Bird houses, often, have issues with parasites or losses of guests due to predators. If these issues are not cared for quickly, they could produce a lot more losses of aviary guests because of disease. Regular monitoring and cleaning can prevent the spread of disease.

One of the major problems that landlords of bird houses have is that of predatory bird species—European Starlings and House Sparrows being the most aggressive of these predators. These species were introduced to the American scene in the 1800’s. Their presence is a nuisance for those seeking to attract native species to their bird houses. They have managed to spread to every corner of the American continent, outcompeting native birds for nesting cavities and food. They evict and kill native species of birds and build their nests on top of existing nests.

Because of their rude behavior, these species are considered to be pest species and are sought to be controlled by traps, shooting and removal of their nests. These birds are harassed on a regular basis in order to keep them away. This is permitted because these species are not protected by law governing species. It is illegal to trap, capture, hold or transport protected species and destroying their nest and eggs. However, since these species are not protected, these activities are tolerated. Relaxing the war against the starlings and sparrows would result in their reestablishment.

By keeping the diameter of the entrance large enough, only, for the desired specie, the starling can be, effectively, kept out. House sparrows can be kept out by trapping them. Purple martin houses should be plugged up in the winter or the sparrows and starlings will take over.

The cleaning of bird houses should be done, at least, once a year. The best time should be done after the birds have finished breeding. The old nesting material should be removed and the house should be scrubbed with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. The inside, then should be rinsed thoroughly and permitted to dry before it is closed up. The house should be inspected to make sure the hardware is, still, firmly in place and that the panels are not falling apart.

It is not necessary to clean out the box for species that raise more than one family in one season such as bluebirds and wrens. However, the nesting material should be cleaned out between broods to reduce nest parasites. Most birds do not use a nest a second time. They will build a nest on top of the old one or rearrange the old one when they choose to do so. Chickadee and bluebird boxes are used for roosting during the winter so they can be kept open.

Houses of a good quality are built to make cleaning easy. They have hinges, slide-out bottoms or some other means to make them easily accessible. Bird houses that do not need total disassembly for cleaning are the most desirable. Bird houses that have been cleaned out in the fall can be put back together for use of non-migratory birds during the winter season.