How to keep bird feeders dry

Reason why to keep bird feeders dry is to only protect the bird food contain within, damp food can rapidly germinate in wet conditions thus its vital food remains dry at all times.

How to keep bird feeders dry is to utilize a hanging squirrel baffle with a bird feeder hung below it, which is the best way to keep a feeder dry. Always hang bird feeders within a dense, leafy tree if you can to protect from rain and sun - while an umbrella can be mounted on top of a pole to keep multiple feeders dry.

Why you would keep bird feeders dry is to avoid the bird food getting damp, which of course can delay the germination process.

Its not a guarantee but it can sustain bird food for longer if its kept out of the rain.

How you would keep bird seed dry in feeders is to hang this clear plastic tube under what is called a squirrel baffle. Baffles are wide disc shape cones which can keep squirrels off bird feeders by preventing the rodents getting passed the baffle on a pole or if its hung.

Here a squirrel baffle will be used to hang off a tree branch or bird feeder pole bracket, while any bird feeder can be hung beneath it in order to keep feeders out of rainfall.

What I will say it does help if you already receive frequent visitation by birds to your feeders; thus to attract birds to a new bird feeder hidden below a squirrel baffle could be an issue, as an out of sight feeder will be unused.

Footage of lonely sparrow feeding under this roof covered metal feeder, with pouring rain seen bouncing off the roof above.

Rather than use a squirrel baffle, a better solution would be to use natural vegetation in your yard to hang a feeder - primarily off a populated tree branch filled with dense leafs.

If I'm being honest, you'll only keep bird feeders out of wet weather if the feeders are designed to hang only.

Never use an open to all platform bird feeder exposed to the elements, or any kind of dish that doesn't utilize a dome or roof cover.

Bonus of following my tips for how to keep bird feeders dry can be replicated for how to feed birds in the winter - as rain protected bird feeders can protect feeders in the snow.

Suspend bird feeders under baffle

What can be the most effective way of keeping bird feeders dry in the rain, is to suspend what are 'hanging bird feeders only' under a wide squirrel baffle.

What a squirrel baffle is can be a clear or solid color wide disc shape cone which is made to be suspended over bird feeders. How that would appear is the baffle would take the place on the bracket or branch - while the bird feeder is hanging off below it.

Don't feel you need a squirrel problem to invest in a squirrel baffle, when these devices make the ultimate tool for keeping bird feeders dry.

And remember bird feeders can get wet for sure, only to position the bird feeder deep within the baffle - it would be possible to keep the bird feeder fully dry most of the time.

To achieve complete dryness on any bird feeder its vital you pull the feeder all the way up under the squirrel baffle, so only the lower two-thirds of the feeder will remain visible.

Idea is to hang the bird feeder right up onto the squirrel baffle hook center positioned underneath - while avoiding extended chains or hangers which can be part of the bird feeder to hang - so do remove it all together if you can.

Feeders hung in dense tree

What I believe to be the ultimate way to keep a bird feeder, or a whole bunch of bird feeders grouped together dry - is to place the bird feeders within a tree.

OK so a bare tree won't give you the coverage needed to keep them dry, thus a populated dense tree full of leafy branches is all that's required.

Come Autumn there's fewer leafs on the trees so its important to situate bird feeders below what would be a wide, thick branch - all while pushing the bird feeder up the branch towards the tree trunk.

Above this thick tree branch, ideally, you'd want it to be full of more branches that only go towards providing natural shelter.

I can assure you, how you would feed birds in the wet weather is in and among a tree which provides natural coverage; while it continues to be an area where backyards birds frequent, as its where wild birds naturally forage in the wild.

Hang a single feeder or a group of bird feeders up in a leafy tree or near to where thick branches meet near to the middle, as way to keep bird feeders dry.

Strap umbrella to bird feeder pole

To continue to utilize bird feeders hung off a reliable bird feeder pole which is commonly situated in the center of your yard, you can do just that with one difference.

Bird feeders will be hung off the pole while remaining out in the open to be seen by passing birds - all while feeders are allowed to be hit with light rain or a rain storm.

Only you will fashion rain shelter with use of any old umbrella that must be mounted to the bird feeder pole to create temporary shelter.

How to mount the umbrella to the pole on a 90 degree angle is with use of plastic zip ties, plastic coated clothesline or steel wire. Where to position the umbrella is on top of the bird feeder pole - as low down as possible - to keep bird feeders under cover.

An umbrella pushed far too high up will continue to expose all bird feeders in use, thus will be sure to be hit with any rain, light or heavy.

Mount an umbrella to a regular bird feeder pole while attracting different birds to multiple feeders all at the same time.

Previously, I have only suggested ways to keep a single bird feeder dry at a time, when an umbrella can cover more ground, thus allow more bird feeders to be kept out of the rain and even direct sunshine as close group.

Hide bird feeders to avoid wind direction

Remember, bird feeders can be left out in the rain so can be hit with long spells of rain at a time; only to keep feeders dry would mean bird feeder food is kept in their best condition possible - as damp conditions causes bacteria to germinate.

And with that of course our common backyard birds are quite happy to come to bird feeders in the rain - so use of a bird feeder doesn't rely on keeping them dry.

However it certainly doesn't hurt to keep feeders out of rain as best as you can.

While rain would normally fall vertical, even in a bit of wind, there's no harm in at least protecting bird feeders hung up in horizontal rain due to windy conditions.

Despite all your efforts to keep bird feeders dry, let's not forget is this sideways rainfall which can cause bird feeders to get wet - or in many circumstances its possible bird feeders can flood.

While picking where to situate your bird feeders then, you mustn't hide feeders to avoid such rainy condition, but you can hide feeders out of the direction of the wind.

Positioning bird feeders near a structure like the side of the house or an outbuilding can help - and if you are not hanging feeders within a tree - it can certainly help to hide bird feeders on the opposite side to avoid the wind.

To summarize up

In an effort to keep your bird feeders dry, and out of the rain, what you are trying to do is keep bird feeder food dry, in order to prevent the germination of bird food.

Damp bird food can cause bacteria to quickly grow thus its worth trying to keep bird feeders dry, as it keeps bird food at its best.

Excluding the possibility of dampness caused by condensation due to humid or changing external to internal temperatures of course.

Best way to hang a bird feeder to keep the rain off is deep beneath a corresponding squirrel baffle. Baffle will hang off the bracket or branch, while the chosen bird feeder will hang below the squirrel baffle... its really that easy.

And it certainly is if you can utilize a tree on your property, so if you can then do so to hang a bird feeder above any other idea.

Hang bird feeders in a dense leafy tree or if its bare, bold or come Autumn when leafs fall off the trees - do make use of a larger, thick branch to hang bird feeders below as it can create shelter to avoid the rain.

An idea which is a little more radical than all these put together, is to mount a regular umbrella on the bird feeder pole, as way to keep multiple bird feeders out of the rain at the same time.

Locate the umbrella low down on the top so its leaning on the highest point of the pole; failure to position the umbrella low down would exposed bird feeders out in the elements.

Share this article: