Water Wigglers
There are a couple of problems we all face at one time or
another with a bird bath. First we want to attract birds to
our baths, and we want to make sure they bath is safe for the
birds and for us.
In the summer months, especially when there is a long time
between rain showers, the bath water can stagnate some and
become a great breeding ground for mosquitos and similar
pests. As people become more concerned with issues like West
Nile virus and other mosquito borne diseases they have become
more popular, although it should be noted that if you change
the water daily in the bird bath that mosquito breeding
should not be an issue since it takes close to a week to
breed mosquitos. However, many of us aren't that good about
changing the bird bath water, so a water wiggler might be a
good choice.
What is a Water Wiggler? Simply put, it's a
small, battery operated device shaped like a small dome that
sits in your bird bath and sets up small waves in the bath
water by vibrating. It's quiet and you can add decorative
ceramic covers to one to change the color scheme or to
protect the unit from the outdoor environment (primarilly the
sun;s UV rays.)
Some birdwatchers find that birds are attracted to water
moving in their bird baths, and the water wiggler does that
nicely.
One drawback is that in a small bird bath, the wiggler may
take up the majority of the resting area available to the
birds, so make sure that you get a wiggler sized to the
birdbath you want to put it in. Also, these units are usually
battery operated, typically on a couple of D cells, so they
will last several weeks. And a ceramic cover is optional on
some, so the plastic cover will last longer in if it's
shielded from the UV and the birds.
Some folks will try to make a device like that for
themselves, but for most of us the cost is not that much of
an issue. Commercially available water wigglers start at
about $25. Allied Precision offers a couple of models, and
Duncraft has a good price on one.