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Q: Do I need to
clean my feeder?
A: Yes!!
How can the risk of
disease be reduced?
Supplementary
feeding encourages squirrels to gather in areas more often than normal.
Other rodents and birds will also use the feeders and together these factors
may increase the spread of disease. There are a number of ways to reduce
the risk:
-
Clean
up spilt food. Spilt food attracts other rodents to the ground beneath
the feeder. Place the feeder on a tree which has links to adjacent
trees so that the squirrels do not have to approach it from the ground.
-
Take
the feeder down every two to four weeks and clean it thoroughly. Never
leave damp or stale food in the feeder
and scrub down with a multi-purpose disinfectant, (such as Virkon
S) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Rinse the feeder
thoroughly and make sure it is completely dry before re-filling.
-
Consider
moving the feeder around periodically rather than using the same tree
all the time.
-
After
cleaning, re-fill the feeder with fresh dry food.
-
For
your own safety, always wear protective gloves and wash your hands
thoroughly after handling the feeder.
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