Asked on Jul 09, 2012
Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to keep squirrels out of my bird feeders?
by
Angela A
+44
I have tried the crushed red pepper in the bird seed, and have tried putting vaseline on the pole that holds the feeders....any other suggestions? I will at times have one or two in the feeders, with 5 or 6 on the ground below...I dont mind them on the ground, but they've broken a couple of feeders already this year for me.... :(
I put a slinky on the pole attached at the top. when a squirrel tries to climb it just slides down. here is a news article about this idea. also is a pic of my bird feeder but not sure you can see the slinky.
http://abc13.com/society/slinky-used-to-keep-squirrels-away/1667062/
I work at a daycare and we love watching the squirrels antics lol
You should watch Charles Notap' s utube video ! His not only keeps Squirrels out but also larger birds and it is "THE" most beautiful birdfeeder i have ever seen ! And it looks so easy to build as long as you have all the tools that he uses. Or you can catch it on hometalk.com under "how-to-make-an-awsome-squirrel-proof-bird-feeder". Hope this helps .)
Get a solar electric fence charger at Harbor freight.
won't hurt them but they certainly don't like that shock
Ok, here is my latest attempt at deterring squirrels from my bird feeders.
At the advice of staff at the wild bird store, I purchased some hot pepper suet bark and safflower seed and mixed it in with my song bird feed. This resulted in about 75% success, but also reduce the number of beautifully colored song birds that normally came to feed. Seeing that I did have some success with this, but not happy at the reduction in song birds, I turned to this site for additional answers. Armed with some experience of keeping them at bay, combined with some of your ideas, here is my latest attempt.
First I sprayed by shepherds hooks and the top of my feeders very liberally with WD40. Then I mixed my seed with about 70% song bird feed, 20% hot pepper suet bark, and 10% safflower seed. I added about 1/4 cup of very hot Swad, finely ground Indian Chili Pepper (available at an International grocery store). If you've ever used this, you know that a pinch in a large pot of chili goes a long way. I then sprinkled in just enough Texas Pete to get the powder to adhere to the seed. Filled my feeders, sprinkled the hot chili pepper on top of the feeders and on the ground below. I've been told that the hot chili powder and Texas Pete should not hurt the birds. However, if anyone knows differently, please let me know.
I'll keep you posted on how the squirrels react.
Create a squirrel repellent spray
Create a homemade squirrel repellent. Another option is to make up your own squirrel repellent using cayenne pepper, onion, jalapeno, and water. Any hot peppers will do for the same thing, however.
When you create your spray, put it into a spray bottle and put it everywhere you want to prevent the squirrels from going such as around bird feeders, porches, etc.
Change/limit the amount of food
Change how much food you give the birds. For example, use just enough food for one feeding and then keep watch. Once the birds are finished, bring the bird feeder indoors, rather than leaving it out all the time where other animals can get into it. This is going to require more maintenance than some other options, however.
Vaseline is sticky and wd40 is messy, i use car wax on the pole, as long as it is still smooth as any bumps help them grip. Was lasts longer and it’s kind of fun to see them jump up and slide down.
HOWEVER, the BEST way is to invest in a baffle, just make sure it is high enough off the ground so they can’t jump over it and, of course, the pole can’t be near tree limbs, bushes or birdbaths that help them climb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCY_11ay1E
Here's a helpful article as well! https://www.griffinpest.com/blog/4-ways-keep-squirrels-off-bird-feeder/
Site them away from things squirels can leap from.