To cut the birdhouse predator guard I drilled a hole halfway trough a piece of scrap cedar wood. The size of the hole depends on the type of bird I am trying to attract to the birdhouse. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has a “Homes for Birds” guide that has the correct birdhouse dimensions on their website for reference.

After drilling the first inner hole halfway through the wood I drill a larger outer hole all the way through using the same hole from the first drilling. This will produce a round wheel looking piece of wood as seen below. The hole saw bit that I use has different sized attachments for different hole sizes.

Next I use the smaller hole saw to drill out the center.  I clamped the wood in a vise to do this procedure to keep it from spinning away.

After sanding up the edges the birdhouse predator guard is finished and ready for paint.

Birdhouse Predator Guard ready for paint

Installing the Birdhouse Predator Guard

To install the birdhouse predator guard on the birdhouse I first find the center of the front of the birdhouse.  To do this I simply measure across the board and divided that number in half.  For example if you measure 7 inches then the center is 3.5 inches. Place a small tick mark with your pencil to mark the center.

Measure for Birdhouse Predator Guard

Next I measured down 3 inches on the front of the birdhouse close to the center and made another reference mark with my pencil.

Measure Vertical Placement of Birdhouse Predator Guard.

Now that I know where the center is I can place the birdhouse predator guard on the birdhouse and draw the hole for drilling. Notice that the 3 inch mark is at the top of the birdhouse predator guard.

Tracing The Birdhouse Predator Guard

Now I drill the hole.  I used a 1 1/2 inch hole saw drill bit for this.  It’s funny how many people tell me that the birdhouse hole sizes have to be certain dimension or the birds that I am targeting will not nest in the birdhouse.

I’ve never seen a perfect 1 1/2 inch hole in a tree in nature and I have had all different kinds of birds nesting in my birdhouses no matter what size the hole was. Funny isn’t it!

Drilling Hole for Birdhouse Predator Guard

I glued the birdhouse predator guard in place with some good old fashion Elmer’s wood glue.

Glue the Birdhouse Predator Guard Inplace

Now make sure the birdhouse predator guard is lined up and place a weight on top of it to hold it down until the glue dries.

Weight Down Birdhouse Predator Guard