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I wish that were easier. I've found that the cleaning involved is burdensome. It's recommended that you take the feeder down and scrub it with bleach every few

I wish that were easier. I've found that the cleaning involved is burdensome. It's recommended that you take the feeder down and scrub it with bleach every few weeks to prevent the spread of parasites between the closely packed feeding birds. Worse for me is that even when I can keep the feeder away from the local rodents (a non-trivial challenge), seeds fall to the ground and it becomes a hot spot for insects and rodents. The rodents here are causing major damage to my house and vehicles. It was just higher maintenance than I expected, so I stopped. But I do like having the birds around. Maybe I can start again after retirement.

foobarian 6y ago
What kind of rodents do you have in your part of the world that they damage your _vehicles_??
- minitoar 6y ago
  Not uncommon for rodents to chew on hose or wiring.
- hnlmorg 6y ago
  Just last week a colleague of mine had car electric problems that turned out to be a rat chewing through cables. It's weirdly common(ish) problem.
- meekrohprocess 6y ago
  They started using soy-based insulation in automotive wiring a couple decades ago. Sadly, it turns out that rodents really like to eat that kind of insulation. So if you have a car made after ~2000, you need to keep pests away from wherever you store it.
  - jessaustin 6y ago
    This is also a problem for e.g. excavation equipment that might sit unused for weeks at a time.
- Someone 6y ago
  Guessing: martens. https://www.wsj.com/articles/they-go-absolutely-insane-and-tear-everything-apart-weasels-love-german-cars-11577377251 https://www.wsj.com/articles/they-go-absolutely-insane-and-t...: “Auto makers are building defenses against stone martens, a type of weasel that invades engines and eats the wiring […] We only have data from those insurers that offer a weasel policy” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten#Car_damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten#Car_damage: “Since the mid-1970s, the beech marten has been known to occasionally cause damage to cars. Cars attacked by martens typically have cut tubes and cables. A beech marten can slice through the cables of a starter motor with just one bite. The reason for this is not fully known, as the damaged items are not eaten. There is, however, a seasonal peak in marten attacks on cars in spring, when young martens explore their surroundings more often and have yet to learn which items in their habitat are edible or not.[29] The fishoil often contained in the cables of cars from Japan may contribute to this”
- hirundo 6y ago
  The ones living in my pickup's engine compartment are kangaroo rats. The usual repellents don't seem to make much of an impression on them.
aurizon 6y ago
Hirundo, I see. So perhaps a non germinating mixture would be good. I agree with the parasite problem. Perhaps 4-6 dunk tanks, so the new full top can be attached and the empty one immersed to soak in the detergent tank(no insecticide) and when you raise the next one, the soaking ones are drained and then a few rinse tanks. That way a crew could have them in the back of a pickup and do the swaps and dunk/rinse changes as they go from feeder tp feeder. This will have to be a short term production line in motion for the 4-6 weeks of the migration. Foods can change as the migratory species change over the various species migration patterns. This needs to be a major continuing state/national effort in many global areas to sustain the birds as the warming and concimmitant changes occur - or we witness the end of many species of birds.
tzs 6y ago
A coworker has an extensive setup for feeding birds, squirrels, and raccoons. He deals with rats and mice with a high powered air gun with a well calibrated scope and sufficient skill that he's able to kill them quickly with one shot. He's killed something like a hundred over the last couple of years. If you are willing to kill the rats and mice instead of just drive them away somehow, then taking up shooting as an additional hobby might be worth considering. I've ruled it out because I don't really want to kill them, and also in my feeding area there is no good spot to take a shot from where a miss would not potentially go somewhere I really do not want it to go.
everybodyknows 6y ago
There's a natural alternative, with lower maintenance requirements: http://www.audubon.org/native-plants http://www.audubon.org/native-plants
- aurizon 6y ago
  A valid suggestion, but the growing dust bowl might mean that general plant growth is down, less seed and insects = starvation mode. For decades the South west has been depleting all of it's aquifers, so wells are getting deeper and with more salt and other mineral intrusions. This is all tied to the global warming. The great lakes are getting wetter, so major canal works to direct some of the great lakes excess to the southern and western water table is the solution. Now the excess water drains unused into the Atlantic ocean - flooding many US/Canada riverine communities.

