Vital garden task you need to do now to protect blue tits and other birds

Birdsong is welcome in many of our gardens as Spring finally arrives – but this bad habit could be a silent blue tit killer.

Protect the blue tits in your garden

As the sunshine emerges and your gardening gloves come out, you’re probably looking forward to the morning chorus and watching blue tits dart across your lawn.

But there’s one crucial job you must tackle first to prevent harming your feathered visitors.

While many of us have bird feeders dotted around our gardens, these can become silent killers for our avian friends.

It’s essential to complete one vital task now to prevent these feeders turning into death traps.

All that’s needed is a pair of rubber gloves, hot soapy water, a brush, and a veterinary disinfectant. Regular cleaning of your bird feeders helps eliminate bacteria and fungal spores, according to Gardener’s World, reports the Express.

This task is essential for keeping Blue Tits alive and well(Image: Getty)

This is because bacteria and fungal spores can rapidly accumulate on bird feeders, as well as bird baths and bird tables. These can then quickly transmit infections amongst garden birds.

The straightforward solution is ensuring you’re cleaning your feeders regularly to reduce the spread of infections. This is particularly crucial at this time of year during mating season.

You should also relocate your bird table around the garden to prevent diseases accumulating in any single spot.

To clean your bird feeder – pop on your rubber gloves and empty out all the seeds or pellets. Ensure you bin these as they could be laden with harmful bacteria.

Using hot soapy water, give the feeder a thorough scrub with a brush, making certain to remove any leftover food and droppings. Then rinse this off with cold water – ideally using an outdoor tap if you’ve got one available.

Leave the feeder to air dry thoroughly. Next, grab your veterinary disinfectant and spray the feeder to make certain you’ve eliminated any lingering bacteria or spores.

Finally, rinse your feeder one more time in cold water and let it dry before refilling it with your feed.

When you hang your freshly cleaned bird-feeder back up, you can enjoy watching the blue tits flit in and out of your garden, safe in the knowledge they’ll be building up their reserves for Spring without the threat of disease.