Don't Toss That Empty Toilet Paper Roll! Use It To Make Birds Flock To Your Yard

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According to various market reports, Americans go through an absurd amount of toilet paper rolls. Even if you're far below the reported averages, it's likely you go through quite a few rounds of this bathroom essential on the regular. Instead of throwing away the empty cylinder, make use of the handy cardboard material in various home and garden toilet paper tube hacks, such as an ingenious idea for making a homemade bird feeder.

One of the best ways to spice up your yard is by attracting local birds and wildlife. There's a popular home trick that transforms a toilet paper roll into a single-use bird feeder that encourages and nourishes native avian populations. Anyone is capable of making a toilet paper tube bird feeder, and it's considered a preschool and elementary-level craft. All it requires is the cardboard roll, twine, and a sticky birdseed formula.

It's a budget-friendly way to benefit the world outside. Birds are losing their habitats, which makes it difficult for them to find necessities, including food. A spontaneous toilet roll bird feeder isn't going to save biodiversity, but it can provide for struggling animals. Bird feeders support healthy migrating birds, as well as injured birds that have trouble finding food. A Wild Bird Feeding Institute study even found that birds had reduced stress and improved health from supplemental feeding over the course of three years. The birds aren't the only ones that profit from this arrangement, as there are other benefits to putting a bird feeder in a garden.

Before starting this project, research your local ecosystem and the native birds. Different ingredients are more or less appealing to specific species. For example, shelled and cracked corn attracts all kinds of birds, including cardinals, jays, grosbeaks, and other beautiful bird species. Black oil sunflower seeds and other types of sunflower seeds are also reputable for drawing in a large variety.

Keep in mind that dry birdseed requires a few tablespoons of peanut butter to make this hack work. It won't take much to cover a toilet paper cylinder, and a small 2-pound bag of Office Roast Wild Bird Food Mix is more than enough to coat a single roll. Use a butter knife, popsicle stick, or other utensil to lather peanut butter over the outside of an empty toilet paper roll. When the outside is mostly coated in stickiness, rotate it in a paper plate or plastic container filled with birdseed.

Once the cardboard cylinder is fully covered, thread a single piece of twine through the center and knot the ends together. Hang the finished piece in a safe place outdoors. The ideal spot is near trees or shrubs, where birds can hide if predators approach. However, it shouldn't be too close, or neighborhood cats will be able to leap from branches and threaten feeding birds. Once the toilet paper rolls are hung, you can supplement your yard with another empty toilet paper roll garden method. This way, you can nourish your plants as well as the visiting bird populations.