Stop A Bird Bath From Freezing With An Easy DIY Anyone Can Do

Bird baths are a great way to attract helpful feathered friends to your yard. While many of your favorite birds may migrate out of the area for the winter, many others, like chickadees, juncos, and cardinals, don't let cold weather get them down and will continue to visit even as temperatures drop. This is great for your bird watching, but unfortunately, the bird bath that they love so much can easily freeze, preventing these overwintering birds from accessing the water. Since bird baths should generally only have 2 or 3 inches of water in them, they can quickly freeze solid when temperatures dip below freezing. Fresh water can already be hard to find during winter, making your frozen bird bath that much more of an issue.

If you live in a region where temperatures stay below freezing for extended periods during winter, you may need to consider investing in a heated bird bath. But for those whose winter temperatures are more moderate and only briefly or occasionally hover at or below freezing, simply providing your bird bath with a bit of insulation may be all you need to do to keep the water from freezing. Luckily, there are clever ways you can insulate your bird bath, keeping its water accessible all winter long.

Having your bird bath on the ground instead of using one on a pedestal can help prevent it from freezing as quickly. The goal is to protect the underside of the bath from cold air. Don't worry, plenty of birds will still use bird baths that are on the ground. 

One clever bird bath insulation tip is to use foam board or even straw under your bird bath to help provide some additional insulation. This helps prevent heat loss from below. You could even consider wrapping the sides of your bird bath in bubble wrap, frost blankets, or other insulating materials, just as you might winterize some of your flower pots and larger planters. While having snow surrounding your bird bath may seem like a bad sign, this can also provide some insulation from especially frigid air temperatures.

You can take advantage of the sun's help when keeping your bird bath warm as well by locating your insulated bird bath in a sunny spot. This should help encourage any ice that does start to form to melt more quickly. Don't forget that even in the winter, you still need to regularly change the water and clean your bird bath.