foobarian 6y ago

What kind of rodents do you have in your part of the world that they damage your _vehicles_??

minitoar 6y ago
Not uncommon for rodents to chew on hose or wiring.
hnlmorg 6y ago
Just last week a colleague of mine had car electric problems that turned out to be a rat chewing through cables. It's weirdly common(ish) problem.
meekrohprocess 6y ago
They started using soy-based insulation in automotive wiring a couple decades ago. Sadly, it turns out that rodents really like to eat that kind of insulation. So if you have a car made after ~2000, you need to keep pests away from wherever you store it.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  This is also a problem for e.g. excavation equipment that might sit unused for weeks at a time.
Someone 6y ago
Guessing: martens. https://www.wsj.com/articles/they-go-absolutely-insane-and-tear-everything-apart-weasels-love-german-cars-11577377251 https://www.wsj.com/articles/they-go-absolutely-insane-and-t...: “Auto makers are building defenses against stone martens, a type of weasel that invades engines and eats the wiring […] We only have data from those insurers that offer a weasel policy” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten#Car_damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten#Car_damage: “Since the mid-1970s, the beech marten has been known to occasionally cause damage to cars. Cars attacked by martens typically have cut tubes and cables. A beech marten can slice through the cables of a starter motor with just one bite. The reason for this is not fully known, as the damaged items are not eaten. There is, however, a seasonal peak in marten attacks on cars in spring, when young martens explore their surroundings more often and have yet to learn which items in their habitat are edible or not.[29] The fishoil often contained in the cables of cars from Japan may contribute to this”
hirundo 6y ago
The ones living in my pickup's engine compartment are kangaroo rats. The usual repellents don't seem to make much of an impression on them.

aurizon 6y ago

Hirundo, I see. So perhaps a non germinating mixture would be good. I agree with the parasite problem. Perhaps 4-6 dunk tanks, so the new full top can be attached and the empty one immersed to soak in the detergent tank(no insecticide) and when you raise the next one, the soaking ones are drained and then a few rinse tanks. That way a crew could have them in the back of a pickup and do the swaps and dunk/rinse changes as they go from feeder tp feeder. This will have to be a short term production line in motion for the 4-6 weeks of the migration. Foods can change as the migratory species change over the various species migration patterns. This needs to be a major continuing state/national effort in many global areas to sustain the birds as the warming and concimmitant changes occur - or we witness the end of many species of birds.

tzs 6y ago

A coworker has an extensive setup for feeding birds, squirrels, and raccoons. He deals with rats and mice with a high powered air gun with a well calibrated scope and sufficient skill that he's able to kill them quickly with one shot. He's killed something like a hundred over the last couple of years. If you are willing to kill the rats and mice instead of just drive them away somehow, then taking up shooting as an additional hobby might be worth considering. I've ruled it out because I don't really want to kill them, and also in my feeding area there is no good spot to take a shot from where a miss would not potentially go somewhere I really do not want it to go.

everybodyknows 6y ago

There's a natural alternative, with lower maintenance requirements: http://www.audubon.org/native-plants http://www.audubon.org/native-plants

aurizon 6y ago
A valid suggestion, but the growing dust bowl might mean that general plant growth is down, less seed and insects = starvation mode. For decades the South west has been depleting all of it's aquifers, so wells are getting deeper and with more salt and other mineral intrusions. This is all tied to the global warming. The great lakes are getting wetter, so major canal works to direct some of the great lakes excess to the southern and western water table is the solution. Now the excess water drains unused into the Atlantic ocean - flooding many US/Canada riverine communities.