  Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6060 Registered: 12-2005 |
Someone went to the trouble of building us a quality handmade bird feeder so we don't want to just buy another feeder that's already squirrel proofed. I need a way to retrofit squirrel proofing onto the one we have. It hangs from a long chain and looks like this:  Has anyone successfully foiled these little buggers? How? I have tinsnips for cutting a large disk for the chain but I'm not certain that would work. I'm also considering a cage to surround the feeder that only birds can fit through.  The Enemy Is Wily | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 258 Registered: 12-2006 |
Get yourself a really killer hot sauce like the El Yucateco XXX or Dave's Insanity. Wearing gloves, mix with bird seed. Add seed to feeder. Wash hands thoroughly. Don't rub your eyes. Enjoy. Birds are insensitive to capsaicin. | ||
Vetalalumni Member Username: Vetalalumni Post Number: 1086 Registered: 05-2007 |
lol Texorama. | ||
Kathinozarks Member Username: Kathinozarks Post Number: 1371 Registered: 11-2006 |
We enjoy watching the squirrels eat the seed as much as watching the birds. Just go with it. | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 2403 Registered: 12-2005 |
mount the bird feeder on a pole instead of hanging from a tree. Place it in the middle of the yard, away from something the 'lil baztards can jump from. put an inverted cone on the pole, and grease the pole. Then do the hot sauce thing, it's quite amusing. (Message edited by 56packman on August 09, 2008) | ||
Malcovemagnesia Member Username: Malcovemagnesia Post Number: 96 Registered: 12-2005 |
Lots of suggestions on YouTube. Some nice: http://www.youtube.com/results ?search_query=squirrel+twirler Some very naughty: http://www.youtube.com/results ?search_query=squirrel+catapul t (the latter is N-S-F-Animal-Lovers) | ||
Django Member Username: Django Post Number: 1583 Registered: 10-2003 |
Flying squirrels^^, Hilarious. | ||
Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man Post Number: 844 Registered: 05-2006 |
My neighbor up north has been fighting the squirrels for a couple of years. I think he finally found the solution: His feeder is hanging from a cable that is attached to two trees. On each side of the feeder are two litre pop bottles that that are threaded on the cable. He drilled a hole in the bottom of each bottle, stuck the cable in the hole and out the top of the bottle. There are 3 or 4 two litre bottles on each side of the feeder. The squirrels climb up the tree and start walking on the cable toward the feeders. When they reach the bottles, the bottles spin and the squirrel falls down. Not only does it keep the squirrels out of the feeder, it is quite entertaining to watch. | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 1162 Registered: 11-2003 |
"We enjoy watching the squirrels eat the seed as much as watching the birds. Just go with it." You've obviously never experienced the thrill of defeating a squirrel and watch him walk away in defeat. Sure he's got a brain the size of a peanut, but I beat him. I won. I'd go with the cone on a pole idea. I got a piece of sheet metal from HomeDepot and did some creative cutting, bending and hammering on it so it didn't look so plain. | ||
Ronaldj Member Username: Ronaldj Post Number: 39 Registered: 01-2007 |
.22 caliber handgun or long gun. The Chinese 7 cent solution. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6063 Registered: 12-2005 |
These are all great suggestions. I'm considering fashioning a cylindrical cage out of chickenwire. Does anyone know the go/nogo tolerances of cardinals vrs. squirrels? Also, I have a lot of firecrackers for squirrel-triggered booby traps.  | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 937 Registered: 02-2007 |
I grew up in the City and squirrels were the only wholesome wildlife around (rats and mice were plentiful, but not welcome). They interested me because they were able to survive everything that the 'hood threw in their direction. So, in remembrance of what they brought to my youthful imagination I've built their own feeder and give the neighborhood cats hell with stones and the BB gun. Don't know about the hot sauce trick (seems unnecessarily mean to me, but then consider the source of the objection) but other ideas presented above are variants on what I've seen to be effective: metal cones and feeders suspended on long wires. Good luck, but don't be too hard on my little guys. | ||
Eriedearie Member Username: Eriedearie Post Number: 2672 Registered: 08-2007 |
Wash_man - I love your neighbor's squirrel out smarter set up - I bet that would be fun to watch! | ||
Bobl Member Username: Bobl Post Number: 21 Registered: 07-2008 |
Recently watched a squirrel sit on my neighbor's patio chair, eating a green tomato from his vine! A variation of the hot sauce method is a liberal sprinkling of cayenne pepper. He stays away from my tomato plants, which are powdered, and continues to get the neighbor's. Keeps the critter off our sunflowers, too... | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6064 Registered: 12-2005 |
quote:I ask that because I've seen cardinals perch on the birdfeeder but the doves never do that. They always peck on the ground beneath. So I need to know what diameter hole a cardinal would willingly penetrate that a squirrel would not. Any birders about? ty! | ||
Lostlegumes Member Username: Lostlegumes Post Number: 51 Registered: 09-2007 |
Wash_man-- We might be up north neighbors--my family has that exact setup to try to "DEE-feet" those squirrels. Or had, until a bear showed up and ripped it down this week. | ||
Sumas Member Username: Sumas Post Number: 197 Registered: 01-2008 |
