Birdbath Questions - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

05-15-2005, 05:13 AM

Hello!
I'm new here, and I am glad I found y'all. I have a few questions about birdbaths and I am hoping someone can offer me some advice.

I have a concrete birdbath and I added a few pounds of clean, polished rocks in the bottom of it for short legged birds. I also put a small bird figure in the center which is made of stone, and it sticks up above the highest water level in case it rains a lot and fills the bath to the top. So there are plenty of objects in the bath to help prevent accidents.

But I need some ideas on cleaning it and keeping it clean, since it is concrete and heavy. The rocks and bird figure are easy enough to clean. But the bowl is a real pain when it comes to keeping algae growth to a minimum since it is hard to handle because of the weight.

I don't have any trees yet (new subdivision) so I can't provide shade for it. It's in full sun in the mornings. I don't have a drip feature, but I am going to implement one this year because of the threat of West Nile in non-flowing water (any suggestions on a good one to use?).

I did some research on the 'net and came up with something called "barley straw" which is used in ponds to keep algae from growing. Has anyone used this in a birdbath? How much do you use?

I figure I'd have to anchor pieces of it underneath the rocks...otherwise if it's floating on top, it may be carried away for use as nesting material. I thought about getting a small mesh bag so that it could float on top of the water (as is the suggestion for use in ponds for optimum results). But again, I was afraid pieces would be plucked out for nesting...or that someone might get a foot caught in the mesh or carry the whole thing back to their nest and somehow injure their babies or mate with it.

I'd rather not use any chemicals...even if they say they are safe for birds. But I was thinking that perhaps naturally changing the pH of the water might deter algae growth. Has anyone tried this?

I was thinking maybe adding the juice from half of a lemon would create enough acidity that the algae would not be able to live in the water. The birds probably wouldn't be bothered by the lemon juice at all...I am sure they've had to drink water that's been really yucky and the lemon wouldn't provide too much "flavor" in the water. At least I'm thinking that half of a lemon squeezed into a gallon of water wouldn't make an overpowering flavor.

Having a drip feature would probably require me to add the juice twice a week, but I'd be willing to do that if it would keep the algae away. And maybe even floating the lemon piece in the bath after I squeeze the juice from it would help maintain the pH imbalance just enough so that algae could not grow.

Anyway...I welcome advice and tips on keeping my birdbath clean, and also any suggestions on drip features that have worked well (and where they were purchased).

Thanks in advance. Take care...Kay and Rocky

Turn Key · 05-15-2005, 11:23 AM

Hi Kay,

Welcome aboard and I hope you can find what you need here.

I also have a concrete bird bath and it does the same thing. Best way I've found to deal with it is refill with clean water every other day and wash out once a week. To clean, I dump out the water that's in it and put in a squirt of liquid dish soap (cheap stuff works fine). I then add about a cup of laundry bleach and fill with warm water. I let this mix sit while I fill the bird feeders. I then use a scrub brush on the birdbath and then give it a good rinse. Cleans it out well and shouldn't harm a thing as long as you rinse well.

Hope this helps and happy camping!

Shannon · 05-16-2005, 10:22 AM

Welcome to WildTexas.com, Kay and Rocky. I wish I could provide more guidance, but our bird bath is quite basic -- it's a "mock" concrete bird bath -- a heavy grade plastic with a concrete texture and weights (sand, I think) in the base of the basin and stand. I fill the bath periodically with fresh water, and to be honest, do not scrub out or kill the algae regularly -- it doesn't get that bad. However, we just had to cut down the tree that shaded the bath, so the algae growth is likely to become a problem for us now, too!

We have a basic drip feeder that I use periodically, but it too is nothing fancy -- it's attached with a "Y" adapter to our water nozzle, and when turned on, we can divert the water from the hose to the dripper. The dripper line has its own control knob that controls the rate of drip. We purchased the dripper 3 years ago at a Wild Birds Center here in San Antonio. I don't recall the price, but it's held up to the elements and use. We don't use it in the winter. The only problem with it is if the drip rate exceeds the evaporation and water birds splash out of the feeder, we waste a little water as it drips over the lip of the bath and into our yard. We "solved" that problem by placing the bird bath in a relatively drought-prone area of our yard, so the excess water actually serves a purpose (preventing our grass from dying out there).

Periodically -- maybe once every 2-3 months -- I blast high pressure water into the basin and, if needed, scrub it with an old toothbrush, but I do not use any soap or other additives.