"Wow" to keep mess free under outdoor bird feeder

[@phammond8155]

Very thorough. Well done!

[@GGiblet]

You are so clever and talented! Thank you for feeding the birds🐦💕

[@nancyaylward1176]

Very ingenious! At first when I looked at the video, I thought that the ground covering was like a ceramic sphere. This is amazing and I’m sure that it doesn’t cost as much as a ceramic sphere would cost. Ma’am, you are a true genius and have made someone’s birdwatching experience easier! KUDOS ❤❤❤

[@yukaish]

Glad you like it!

[@sandyedwards2681]

Wow! Your video popped up on my feed and initially, I thought it was weird. I started watching anyway (because we also have messy bird feeders here) and I was so impressed with your strategy and details. And I especially love that you showed the evolution from 2018 until now. Great job! I will like and subscribe :)

[@Lou.B]

VERY nice! Thank You!

[@OurCatioHome]

Thank you for sharing your crafty Enginewity! You are very talented and considerate of the backyard birds. Bless you.

[@joequillun7790]

Well done. This should be "pinned" for the birders out there. I laid red bricks in a circular pattern well outboard of my pole, and left the 4' ground circle under the station earth. Trying to rake and shovel the shells away in the dirt is a nightmare. I love your idea here, and will incorporate it. Thanks for posting.

[@boostjunkieMike]

Great job. Looks good. Thanks for sharing.

[@mindymorales7273]

This looks fantastic! Underneath our feeder is a big mess (and I worry about attracting vermin). So I am going to make this my next project! Thank you!

[@helenepersson2158]

So much work to tidy up for the birds... Impressive construction, though! 😉 I came up with a less time consuming construction by not trying to clean up the ground under the feeders. To make it not look absolutely terrible and unhygienic for the birds, I started to hang the feeders on the support poles for my young trees that I grow in round raised beds to separate the young trees' drip line from the surrounding grass. Around my trees, in the raised bed, I mulch the ground, so the seeds that the birds dont pick up either sprout or decompose with the mulch. Now the birds are now decorating the ground around the fruit trees. This year I got more than 10 sunflowers, last year I got some linen. I have also planted some perennials that bloom and cover some of the mess too. Some birds, such as pigeons stomp them down, but I don't mind. :) If it still gets too messy, I just add some more mulch on top. Nature decomposes the bird mess and I can spend time on cleaning the feeders instead of the ground. 😅 I also think my trees appreciate the extra birdy boo-boo fertilizer, hehe.

[@triciapgh]

I can't wait to do this in the Spring!

[@vampgirl92496]

Thank you, thank you problem solved. brilliant

[@donnamcdan9326]

Beautiful! i really needed to learn this from you. Thank you and my birds thank you!

[@eyestock9339]

I would never want to be hired by you to redo your master bathroom!! NNO!! Though I am very meticulous with bath upgrades! That was amazing to see the levels at which you took to manage the grounds of wild bird feeding! Wow!! You designed, and upgraded your design! You taught me a lot!! Thankyou!! I have a smaller confined space, and now have a lot of planning and work to do! All thanks to you! Thankyou! You are very talented!

[@joanies6778]

Great ideas. I have 100-200 birds a day with the winter we've been having... there's been snow on the ground for 2 1/2 months that has finally melted... what a mess. I'd been trying to figure a way to deal with it. Normally I just hose it down but with freezing temps I cannot connect a hose. Anyway, this will be a great solution 3/4 of the year when I can connect a hose. Love how you used the dust pan... that was brilliant. Thanks!

[@thejenfuen]

Thank you so much for sharing this!!!! I really want to do something like this for my birds!!

[@riseabove3133]

Excellent. Thank you!

[@kelcritcarroll]

Looks great and great idea!

[@handy-fy1bn]

Great video. We are planning new landscaping next spring and I have been trying to think of a solution for the mess under the feeders. Thank you for sharing!

