to it.

Placing your birdhouse on an L-shaped bracket is a good way to keep it stable. Affix the bracket to the pole using with screws that are long enough to hold it steady. Use a long screw to attach the house's backboard to the pole. If the house you've chosen doesn't have a backboard, you may want to add one to make this step easier. 'Then, attach the house to the bracket by putting shorter screws in its bottom. If they're too long, they're likely to poke through the floor of the house, which may convince birds to nest elsewhere.

Don't forget to clean your yard's birdhouse after an avian family is done using it. This tells other birds that the former residents have moved out. Scrubbing the house with a toothbrush and diluted bleach clears out a range of pathogens, helping to keep future residents healthy and comfortable. Happy birding!