The milk jug idea works. My dad used this method. However it looks tacky. Talking about squirrels reminds me how dumb the city can be. When my oldest son was in a pre school, the playground had many trees. The squirrels started attacking the kids (my son being one of them). The owner of the pre school called animal control. The operator informed her that squirrels were a protected species so they could do nothing. Duh! The owner's husband solved the problem with a 22. | ||
Crystal Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 256 Registered: 05-2007 |
Squirrels raid feeders at our house as well. The only remedy that has worked for us is to use pole mounted feeders with a baffle. A baffle can be either wide and cone-shaped, or long and cylindrical. It seems bb guns and hot peppers are too time consuming. A baffle is a one-time solution. Mourning doves prefer to eat from the ground and not from a feeder. There is a photo here: http://www.petsmart.com/produc t/index.jsp?productId=2811547 A cylindrical baffle can be made from a long piece of heating duct as well. Good luck! Squirrels are tough, destructive, and "well connected." When a squirrel discovers a feeder they often tell all their friends! | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 1616 Registered: 07-2007 |
I would recommend the Twirl-A-Squirrel Works like a charm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =ydLiasdJeoo Could be used in government offices as well. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6065 Registered: 12-2005 |
HA! It looks like it makes the squirrel dizzy. That's hilarious! | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6074 Registered: 12-2005 |
I salvaged a squirrel baffle from an old birdfeeder. It's mounted but I don't want to fill it with seed until the birds finish all the seed the squirrels spilled on the ground. This ought to be a fun little experiment. The other day I actually snuck up behind a squirrel on the feeder and tugged on his tail. lol | ||
Lodgedodger Member Username: Lodgedodger Post Number: 320 Registered: 05-2008 |
I hate to sound negative, but the battle of the bird feeder is nature in action... Let 'em be. | ||
Peachlaser Member Username: Peachlaser Post Number: 206 Registered: 08-2006 |
After fighting squirrels for the past 10 years, I am convinced that there is no such thing as a squirrel-proof bird feeder. My neighbor has a 'squirrel-proof' feeder that has holes in it just large enough for the birds to get through. It slows the squirrels just a bit as they manage to squeeze through the holes. I suspended a feeder about 20 ft. up between two trees using my sailboat's old halyard. I then hung wind chimes on the line so that I would know when the squirrels were trying to get to the feeders. All it does is irritate the neighbors and after jumping up about 10 times to chase the squirrels away, I gave up. I have though discovered one fool proof way to keep the squirrels from eating all my bird seed. When I see the squirrels eating the seeds, I take the feeder down and bring it inside. The birds know where I work and they then let me know that they are hungry and I put it back. This works on the days I am motivated. On the other days, I have a great view of the squirrels eating all my bird seed. | ||
Peachlaser Member Username: Peachlaser Post Number: 207 Registered: 08-2006 |
Oh I meant to mention. Our neighbor started throwing corn on the ground for the squirrels so that they would leave her feeders alone. That almost worked but we now have deer that come up to eat the corn! | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1658 Registered: 01-2005 |
If you're in Detroit, that baffle won't work. Detroit squirrels are smart and MEAN. This reminds me of when we kept a bird feeder in EEV. We tried everything. Then one day while I was home I watched a squirrel jump ~12 feet from the roof our our garage down onto our little bird feeder. I stormed out of the house and marched right up to the bird feeder yelling and clapping my hands. The squirrel just starred at me. Then I realized he wasn't moving... and then he began to growl. I ran. | ||
Peachlaser Member Username: Peachlaser Post Number: 210 Registered: 08-2006 |
Quinn, that's funny. And, Detroit's squirrels are big! I would say, on average, they are twice as large as Georgia squirrels. My sister from Detroit teases me about our little squirrels here in the South. She also gave me a stuffed squirrel the size of a Detroit squirrel to remind me! | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6078 Registered: 12-2005 |
This baffle is clear plastic and is about the size and shape of a witch's hat with a slightly downturned brim. Most of our squirrels are a smaller black breed rumoured to have immigrated from Canada. They've been steadily displacing the larger brown squirrels since the 1980s. They're quicker, more clever and persistent. This morning I filled the feeder halfway. (Why risk more?) So far out of 4 observed attempts he only snagged the feeder once. I expect his score will improve. There is no sport more entertaining than squirrel humiliation. It should be in the Olympics. The one time I observed him fall while outdoors, I couldn't resist laughing. He just glared at me ... for a long time. I can only imagine what was going through his mind. He must have been very annoyed. (Message edited by jimaz on August 12, 2008) | ||
Crystal Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 260 Registered: 05-2007 |
The squirrels at our house have been in training for a long time and would all receive gold medals if a competition were held. Wait a minute.... then they would be too heavy to jump on the feeders, because of the big medals hanging around their necks! | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6079 Registered: 12-2005 |
