When the birds and blooms wake up in springtime, look for ways to lure some colorful avian adventurers into your backyard. One way to attract birds to your outdoor space is by building, painting and mounting a complementary wooden birdhouse for your feathered friends.
However, deciding on the right non-toxic paints and protective finish to use on your birdhouse depends on factors you may not have even considered. This guide walks you through choosing the best birdhouse paint to dress up your backyard and attract different bird species.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Paint for Birdhouses
Believe it or not, different birds have different color preferences for wood birdhouses. So, when you choose colors for your birdhouse, consider hues that mesh well with your outdoor space and shades that enhance the well-being of the bird species you attract. This means, first and foremost, opting for non-toxic paint, whether you’re painting pastels, neutrals, or colorful birdhouses.
Understanding Bird Preferences and Safety
When you’re ready to paint birdhouses, consider how the birds may feel about their new backyard home. Though you can use any water-based or acrylic paint, Real Milk Paint has all the colors you need to decorate your wooden birdhouse in a non-toxic, eco-friendly fashion. Let’s look at what different bird species like and dislike about painted birdhouses.
Do Birds Prefer Unpainted or Painted Birdhouses?
When it comes to painting birdhouses, some feathered friends prefer an unpainted wooden birdhouse. For instance, chickadees like unpainted birdhouses in secluded, woody areas, as do nesting birds like wrens, nuthatches and tree swallows. By contrast, bright birds like orioles and hummingbirds often enjoy a vibrantly painted birdhouse.
Safe, non-toxic Paint Options for Birdhouses
When painting birdhouses, use safe, non-toxic paint that doesn’t harm nesting birds that decide to move into the abode. Look for water-based and acrylic paints labeled non-toxic, or opt for all-natural mediums like Real Milk Paint. This paint mixes with Outdoor Additive for enduring coverage and accepts our Outdoor Defense Oil as a protective finish when you want birdhouses that repel water and easily withstand inclement weather.
The Impact of Paint Color on Bird Safety and Attraction
Painted birdhouses colored in specific ways attract birds and make them more likely to stick around as nesting birds. For instance, neutral-colored birdhouses painted with beige hues like Cheesecake or gray shades like Riverstone help camouflage prey birds like house sparrows and eastern bluebirds.
On the flip side, more flamboyant birds with vibrant colors themselves enjoy birdhouses painted with bright colors. For example, purple martens might appreciate a vivid purple birdhouse painted with Plum, while goldfinches typically move right into bright yellow-painted birdhouses covered in Fresh Lemon.
Popular Wooden Birdhouse Paint Colors and Their Significance
When you’re ready to paint your birdhouse, keep in mind that certain paint colors have special significance. For instance, when you paint a birdhouse with natural wood tones like Boardwalk, you attract birds like some woodpecker species that want a discreet nesting site.
Green birdhouses painted shades like Lily Pad help your feathered friends’ new home blend into the foliage. Likewise, blue options like Faded Denim often attract bird species of the same hue to improve their camouflage.
Selecting the Right Paint Color for Your Birdhouse Project
The right color to paint wooden birdhouses depends on the type of bird you wish to attract, whether housing avians active by day or more nocturnal birds. Most birds have a color preference — some birds like unpainted birdhouses away from direct sunlight, others like a birdhouse painted with light colors and still others prefer bright colors for their birdhouse. Remember that you can always put multiple birdhouses into service and use all the colors you like to adorn them.
The Best Type of Paint for Birdhouses
Though most water-based and acrylic paints labeled non-toxic are safe for painting birdhouses, safer options are available made from all-natural ingredients you can trust. Turn to milk paints like Real Milk Paint to ensure the safety (and color!) of painted birdhouses made from wood.
Milk Paint: Paint Birdhouses in Bright Colors With non-toxic Paints
When you’re planning on painting birdhouses, Real Milk Paint works great for projects. The non-toxic formulation uses 100% organic ingredients, making it food-contact safe and safe for your feathered friends. No volatile organic compounds (VOCs) make this paint safe to use indoors and in spaces without ventilation, and it comes as a powder, so you can mix just what you need. Mixed paint lasts up to 2 weeks, so you have more time to paint a birdhouse if you’re a weekend hobbyist.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Painting a Birdhouse
Use this step-by-step guide when you’re ready to paint your birdhouse with Real Milk Paint.
- Start your project by cleaning the wooden birdhouse with Tri-Sodium Phosphate to remove all the dust and debris before you add paint.
- Use Real Wood Filler to repair any holes or cracks, especially in the roof, to help keep water away.
- Next, mix Real Milk Paint at a 1:1 ratio with water and let the foam diminish for 15 minutes after mixing. You can add an Anti-Foaming Agent at mixing if you want to save time, plus mix in Outdoor Additive to reduce any knot bleed-through and tannin discoloration over time.
- If you haven’t already, take the time to gather all supplies while waiting for the paint to stop foaming. You need paintbrushes in various sizes plus a safe surface to place your birdhouse during the painting process.
- When your colors stop foaming, you’re ready to paint your birdhouse. Use paintbrushes to add color, coating the surface once and letting it dry for roughly an hour. Next, add another coat and let your project dry overnight.
Creative Ideas for Wooden Birdhouse Painting Designs
Matching your painted birdhouse with your siding or brick colors creates a seamless aesthetic, but that’s the easy way to get your color scheme. Get more creative with your wooden birdhouse by choosing colors that contrast sharply with your exterior or add a bright pop of color to your landscaping. Add all the colors you like for your garden since you have more creative freedom when placing your wood birdhouse in an out-of-the-way space. Painting a birdhouse with your children using a painting kit for kids is also a great way to spend quality time together.
Seasonal Considerations When You Paint a Birdhouse
After you’ve painted your wooden birdhouse, add a finish to protect it from direct sunlight and inclement weather, especially if you’re placing it in your garden. Our Outdoor Defense Oil is an excellent choice as it layers well over Real Milk Paint and enables easy maintenance with a reapplication now and then.
Purchase Everything You Need to Paint a Birdhouse at Real Milk Paint Co.
Now that you have the skills and knowledge to create your own birdhouses to suit your backyard’s avian life take the next step and buy everything you need with our birdhouse painting bundle. You can choose what you need, like our outdoor defense oil, brushes, and wood filler. Once you have the essentials, select your paint from all our bird-approved paint colors!
