How do I stop my nuts going mouldy?

When I put a feeder up for the birds, the nuts go mouldy within a fortnight.

Is this a nut quality problem or is it just the way it is when they hang there getting wet?

It’s not really practical to put them in a condom or spray them with lacquer.

Any ideas?

Put the feeders somewhere with better shelter?
Get a feeder with a roof?
Put less nuts out (or get more birds?) my feeders are usually all but empty in 72-96 hours.

When I get my nuts out I find that they are emptied within a very short time. The birds just can’t get enough of them

It sounds like you’re maybe having too many on the go at once.

Your nuts last a fortnight!! The birds round your way must be very well fed! 🙂

If they arent sheltered then they do have a tendency to go mouldy if it rains. So either somehow shelter them or, what I do since dont have good shelter, is just put out a lot less during quiet times eg at the moment its a quarter feeder at a time although given how quick they are going might up it to a half.

The birds round here like fat balls. Apparently.

The birds round here like fat balls

Tits like coconuts.

Get some woodpeckers – we put up two nut feeders and they have to be refilled daily along with the fat balls. The seed feeders get emptied within a couple of hours – we could refill them twice more in a day, but not with the price of bird seed/nut as presently go through 3 sacks per month.

Three sacks a month?My seed gets gobbled up a lot faster than that.

I just put less out. Fat balls, sunflower seed hearts and mealworms go way quicker round our way.

Three sacks a month?My seed gets gobbled up a lot faster than that.

Guess it depends on the size of the sacks…

Genuinely, if they’re lasting two weeks then stop putting them out –  they’re going mouldy because they’re not being eaten. Try something else – put up a fat ball feeder, try sunflower hearts instead or niger seed instead. Different birds like different feed, and the accepted wisdom is not always right – for instance accepted wisdom is that goldfinch like niger seed. Well in our garden, they will hit the sunflower seeds like they’re crack cocaine. I can fill two feeders every day at busy times. You might need different feeders, as niger seeds will just fall out of a peanut feeder etc.

Also consider location – if the feeder is hanging on it’s on own in the middle of a vast open expanse, then birds wil shy away unless desperate because they don’t want the exposure. Our feeder is about 3 feet from the hedge and the sparrowhawk will still take a bird every week or two, any further away than that and the birds simply don’t have the opportunity to get to cover in case of danger

Another point, discourage cats. our bird life exploded when the neighbour’s cat died.

Three sacks a month?My seed gets gobbled up a lot faster than that.

We go through about a sack a month. It’s a 12.5kg sack of sunflower hearts though

Keep them in a bag

Clean underpants every day.

On a slightly technical note, I reserve the nuts for cold weather feeding and until then put out sunflower seeds only. Zero waste.

When both are out the nuts don’t get taken until it’s cold and frosty

I’ve never done mealworms, what’s likes them?

Don’t put out mealworms, put out Calciworms that won’t harm hedgehogs.

Calciworms seem universally popular, starlings and wagtails in particular, and the above mentioned non-avian hedgehogs.

@nbt – thanks JW. Very good point re: location. Ours is prime for raptor attacks. I will move it closer to the fence and overhanging foliage.