[@BenSlover1]

Good job. You put in a lot of hard work there. Yes, seed that falls to the ground from a bird feeder will choke out the roots of the grass, and eventually kill it. Also, as you mentioned, seed that falls to the grass below a bird feeder can be a health threat to backyard birds as the moisture in the grass and roots can easily contaminate the seed with mildew or mold. When birds ingest seed that is contaminated this way they can become sickened with avian aspergillosis which can easily spread from bird to bird and is a fatal disease for them. Instead of cleaning below your feeder once a week, you might consider cleaning pretty much daily. I'm sure you've noticed bird droppings mixed up with seed that falls to the tarp below your feeder. When bird seed is contaminated with salmonella bacteria in bird droppings that are deposited on the seed from a bird infected with salmonellosis, it can lead to the spread of that avian disease when birds ingest this seed. Like avian aspergillosis, salmonellosis can then spread easily from bird to bird in a flock and larger populations of birds flocks belong to. I actually trap bird seed that falls to the ground below my feeders. The trap has chicken wire across the top that enables the seed to fall to the bottom of the trap, but is a small enough grid of wire to keep birds from being able to access the trapped seed. For whatever it's worth, you're doing a great job making your conditions and environment a much more sanitary one for your backyard birds. The vast majority of backyard birders participate in the hobby mindlessly and with little to no considerations for how their dropping-covered, bacteria-laced feeders and garden environments can pose a constant, year-round health hazard for garden birds.

[@yukaish]

Thank you very much for sharing this information. As you said, I had somehow thought that the bird droppings were mixed in with the seed that fell on the tarp under the feeder. I thought I was cleaning it, but not every day. I will make sure to clean under the feeder every day.

[@stephaniecarrow4898]

This is such important information, I'm surprised it's not included in instructions for every commercially sold feeder. It's also info the Audubon Society should highlight on their website, and I've never come across it. I'm not able to have feeders myself, but if I were, I would never have known. Thank you.

[@BenSlover1]

@@stephaniecarrow4898 Feeder-driven avian epizootic diseases have been validated through extensive scientific study for decades. And, the Audubon Society as well as "respected" institutions of wild bird study like Cornell University know that backyard birding is not without it's serious health hazards for garden birds, especially through diseases spread when backyard birds are exposed to bacteria-laced droppings on feeder surfaces. Sad fact is that they just don't care. Or, they pass out the same old extremely tired advice that if you just periodically sanitize your feeders with a bleach solution that this will keep your backyard birds healthy and fine. Unfortunately, sanitizing feeders doesn't magically zap the bacteria out of droppings birds will be exposed to on feeder surfaces N BETWEEN CLEANINGS ! Exposure for garden birds to avian-disease causing bacteria in droppings on feeders surfaces is exposure, and it doesn't matter if the feeder was just sanitized 1 minute, or 1 week previously. Backyard birding is a 5 billion dollar industry a year in the US alone, and they funnel all kinds of money to Cornell and the Audubon Society with those proceeds . So, they don't want to rock that boat. In an effort to prove that more sanitary feeders could be designed and built, I spent hundreds of hours developing 2 dropping-proof bird feeder systems shown on my channel that truly do work to stay dropping-free. So, if an individual inventor like me could do it, then why can't the 5 billion dollar a year backyard birding industry do it?

[@marthafilipic3780]

I would love to see a picture of your seed trap, and instructions on how to make one.

[@coreybrackeen2771]

This is awesome! Thank you so much for the idea!

[@erroneousbatch]

Excellent! Many thanks for the inspiration.

[@allenparker13]

Wow.... you did a fantastic job with your bird feeder. I know the birds & other wildlife love it.

[@dbeachmawmaw]

You have given me some great ideas! I have the same messy seeds falling on the ground, sprouting and just messy. I am getting supplies together and following your great.idea! Thank you for sharing!

[@LunaLalunasweet]

Wow! Excellent idea and improvement in your next observations. I really appreciate this particular content! I've envisioned something like this and you've made sense of everything, practical, organized, clean, durable and seeds are sade and everyone has a place. Even the larger birds! Beautiful!!! I am so happy to see how the rubber landscape edging lasted! Great ideas and beautiful outcome! Thank you for sharing!! Wonderful content!🎉❤

[@maryt2887]

Very clever!

[@Lake_Trout]

Excellent idea and work. Thanks for the share.

[@jorgedelgado5881]

We can't have a bird feeder because the fallen seeds attract rats. But, great idea.

[@lmnohos]

very creative. i've never seen that kind of seed catcher. i wonder if it stops squirrels from climbing pole?

[@yukaish]

We have chipmunks in our backyard, but no squirrels, so I can't give you proper advice on squirrel control. We do often see chipmunks with their cheeks full under the pole🤣. I think the base of this bird feeder is likely to be a feeding station for wild animals. So I try to clean the base and platform before dark.

