Learn how to make a birdhouse without wood. This simple DIY birdhouse is easy to make with empty plastic butter tubs or something similar in size. This adorable beehive birdhouse looks so cute hanging in a tree in your yard. It's easy enough for kids to make with some help.
We basically live in an animal sanctuary. Our little farm is surrounded by commercial farms on three sides. The fourth side is the road and was a field until a few years ago.
The animals needed somewhere to go, so they live in a small wooded area that we have near the house or near our ponds.
I hang several bird feeders outside for the birds. I put them outside of the living room windows, and we enjoy watching the birds. The cats love watching them from the back of the couch too.
I didn't really have many birdhouses, so I wanted to learn how to make a birdhouse out of recycled materials. Since bees and beehives are popular this year, I decided to make a beehive birdhouse for my upcycled birdhouse.
I'm pretty crafty, but I draw the line at cutting wood. The hubby will help with that, but I wanted to show you how to make a birdhouse without wood as an alternative.
How to Make a Birdhouse Out of Recycled Materials
When I was looking for DIY birdhouse ideas, I knew I wanted to make an upcycled birdhouse with something that would otherwise be thrown away or recycled.
Although we don't eat margarine, my neighbor does. We take care of his recycling, and I saw two margarine containers.
They are wider at the top than at the bottom. I put them together, and I made a crude beehive birdhouse. Score!
How Do You Make a Birdhouse Out of Household Items?
This DIY easy birdhouse uses margarine containers, but you can use other plastic containers. You can also make an upcycled birdhouse out of one of the following:
- Coffee can
- Sticks
- Milk carton
- Shoe box
- Coconut shell
- Gourd
- Ice cream sticks
- Boots
- PVC pipe
- 2 Liter pop bottle
- Terra cotta pots
You can also use upcycled materials to make a bird feeder. Try this coffee can birdhouse and bird feeder , this apple bird feeder, or this mason jar ring bird feeder.
Do You Put Anything in a Simple DIY Birdhouse?
Most birds will add their own nesting materials, so there's not need to add any in this DIY easy birdhouse. However, woodpeckers like 2 to 3 inches of woodchips or dry sawdust in the bottom.
Should I Put a Perch on My Birdhouse?
No, you should not add a perch to your easy birdhouse DIY. Predatory birds like crows, jays, ravens, and magpies uses perches to rest on to get the eggs and young birds in your upcycled birdhouse.
The birds that are likely to use your beehive birdhouse to nest don't usually use a perch and prevent DIY birdhouse ideas without a perch.
What Color is Best for an Easy Birdhouse DIY?
I used rope for my simple DIY birdhouse. It blends in with the surroundings so the birds feel safer using this upcycled birdhouse. This helps protect the beehive birdhouse from predators.
Does a Birdhouse Need Ventilation?
When you learn how to make a birdhouse out of recycled materials, it's important to add some holes on the bottom. This is for ventilation and for drainage if the inside becomes wet.
You can also drill holes about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter just below the top of this beehive birdhouse to improve air circulation.
Do Birds Like Swinging Bird Houses?
This beehive birdhouse hangs from a tree, so it will swing a bit in the breeze. Some birds don't mind a swinging DIY easy birdhouse, but other kinds of birds won't use it.
Research the type of the birds that you have and find out what they prefer to nest in before you learn how to make a birdhouse without wood.
What Direction Should a DIY Easy Birdhouse Face?
Your simple DIY birdhouse should face away from prevailing winds. Therefore, you should place the easy birdhouse DIY where it faces the northeast.
Where Should I Put a Birdhouse in my Yard?
You can place your DIY easy birdhouse where you will see it so that you get enjoyment out of it from watching the birds. Choose an area that is about 5 feet off the ground. However, birds will nest up to 30 feet high.
Place birdhouses 25 to 50 feet apart. Most birds don't want to nest near other birds.
When Should You Put Up a Beehive Birdhouse?
You can put up this DIY easy birdhouse any time, but the best time is in the fall or winter. This gives the birds time to find it and use it before the breeding season.
Why Won't Birds Use My Upcycled Birdhouse?
Once you learn how to make a birdhouse out of recycled materials, you'll be excited to watch the birds use it. However, they may not want to use it right away.
If the birds are using your simple DIY birdhouse right away, then you may need to make some changes. Try hanging it lower to the ground or up higher.
You may need to move it due to predators. Birds will not use this upcycled birdhouse if there are predators nearby.
