Birdhouse Rentals

A flying squirrel lives in one of my bluebird houses. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Birdhouse Rentals

I tend to joke in spring as I hang birdhouses back in the garden, it’s time to put out the “for rent” signs. Although they are “bird” houses, I never know what will move into these small, hanging abodes.

One of the popular tenants are lizards. Lizards are nature’s garbage removers, consuming dead bees and other bugs.

Lizards make a home out of several of my Missouri hillside birdhouses. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

For several years, one of my favorite birdhouses was home to “Charming,” a spring peeper tree frog that would pop out and watch as I walked by. Frogs also consume bugs.

This old birdhouse is home to another Missouri tree frog. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

In 2010, when my 30-year semi-dwarf Bartlett pear tree had its first flowers, I discovered half of my birdhouses had paper wasps, very efficient fruit tree pollinators. Now I leave the wasp nests through the growing season and winter, cleaning them out in early spring so they are ready for the next pollinating tenants.

Paper wasps are excellent pollinators and often nest in birdhouses. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

One of my neighbors asked if there wasn’t a way to only allow a certain bird into a particular birdhouse.

Some birdhouses do have specific birdhouse openings that are attractive to a particular bird species. However there is no guarantee. In my certified wildlife garden, some of my “tenants” tend to make their own renovations to accommodate their needs, such as widening the bird house hole.

Some birdhouses do house birds. Birds are natural pest control. About 60% of their food in spring is focused on caterpillars and bugs that are bird baby food. Attracting birds to our gardens should decrease the need for the use of pesticides and maintain the bird population that helps keep bug numbers under control.

Of all of my birdhouse tenants, the cutest one was in an occupied bluebird house I found late summer. I was fussing over a plant I had moved near the area and was walking back and forth near the birdhouse. As I turned to leave, this little face with large eyes popped out and watched me as I stared back. A second later, it disappeared into the birdhouse, only to pop back up. It was a flying squirrel, something I didn’t even know I had living in my garden.

I put up more birdhouses this past spring, making sure they are secured to the trees in case someone unexpectedly moves in. I use wire so that I don’t have to nail into a tree. As trees grow, they will grow around the nail and could cause a hazard for someone who may need to cut it down later. Wire girdling the tree works just fine.

Did I mention rent is free?

Charlotte