[@clairvoyant3109]

Great idea and we fed birds for many years until we had a rat infestation which sadly ended our bird feeding.

[@viewer-jf3sm]

❤

[@Jane-dy1px]

What an awesome idea. I would have to keep WD40 on the pole to deter the squirrels 😂

[@yukaish]

Great idea!👍

[@jimsannerud6254]

Nice job. You're giving me some ideas. I'm still in the "moving the feeder around every couple of weeks" stage, but that is really just spreading the destruction of the lawn around. Question: how do you keep squirrels out of the feeders?

[@yukaish]

I don't have squirrels in my backyard, so I don't have any good idea as to your question. Depending on the area, there is a possibility that the bird feeder I made could be a feeding ground for squirrels and other wildlife. I see some chipmunks at the base of the feeder with their cheeks full, and also rabbits. But I enjoy it as well.

[@yukaish]

A friend of mine who lives in a secluded area was visiting and I told him that some viewers had asked me how to keep squirrels away from the bird feeders. He told me to buy some cayenne pepper powder at the grocery store and mix it into the bird feed, mammals don't like it, but birds don't taste it. He also has a bird feeder called "Woodlink Hopper Bird Feeder" which locks at the top to prevent squirrels from entering, and when a squirrel steps into the perch, a metal shield instantly covers the seed tray, cutting off the seed supply. I hope this info works.

[@SmokyMountainBlessed]

👍🏼

[@rostrhamus]

Really nice design

[@wendywittenmyer7074]

It was hard to understand her accent, but she gives wonderful tips ❤

[@AnneWilkynson]

It was not

[@irairod5160]

What? Her accent is minimal. Where is your accent from?

[@carenallen5841]

Love this..but the rodents would take over the ground..I have raccoons squirrels chipmunks possums...field rats and mice...and one large groundhog...they tear up my large flower garden..but I do love to see the birds...I keep 2 fresh water trays out for them...year round..

[@jamesscherping2461]

Do you have a link to the materials?

[@janetmilone4961]

After installing the weed barrier, why did you add the tarp?

[@yukaish]

It is double protection. The landscape fabric offers drainage and seeding blocking at the tarp ages and holes appear. The tarp offers cleanability and durability. Landscape fabric alone will break down quickly.

[@Marcuswelby-nx2te]

How do you fill the high feeder?

[@yukaish]

I keep a 2-Stair Step Stool near my bird feeder. This is very lightweight so it is easy to carry and I don't have to carry a ladder when I refill the feeders every morning.

[@thistime3889]

So with this method even more seeds start sprouting...

[@conniegerkin]

How do you keep out mice?

[@yukaish]

A friend of mine who lives in a secluded area told me to buy some cayenne pepper powder at the grocery store and mix it into the bird feed, mammals don't like it, but birds don't taste it. He also has a bird feeder called "Woodlink Hopper Bird Feeder" which locks at the top to prevent squirrels from entering, and when a squirrel steps into the perch, a metal shield instantly covers the seed tray, cutting off the seed supply. I think these methods could be used for mice. I hope this info works.

[@emmsue1053]

Good idea to have a clean up before dusk every evening but an overly tidy garden is not supporting wildlife.. The birds have a part to play yes, but nature is a self supporting circle that has worked for millennia.

[@yukaish]

It is not only about tidiness, it is also about safety. Safety for the birds, for me, and for my doggies. Seeds on the ground breed bacteria, mold, and viruses. Cleaning up the seeds helps keep all of us healthy. By providing safe feedings, we are not circumventing nature's "final destination", but rather giving a helping hand to some of nature's innocent creatures. Promoting wildlife in the yard provides both a relaxing and positive aura :)

[@GWAYGWAY1]

@emmsue1053 I used to leave seed on the ground, and we ended up with a family of rats in the house…….🇬🇧

[@MD-cx6th]

I totally agree that those of us who feed birds have to be conscientious about wet seed and how easily it can become moldy. There are no bird feeders the natural areas such as forest preserves. Many of us try to do things to help birds out, such as backyard feeders. We have a responsibility to keep the area sanitary for the sake of the birds

[@wandalevy470]

Clearly no squirrel problems! Don’t know if this would work with squirrels.

[@Kuya_Gil]

You could have cemented the floor will last much longer..

[@MD-cx6th]

Most people don't want to do cementing in their backyard unless it's a patio.