If you decide to purchase one of these, make sure you choose the 1.5 waterer and NOT the feeder.

I can't guarantee that it will work for you like it did for me, but I'll never be without it in my yard again. Also note, I only fertilize my plants. I do not spray, except for weeds in the lawn once a year.

You can see the clean leaves of my John Davis in the first photo taken mid-June last year. The second photo is more clean leaves from inside my house view, as well as a few of the beautiful green arborvitae.

KEEP IN MIND... THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. All of these bugs have life cycles. I purchased the waterer in May, 2021... So it took an entire year for the cycles to be broken.

Please see post below if you want to see how I clean the waterer... :)

Rebecca

Thank you for sharing this fantastic tool, much appreciated.

Great idea, Rebecca!

@User thank you for the tip! I just ordered two! How often do you change the water? And how often do you clean these? Thank you! We get scale on our Crepe Myrtles and I'm hoping this will be an valuable alternative to a drench.

Thank you for your great reply, Rosesmi. I'm happy that there are others out there who know the power of water for the birds in the garden!

I have never used any chemicals in my yard aside from annual weed killer on the lawn that is safe for animals after it dries. I lived with the holes in the rose leaves and worms everywhere for all these years. Now I have beautiful leaves and water for the birds will be in my yard always.

Rebecca

Hi Sunny, I leave the water in them until it gets close to the bottom, but if it gets crud (bird droppings) in the watering ring, I change it. If it goes a long time between changes and the weather is hot, you can change it more often. I keep a squirt bottle of a light bleach/water mix in the garage and spritz the green tray and the bottle and let it set for a few minutes. Then I take a brush and swoosh it on the tray, RINSE IT VERY WELL to protect the birds, and fill it up. I don't do this every time... Just when the green moss starts to grow. I do use plastic gloves when I do this. Or wash your hands well after the job is done.

I believe if you have sparrows in your neighborhood, it will attract them and help your problem. Especially if you are not feeding the sparrows any other food. It's certainly worth a try... Happy birding!

Rebecca

Rebecca - I'm so glad that you found such an easy and safe solution. Bravo! :) :)

I love this!

Rosecanadian - I didn't have to hunt for this answer, and I can't take the credit... I ask the Lord about these things.

When the idea popped into my head it was natural for me to know how to do it. I grew up on a homesteaded farm that had always been in our family, in a 100 year old farm house. We had a porch on the house shown in this photo of me and my little red hen. Each year in early Spring, we laid paper down across part of the floor with a board up on the side to keep the chicken in and we raised baby chicks there until they were big enough to move outside to the chicken coop with a heat lamp. I spend endless hours watching them, picking them up, and rubbing their fuzzy bodies across my face to feel their unbelievable softness. During that time I had the fun of watching them eat and drink. As a result, I knew what to do. I can't tell you how much fun I had on that old farm. The photo below is me in about 1953.

Rebecca

Adorable, Rebecca!

Brilliant idea, Rebecca: thanks for the suggestion!

Thank you, Sheila and Melissa. I've enjoyed sharing this. It's incredible to think that this went all the way to OR and then kept going even farther to Italy in the blink of an eye.... well almost. :)

Almost every year the robins build a nest under the sweltering metal carport outside my apartment. I try to keep clean water out in a dish for them but I never thought of getting a chicken waterer , perfect solution ! It will be fun to watch the birds come get a drink this year.

A few years ago I saw a flock of sparrows converge in one of my rose bushes. Hopping from branch to branch, within a few minutes they quickly picked all the insects and then flew off. It was one of the coolest nature experiences I've seen.

Berrypie, Thanks for writing that story. I love it. It's more proof that sparrows love bugs! It is fun to watch the sparrows fluttering their wings while they feed on all those nasty insects, knowing that you don't have to spray or pick or rinse.! Well it makes it that much more fun to watch!

Rebecca

This is really interesting - I think I'll have to buy one of those! I do have bird baths, but it's hard to keep the water clean. I can definitely vouch for the wonderful contributions that the birds make to my garden! Aside from their beauty and songs and general adorable-ness! When we first moved to our house, we didn't get many house sparrows. But in recent years, they've really moved in. I think they like the fact that I have climbing roses growing on the house; they nest in these roses like crazy. For years, I've been plagued by sawfly larvae. I know you can pick them off or knock them off with sprays of water, but if you have lots of very large roses, this is not practical. But since the house sparrows have moved in, I've noticed a really dramatic reduction in the sawfly population. Though I still get a few, it's nothing like what I used to get - the popuation is so reduced that I really don't feel the need to do anything about it. I think the house sparrows are taking care of them for me! I know a lot of people don't like house sparrows, and I know they are not native, but they are good garden helpers, and we still get plenty of all the other birds we've always had (song sparrows, wrens, jays, cardinals, robins, etc) Birds are truly wonderful creatures, I do love them a lot!

Ah, Frances, you are woman after my own heart! Your story is proof positive that this really works. Giving the birds water this way (and all the birds benefit, not just the sparrows) is so easy compared to trying to tend a bird bath. Thank you for telling us!

Rebecca

When I was a child my Grandmother gave me the job of rubbing old bread between my hands to make bread crumbs for the sparrows. I forgot all about it for over 60 years - think I'll turn my organic grain bread into my garden helper's reward. Quail families occasionally march through the roses, I hope they will stop to bug shop too.

Berrypie, those childhood memories can be priceless. :)

Rebecca - that picture and your memories are adorable. : ) You were very fortunate to have had the childhood you had and to carry that appreciation forward. :) :)

Berrypie - :) :) I love that you got to see them at work. :)

Frances - I'd love to be able to grow roses that are big enough for birds to nest in. They're really repaying your love of growing roses. :) :)

For our cockatiels, we have 2 gerbil water bottles in the cage. Works like a charm and they don't poop in their water. :)

Rosecanadian, Thank you for your comments! I love your enthusiasm for life! You have already figured out the benefits of water in a bottle. :)

Rebecca

I have a heated bird bath that allows the birds to take baths all thru the winter….. they love it!! The water is kept at around 47 degrees. I’ve had up to 15 Starlings taking a bath at the same time. Talk about a crowded bath tub….. lol

I’m wondering if one was to sit one of these ‘Bugg Weapons’ in the bath, without water in the bath, would it keep the drinking water warm all winter long. Maybe a 1/2 inch of water to provide heat transfer. Of course the whole thing could catch fire so be careful if you try this out.

Toolbelt, That sounds like it could work. I saw a heated chicken waterer on Amazon. They also have heated bases to set the waterer on, so I guess you can take it anywhere you want to go with it.

15 birds in a bath!! That must have been a sight. I'm sure they emptied the pool. I have a heated bird bath, but I gave it up for the same reason I gave it up in the summer...Too much tending. We have lots of snow, so they have water. I know heated water is better for them, though.

Rebecca - :) :) :)

Toolbelt - did you take a picture of the starlings having their bath? That would be cute to see.

Rebecca, I've got thousands of pictures so searching for the exact one is NOT going to happen.. lol

However, I did find a few that comes close.... enjoy

These are waiting their turn.....

This one....well

WOW, TOOLBELT! You weren't kidding! Thanks for the photos. Clearly you know how to do bird baths right!

Rebecca

Toolbelt - that was SO cool!!!! Thank you!! I looooved that. But then there was one. LOL