How to Build a Gourd Bird House
Large gourds can be dried and cleaned in order to build a gourd bird house. These birdhouses attract cavity nesting birds such as wrens, the titmouse, bluebird, woodpeckers and many other bird species. With a few simple tools you can build a comfortable, natural birdhouse for your feathered friends.
Items Needed:
- Gourd
- Water
- Bleach
- Expansion bit
- Drill
- Wire or leather strap
- Primer and paint or polyurethane
- Start with a completely dry gourd.
- Clean the gourd by soaking it in a mixture of water and bleach that is 10 percent bleach for 15 minutes. Cleaning the gourd in this manner will help to prevent the gourd from growing mold.
- Lay the gourd out to dry.
- Create the entrance hole with an expansion bit a little higher than the gourd's center. Use a serrated knife to break up the inside of the gourd and clean it out. The diameter of the hole can be as small as 1 1/4 inch and as large as 2 1/2 inches, depending on the bird you are trying to attract.
- Drill two 1/4-inch holes at the top of the gourd and thread a wire or leather strip through it to use to hang the gourd birdhouse.
- Use a small drill bit to drill a few holes in the bottom and a couple of holes in the side of the gourd birdhouse to allow for ventilation and drainage. The holes should be about 3/8-inch in diameter.
- Prime and paint or coat it with clear polyurethane to weatherproof it.
- Hang your gourd birdhouse from a sturdy tree limb. The height at which it should be hung from depends on the birds you are trying to attract. A blue bird prefers 5 to 10 feet. Nuthatch and wren's prefer 6 to 10 feet. The chickadee and titmouse prefer 6 to 15 feet. Woodpeckers prefer 12 to 20 feet. Some birds do not like their home to swing too much, so you will have to steady it or use a stiffer wire to hang it on.