Maggots in feeder

Hi all, 

First time posting. Can't find the answer anywhere on the internet so thought I'd try here.

A few weeks ago I cleaned all my bird feeders. But I left my extra long seed feeder (which I use for sunflower seeds) as it was still about half full. Today I've realised it wasn't going down, and on closer inspection found it was because the lower holes were completely blocked. 

They appeared to have a large amount of what looked like black fur, packed very densely into the holes. Inside that, was a rotten sunbstance, which included some seeds, and inside this were 20 to 30 very small maggots. Like mini white fishing Maggots. 

Initially I thought the fur may be from the squirrels which particularly enjoy that feeder, but I can't imagine how so much fur would have been forced into the feeder itself.

Has anyone seen anything like this before? I'm just interested to find out what has caused this. 

I'm sure the lesson is I need to clean my feeders a bit more regularly. 

Many thanks 

Dan.

  • It sounds like you have left the food in the feeders far too long. I clean my feeders every two weeks regardless of whether they look like cleaning or not and if you have a bird bath i change the water every day in the summer sometimes twice and in the winter every couple of days.. I hope this helps with your question
  • If you say the inside contained rotten substance then I imagine the black fur will be mould.
    If the seeds are not being eaten quickly enough, then only partially fill it, starting off with small amounts, until you can gauge how much seed is being eaten in just a few days. That way, you won't waste any. If more birds start to come and it empties too quickly you always add more.