Zurichman – 1st of all WELCOME! The forum is slow this time of year, but nesting season will soon be here. Yes, you definitely need to clean out the nestbox after fledging occurs, and the blues will then build a new nest without any human help. If they build on top of old nest, it will put it dangerously close to the hole entrance, which means that predators can reach in and grab babies/eggs out of the nest. You mention you live “in the woods” – are these woods really close to your house and birdhouses – bluebirds do not usually like a woody/brushy environment (this is what wrens like). But as the old saying goes, “whatever works” . . . . keep doing it. As far as the mealworms go, it does take them a little time to get used to eating them, but as everyone will tell you, once they get a taste, they are hooked! Usually putting the worms in a container (something slick they cannot crawl out of) fairly close (up off the ground of course) to their house for a day or so, and once they begin eating them, you NEED to gradually move it away from the box into its final place to avoid drawing predators. It takes patience but is well worth it – they definitely prefer the live worms, but of course in the winter they will freeze if they do not eat them up quickly. This is why I switch to peanut butter suet in the wintertime – I feed them (usually 6-8 blues) every morning & sometimes in the afternoon if weather is bad.
