Why You Should Never Leave Dryer Lint Out For Birds To Use As Nesting Material

You might be among the many bird enthusiasts who attempt to aid the flying animals in their nest building by leaving materials out for them to use. Scattering piles of appropriate items in your yard can help make it easier for birds to build their nests around your home. Some people gather materials like twigs, dead leaves, or feathers, which are all perfectly safe for birds to use. However, other items are not only useless when it comes to nest building, but can even harm the winged creatures. Dryer lint is a perfect example. You should never leave this out for birds because it contains harmful chemicals and is not water-resistant enough to be used to build a nest.

If you have been leaving dryer lint out in your yard for birds to build a nest, it is time to switch to the safe materials listed above. This will ensure that the winged creatures have nests that will last through rainy days and are not a threat to their health. It should be pretty easy to gather twigs, dead leaves, and feathers from around your property and place them where birds can quickly snatch them up.

Let's dive further into exactly why dryer lint should not be left out for birds to use as a nesting material. When you wash your clothes with fabric softener, laundry detergent, scent boosters, or any other laundry product, residue often remains on your clothes. After this laundry is transferred to the dryer, the lint that builds in your machine's lint trap can contain residue from these chemicals as well. This is because laundry mistakes, like an overloaded washer, can prevent the residue from being completely removed from your clothes. While these laundry mistakes are easy to fix, they are still common. This means there is a high likelihood that your dryer lint contains chemicals harmful to birds.

Another problem with dryer lint is that it is not water-resistant. If a bird uses the material to help build a nest, there is a chance that the nest will fail when it gets wet. Rain changes the structure of lint and can cause it to break down and wither. A nest made of lint is a threat to a bird's well-being because it can easily give way and wall to the ground. Materials like sticks and dried leaves are better at withstanding rainy days.

Along with the previously mentioned materials, straw and grass clippings can also be left in your yard for birds to use to safely build their nests. You may want to consider taking a more unconventional approach by using your garden to attract birds, too. Consider adding native plants to your garden. They not only attract birds, but will offer our feathered friends the opportunity build their nests within their leaves.

Arrowwood viburnum, for example, is native to the eastern United States and attracts quite a few different types of birds. If you are a fan of mockingbirds, you might be happy to learn that they are among the species that like to nest in Arrowwood viburnum. You could also consider adding more plants to your garden that can serve as a food source for birds, which may make them more likely to nest on your property. The American beautyberry produces brightly colored purple berries that many birds love to eat. This is a great way to attract more birds to your yard.