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How to pick up bird seeds (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MobiusX
- Start date
jape
Well-known member
maybe a battery powered vacuum like the chargeable car ones.? i would simply sprinkle soil and not worry about the grass, create a small garden bed instead. birds can make their own decisions and you may get some natural food plant growth too. that would be fun and if seed is viable sprouts add to nutrition and garden colour!
I don't even know if those small vacuums are capable of doing this.
jape
Well-known member
borrow one and try? look up 'car vacuum cordless' on amazon. mine easily manages spilled bird seed from the carpet and crumbs and cat litter too.
It's going to be hard since its between the grass
jape
Well-known member
concrete the yard then. or at least place slabs under the feeder or maybe a square of artificial grass which you can pick up and shake clean, but i think you are probably worrying too much.
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Torchepot
Well-known member
I've been using something like this almost every week for the last ten years or so. Needs an extension lead but works great unless it's really wet.
http://a.co/7dZHM24
http://a.co/7dZHM24
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
I'd go with the leaf blower - it should blow them out from the grass without wrecking the grass :t:
One caution: wear a face mask when blowing the stuff, as you don't want to breathe in bits of bird droppings.
One caution: wear a face mask when blowing the stuff, as you don't want to breathe in bits of bird droppings.
Torchepot
Well-known member
Never really understood the logic behind a blower versus a vacuum. Why blow the problem somewhere else when you can just suck it up and add it to the composter? If ever our feeder detritus gets left for too long for any reason it starts to smell pretty unhealthy - I wouldn't want to blow it somewhere else. Even if you're in a position where you can blow it onto a hard surface you've still got to pick it up - why do the job twice?
Torchepot
Well-known member
Certainly - amongst other nasty infections this one has been spread amongst wild birds visiting feeders (mostly finches) in Europe -'i believe it occurs in the USA too.
https://en.wikivet.net/Trichomonosis_-_Birds
Personally I think if I'm going to feed the birds regularly then I have a responsibility to not make them sick while doing so. Getting rid of fallen waste helps to prevent them ingesting diseases which are spread by other birds pooping on the fallen seed or from feeding on scraps that fall from other bird's beaks.. For the same reason I change the water in the bird bath regularly (I'm probably a bit obsessive about this as I change it at least a couple of times a day!) If any birds do look sick it's probably a good idea to step up hygiene and stop putting water out (or even stop feeding altogether) till things get better.
We had a bout of Trichomonosis a few winters ago and it's a horrible disease, birds basically taking days to die in a distressing manner.
The other big risk with leaving the waste is that sooner or later it will attract rats or other rodents.
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Torchepot
Well-known member
Just a thought - if picking up waste seed is difficult you can really cut down on it by using a "waste free" food - I googled waste free bird food on amazon.com and there is a really big choice available in the USA. It's also quite a good idea to move the feeders around occasionally (if possible) to prevent the build up of droppings in one place.
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