Birds can directly help your backyard garden by eating weed seeds they find throughout your lawn and garden. They can be a blessing and a frustration due to the fact they have not learned the difference between those squash seeds you carefully planted and the weed seeds that you really want them to consume.
Birds also like to snack on insects, like seeds the birds are not indifferent to the pests and the beneficial insects, so they may gobble up some of your spiders, ants, beetles, and worms (OK not an insect) but they are also nice enough to each aphids, grubs and Japanese beetles. Some birds such as swallows can eat 100s of bugs in a morning snack.
If you decide that you want to attract more birds to your backyard garden there are three simple necessities: food, water, and shelter
Food: Feeding your birds is pretty easy, above I mentioned some of the benefits of the insects and weed seeds that your birds can feast from. There is the obvious bird feeder and given the seeds/food you choose can help determine the species birds you will have visiting your garden.
For example: most songbirds prefer black oil sunflower seeds, while white millet is preferred by most ground feeding birds.
Now of course the more food your birds are eating from your feeders the less pests and weed seeds they are eating from your lawn and garden, but the feeder should attract more birds to your lawn/garden so best to keep those feeders full.
Water: Birds need water to drink but also bathe in. You will want to clean your bird bath about once a week with a diluted bleach solution (3/4 cup bleach to 1 gal water) since unfortunately the birds may use their bath occasionally as a bathroom.
Shelter: Shelters give animals a place to nest and/or hide from predators. There are two types of shelters natural and man-made. If you have some well established trees and/or shrubbery in your yard, you probably have some birds already living with you (whether you know it or not). If you just want to attract more birds to hear singing in your backyard or you want to put them to work getting rid of pests and weeds in your lawn and garden the birds will love it.
If you decide that you want to attract more birds to your backyard garden there are three simple necessities: food, water, and shelter
Food: Feeding your birds is pretty easy, above I mentioned some of the benefits of the insects and weed seeds that your birds can feast from. There is the obvious bird feeder and given the seeds/food you choose can help determine the species birds you will have visiting your garden.
For example: most songbirds prefer black oil sunflower seeds, while white millet is preferred by most ground feeding birds.
Now of course the more food your birds are eating from your feeders the less pests and weed seeds they are eating from your lawn and garden, but the feeder should attract more birds to your lawn/garden so best to keep those feeders full.
Water: Birds need water to drink but also bathe in. You will want to clean your bird bath about once a week with a diluted bleach solution (3/4 cup bleach to 1 gal water) since unfortunately the birds may use their bath occasionally as a bathroom.
Shelter: Shelters give animals a place to nest and/or hide from predators. There are two types of shelters natural and man-made. If you have some well established trees and/or shrubbery in your yard, you probably have some birds already living with you (whether you know it or not). If you just want to attract more birds to hear singing in your backyard or you want to put them to work getting rid of pests and weeds in your lawn and garden the birds will love it.
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