Bird watching is a lovely hobby. However, maintaining your bird feeders, especially during inclement weather, can be quite the obstacle.
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Check PriceA recent YouTube video called "DIY Weather Guard $2 – Brome 1024 Squirrel Buster Plus" shows how to make a weather guard for your bird feeder out of inexpensive materials.
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This is a DIY project that will save you money. Here are instructions to make a simple weather guard that can protect your bird food for $2.
What You’ll Need
- A plastic mat or tray (purchased from a dollar store)
- Scissors or a utility knife
- Your bird feeder (the Brome 1024 Squirrel Buster Plus)
Introduction
Want to save money on weather guards for your bird feeders? To help you save money, you can make one yourself, for little, to no cost, using a plastic mat, or tray, which can be located at your local dollar store. This is a much cheaper option compared to the pricier versions, and it is simple, and easy to make, and it works just as good!
Use these steps to make a weather guard that will protect your bird feed from getting wet and stale in periods of heavy rain.
Step one: Choose the Right Material
The video begins with a shopping trip to a dollar store. Here, the creator buys a plastic mat for $2. While the mat is made from lightweight material, it is durable enough to handle the weather.
Although these mats are designed for use in a home and meant to stop water from spilling out of the tub, they are great for our weather guard project.
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Step 2: Cutting the Mat
Now that your plastic mat is ready, you can start cutting it to size for your bird feeder. Aim to create a circular piece that will serve as the guard.
Using scissors or a utility knife, you will want to cut a circle from the mat. Don't worry about cutting an exact circle, it simply needs to be functional. The creator admits to not cutting a perfect circle, and it works just fine.
Step 3: Create the Central Hole
Once you’ve cut out the circle, you need to create a center hole for the bird feeder mounting pole. To do this, cut a smaller circle inside the larger cut-out.
Once again, exactness isn't essential in this step, but ensure the hole made is wide enough to fit over the feeder's pole to fit snugly.
Step 4. Sliding the Guard onto the Feeder
Now that you've got your weather guard, let's get it installed! Open your bird feeder and slide the plastic piece over the pole.
At first, the creator places the guard higher on the feeder, but then he realizes it works better placed lower. This prevents rainwater from entering the feeder at an angle and soaking the bird feed.
Step 5: Modifying for Effectiveness
Place the guard so that rain water can not go into the feeder. The creator tries differnt positions and decides that positioning the guard lower on the feeder is more effective.
Placement concerns might be regarding water pooling through the center hole, however, this concern is mitigated through strategic placement.
Step 6: Last Changes and Tests
After everything is set up, check that the guard is stable and fully covers the feeding holes. Your DIY weather guard should now effectively keep rainwater out so the bird feed stays dry and enticing to your avian friends.
Conclusion
That is awesome! For just $2 plus tax, you built a functional weather guard for your bird feeder and saved about $23 compared to buying one in the store.
With a bit of creativity you can greatly improve your experience watching birds.
