Birds maintain themselves in a variety of ways, they groom themselves, they groom each other, and, they take birdbaths.
Birds don’t maintain themselves for the sake of vanity, their maintenance helps keep their feathers clean and shiny.
You can help birds maintain themselves by installing a birdbath in your yard, but you’d have to maintain said birdbath.
Maintaining a birdbath in your garden can be a tricky situation, this article looks at if you can use olive oil in a birdbath
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Olive oil in bird bath
If you have a birdbath in your garden then you know how difficult keeping it clean can be. Contaminants such as feces, feathers, algae, and dust can all make your birdbath dirty.
In addition, insects can also be attracted to your birdbath. Stagnant water attracts insects like mosquitoes, it is said that using olive oil in your birdbath, or another oil, like salad oil, can keep these insects away.
The idea is that because the oil creates a thin layer of oil on top of the water, mosquitoes will not be interested in laying eggs in the birdbath water.
This may be true but it isn’t always the best for birds. Birds already have a waterproofing oil layer on their feathers. The waterproofing that the birds have on their feathers comes from the oil from the bird’s preen glands.
If you add oil to your birdbath, and birds use it, then the olive oil will attach to the bird’s feathers.
Olive oil attaching to your bird’s feathers will cause the feathers to become matted down, in addition, the bird will wind up smelling like olive oil.
So, although adding olive oil to your birdbath can help to keep mosquitoes away, doing this isn’t best for birds.
Is olive oil safe for birds?
Apart from the unfortunate side effects of the oil causing the bird to have matted up feathers, and the oil making the bird smell like oil, yes olive oil is safe for birds.
Feeding your bird olive oil can actually be helpful. This oil is rich in fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that the bird’s body will use.
The fats in olive oil can help to lower the risk of certain cancers in birds as well as reduce inflammation. The vitamins and minerals in this oil will boost the bird’s immune function and help strengthen the bird’s bones.
The antioxidants in olive oil are helpful in minimizing the risks of chronic disease in birds.
Other ways to get rid of mosquitoes:
Move the water:
The reason why mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water is that it is non-moving. This is why many man-made water features have fountains or waterfalls. This movement of water keeps a lot of pests away.
Knowing this, if you can get the water in your birdbath to move then the mosquitoes will not be attracted to the birdbath.
Machines like the water wiggler are made to move water in birdbaths.
Replace the water:
If you don’t want to buy machines that will move the water in your birdbath then you can simply replace your birdbath’s water ever so often.
Mosquitoes have a very short life, the time it takes for a mosquito to go from an egg to an adult is about a week.
If you can change the water before the mosquitoes turn into adults, then your birdbath will stay clean and you won’t develop a mosquito problem.
Conclusion
If you’re thinking of using olive oil in your birdbath then you may want to reconsider.
The olive oil will sit on top of your birdbath water, this will keep mosquitoes away which is helpful, but this oil will also cause the bird’s feathers to become matted up.
A better solution would be to use a device that moves water in your birdbath, like a water wiggler, or to simply replace your birdbath water before the mosquitoes grow into adults.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Copper Pennies In Birdbath, Apple Cider Vinegar For Cockatiels, Apple Cider Vinegar For Canaries, Apple Cider Vinegar For Bird Yeast Infection, Apple Cider Vinegar For Bird Mites