 Squirrels The Untold Story | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1942 Registered: 08-2006 |
Richie turned me onto an interesting book I picked up at Fort Wayne that talks all about how barns were designed and built in the US colonial era, and the European Baroque period. The English would elevate their corn cribs on posts and encase the posts in glass so the critters could not climb up them. So, you attempt something similar with your bird feeder's stand. I envision maybe two inch wide glass plates tin sautered at the edges forming a square column up the post. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 1121 Registered: 10-2003 |
Don't laugh, but I wish we had that problem. I miss squirrels. We don't have them out here where I live in Central Washington. Friends of ours have a couple living in a row of trees (they're about 100 miles south of us) and we visit just to watch them. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6084 Registered: 12-2005 |
Douglasm, I know that feeling. There were no squirrels in Phoenix either. Here's a webpage showing various squirrel territories in Washington State: The Western Gray Squirrel. You're right. They don't seem to like central Washington. | ||
Bigb23 Member Username: Bigb23 Post Number: 2417 Registered: 11-2007 |
It's a losing battle. I've tried RC cars, lasers, air horns, (great fun, when you sneak up on them ), and fruitlessly pounding on the window. They win.    | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 1123 Registered: 10-2003 |
Jimaz.... .....that Western Grey Squirrel stretch in Central Washington is about 50 miles north of me, in the Methow Valley and the North Shore of Lake Chelan. Damn thing has good taste in residential areas. What our firends have are Eastern Grey Squirrels. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1813 Registered: 04-2006 |
Makes you want to get a bird feeder just so you can screw with some squirrels don't it? | ||
Peachlaser Member Username: Peachlaser Post Number: 211 Registered: 08-2006 |
"Makes you want to get a bird feeder just so you can screw with some squirrels don't it?" It may start out that way, but the roles get reversed quickly! | ||
Alley Member Username: Alley Post Number: 534 Registered: 02-2008 |
The previous owners of my aunt's house posted one of these birdhouses super high up on a pole.  A curious squirrel got it's head stuck in it, died, and was up there hanging from the hole, basically until it rotted apart and fell down. Quite disgusting, but no one could get to it to dispose of the body | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6087 Registered: 12-2005 |
Closing score for the night: squirrels 3, baffle 5, squirrels gaining. In the three squirrel victories however, they surrendered immediately after merely opening the door -- easy, but not easy enough for me. I'm shooting for no maintenance. Maybe I should grow millet. The good news is that the feeder wasn't emptied today, the birds were well fed and the squirrels are still interested. Twice today it looked like an Alfred Hitchcock movie out there. Total chaos. Seriously, my goal is to let the birds feed above their perceived ground predators and let the squirrels feed on the ground. Maximize feeding and minimize waste. It seems to be converging on a good environment.  | ||
Treelock Member Username: Treelock Post Number: 333 Registered: 03-2005 |
Use safflower seeds, which are a little more expensive but still attract a nice variety of birds. Squirrels show no interest in the stuff. But we still get woodpeckers, cardinals, titmice, blue jays, junco, etc. | ||
Sumas Member Username: Sumas Post Number: 212 Registered: 01-2008 |
I saw this on the Website for Backyard Birder. Recently, a new product has appeared on the market that makes the task of deterring squirrels a little easier. ( Squirrel Proof Wild Bird Seed) It is wild bird seed coated with capsaicin pepper which is a natural compound derived from the active ingredient in chili peppers. This pepper coating takes advantage of the fact that birds lack the taste receptor for hot, the chemical reaction created by the pepper. Foods that would be too hot for the strongest human taste buds don't bother birds a bit. Squirrels, and most other mammals for that matter, are like humans in that they do taste the heat. And they don't like it. Research has demonstrated that pepper-coated birdseed is very effective in deterring squirrels | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 6097 Registered: 12-2005 |
The squirrels dumped it again while we weren't watching. No biggy. It wasn't full. Later I caught a rabbit snarfing up the seed on the ground. | ||
Alienjerky Member Username: Alienjerky Post Number: 61 Registered: 06-2008 |
Try putting up a sign that says "No squirrels allowed".......mounted on powerful springs that smash the squirrel when he feeds. Hey, he should'a read the sign. | ||
1kielsondrive Member Username: 1kielsondrive Post Number: 16 Registered: 08-2008 |
I use a pellet and a BB gun. It doesn't deter them completely but it's fun shooting at them and they certainly show up a whole lot less than they would if you weren't subjecting them to 'shock therapy'. And it's really fun to watch their reactions. This applies to raccoons, ground hogs, ducks and geese too. 1KD | ||
Crystal Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 262 Registered: 05-2007 |
Ducks and geese are federally protected from harassment. It is unlawful to shoot at them unless you have a hunting permit. | ||
The_ed Member Username: The_ed Post Number: 1853 Registered: 10-2007 |
I found that if you don't put any seed in your bird feeder, the squirrels won't bother with it.... very much. |
