Do bird feeders spread disease?

MariaBBB

March 26, 2010 10:06am

Feeders, especially improperly maintained feeders, can spread disease. However, there's no way to know if disease transmission at feeders is any less or greater than disease transmission in the wild. Birds that contract and spread diseases, such as salmonellosis, at feeders are typically social by nature and would aggregate whether at feeders or not. Nevertheless, to reduce the risk of disease at feeders, we encourage people to clean feeders regularly. Learn more about safe bird feeding.