Birdhouse Gourd Instructions
First, get your gourd ready for inhabitants. Get a gourd and make sure it is cleaned out. It needs to be about 9″ across. You need a drill or sharp knife, some bleach, rubber gloves, a scrubber, pencil, ruler, long spoon, and string or wire. To get the house in shape, put the gourd in a bleach solution, which is a mixture of Ã?¼ cup bleach, and a gallon of water. Let this soak for 30 minutes. Scrub the gourd with your pot scrubber but make sure you have your rubber gloves on. Rinse, dry, and then let the gourd air dry for 30 minutes.
With your drill or knife, make small holes about an inch from the top of the gourd to hang on the tree branch. Hang the gourd up to place the entry mark. This needs to be on the outermost curve of the house, 4-6″ from the bottom, facing straight out. Tree swallows should have an opening 1 Ã?½” across and 2 3/8″ high. For chickadees and wrens, the hole can be about 1 1/8″ wide. You will need 3 or 4 small drainage holes in the very bottom of the gourd. Use your long spoon to clean out the insides of the gourd.
Now that the gourd is prepared, you can begin decorating it. Gather these materials: a sponge, acrylic paints (green, white, yellow, or red), old dishes or plastic containers for paint mixing, small paintbrushes, string or wire, and an old newspaper.
Thread a piece of string through the top holes in the gourd to hang up to dry after you’ve decorated it. Use the sponge to pat your birdhouse with paint all over and then hang it up to dry. In the meantime, rinse out your sponge. You can decorate your gourd with any type of nature decoration, such as ladybugs or butterflies, using your acrylic paints and paintbrushes.
Practice your designs on paper first and then transfer to the gourd. When the designs have completely dried, you will be ready to hang it to a branch with your wire or string. Get ready for your first bird visitors!
