Beautiful songbirds can add color and amazing sound to a garden or lawn. Attracting them to a birdhouse requires a few strategies. If you’re having trouble, the right wild bird feed and location can do wonders for drawing birds in. Consider the following to draw various species onto your property.

3 Ways to Encourage Birds to Nest in Your Garden

1. Pick the Right Location

Before you build or purchase a birdhouse, choose the right location. Various birds like different locations; chickadees feel safer in a house close to shrubs and trees. Blue Jays want to be in open areas with plenty of bugs to feed on. Wrens want a home hanging from a tree, and swallows will want to be close to water. Most importantly, they want to feel safe, which is why location is so important.

2. Create the Right Nesting Boxes

Like location, different birds want different birdhouses. Purple martins prefer larger group housing, whereas bluebirds want private, single-space birdhouses. It’s best to go with simple rather than extravagant design. Untreated cedar pine or cypress are the best materials. Add a sloped roof to keep rain out, and drill small drainage holes to allow water to escape if necessary. Walls should be 3/4-inch thick to provide insulation. You’ll want to adjust hole size by the type of bird you want. Nuthatches like a larger 1 and 1/4-inch hole; wrens will look for holes around 11/8 inches.

3. Provide the Right Bird Seed

Birds want to feed both naturally and on wild bird feed. Provide a quality product to draw them in and keep them healthy. Products should appeal to a variety of birds and include crushed peanuts, cracked corn, thistle seed, suet, and safflower. These provide ample protein, fat, and nutrients to keep birds healthy.

Residents of the Bethel, OH, area turn to Bethel Feed & Supply Pet & Garden Center for wild bird feed and other quality garden supplies. For decades, they’ve supplied residents and farmers with high-quality feed, pet accessories, and lawn care supplies to help their livestock, wildlife, and foliage flourish. Explore their options on their website, and call (513) 734-2246 to ask about wild bird feed.