Easy Birdhouse DIY Materials
To make this simple DIY birdhouse, you will need:
- Scissors
- Empty round butter tubs (15 ounce size)
- Large washers
- Eye bolt with nut
- Decorative rope - I got mine at Dollar Tree, but you can also find it on Amazon.
- Hot glue gun and glue
- E6000 adhesive
- Small zip ties
- Marker
- Wood burning tool or soldering iron
How to Make a Birdhouse Out of Recycled Materials
Step #1
Stack one container upside down on the other. Then take the marker and make a circle that goes over both of them.
Step #2
In the bottom of one of the containers, use the burner/iron to melt a few small holes. This will allow for drainage.
Step #3
Then in the bottom of the other container, melt a hole in the center that is large enough for the bolt to fit through.
Step #4
Now use the burner/iron to trace the line you made for the circle. This will cut that part out of the containers.
Step #5
Stack the containers on top of each other again with the opening matched up. Then melt a small hole in the edge of the container on both containers. Do this in 3 different areas as we will use them to tie the containers together.
Step #6
Now in the hole you made for the bolt, you want to but the bolt through with a washer on the inside and out. Then screw the nut on tight.
Step #7
Stack the containers again so they are matched up. Then feed the zip ties through the little holes and lock them in place. Be sure to get all 3 spots.
Step #8
Add a dab of hot glue right next to the bolt and attach the rope to it.
Step #9
Then smear some of the E6000 around that area. Start to warp the rope around using some hot glue here and there to hold it while the E6000 dries. Keep doing this working your way down the side of the container.
Step #10
When you get to the hole area, cut the rope long enough to go around the container stopping at the hole on each side, and glue them in place. Keep repeating until you get to where the containers come together.
Step #11
When you get to that halfway point, flip them over and start working from the bottom of the other side just as you did before. With this side, make sure you do not cover those little melted holes with the glue as we want them to be able to drain.
Step #12
When the whole thing is covered in rope, we need to finish off the opening. Cut a piece of rope large enough to fit around the very edge of the opening. Then glue in place. Then cut another piece long enough to go around that one and glue it in place.
Hang the birdhouse where you want it with a hook or string from the bolt in the top.
Now you know how to make a birdhouse out of recycled materials!
For more outdoor DIYs for birds and other critters, check out these posts:
How to Make a Birdhouse Out of Recycled Materials
materials:
- 2 Empty Round Butter Tubs (used 15 oz size)
- 2 Large Washers
- 1 Eye Bolt with Nut
- 4 Decorative Ropes
- E6000 Adhesive
- 3 Small Zip Ties
- Marker
tools:
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- Wood Burning Tool or Soldering Iron
steps:
- Stack one container upside down on the other. Then take the marker and make a circle that goes over both of them.
- In the bottom of one of the containers, use the burner/iron to melt a few small holes. This will allow for drainage.
- Then in the bottom of the other container, melt a hole in the center that is large enough for the bolt to fit through.
- Now use the burner/iron to trace the line you made for the circle. This will cut that part out of the containers.
- Stack the containers on top of each other again with the opening matched up. Then melt a small hole in the edge of the container on both containers. Do this in 3 different areas as we will use them to tie the containers together.
- Now in the hole you made for the bolt, you want to but the bolt through with a washer on the inside and out. Then screw the nut on tight.
- Stack the containers again so they are matched up. Then feed the zip ties through the little holes and lock them in place. Be sure to get all 3 spots.
- Add a dab of hot glue right next to the bolt and attach the rope to it.
- Then smear some of the E6000 around that area. Start to warp the rope around using some hot glue here and there to hold it while the E6000 dries. Keep doing this working your way down the side of the container.
- When you get to the hole area, cut the rope long enough to go around the container stopping at the hole on each side, and glue them in place. Keep repeating until you get to where the containers come together.
- When you get to that halfway point, flip them over and start working from the bottom of the other side just as you did before. With this side, make sure you do not cover those little melted holes with the glue as we want them to be able to drain.
- When the whole thing is covered in rope, we need to finish off the opening. Cut a piece of rope large enough to fit around the very edge of the opening. Then glue in place. Then cut another piece long enough to go around that one and glue it in place.
- Hang the birdhouse where you want it with a hook or string from the bolt in the top.
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How does the rope hold up in the weather? I was thinking about rain and snow if it would ruin it or make it unhealthy for the birds, I don't know if rope can grow mold or not, lol... I hope I don't sound dumb I was just trying to think how this would hold up, I've made decorative ones before and just painted the whole black but I've never hung them outside.
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