Know your opponent
Squirrels can eat their body weight in food every week. But if you take these steps, you can keep these furry marauders from swiping your wild bird seed.
Tips for pole systems
Squirrels can jump 5 feet vertically and up to 12 feet horizontally. And they can fall 20 feet without a lick of damage.
Place your pole system and feeders 15 feet away from trees so that squirrels can’t leap onto them.
Use a baffle and ensure the top of it is at least 5 feet high to keep squirrels from reaching it.
Never let your feeder hang below the baffle. That’s an easy meal for a squirrel.
Fighting squirrels with seed.
Finch seed and feeders
If you haven’t already, put out a Goldfinch tube feeder (they’re the ones with the tiny holes.) Then stock it with The Birdwatchers Store Deluxe Finch Mix. The seeds are tiny. Squirrels won’t bother messing with it because for them it’s not much of a meal.
Safflower
A lot of birds like safflower, especially northern cardinals. Squirrels don’t. That’s because safflower is bitter tasting. (Birds don’t have a sense of taste like mammals do.) Remove all other seed from your feeders (except finch feeders) and replace it with safflower. Chances are it will drive the squirrels to a new food source.
Bring the heat
Humans have about 10,000 taste buds. Squirrels, too. Birds have far fewer taste buds. So, they’re not affected by hot pepper. But squirrels are. Try seed logs and suet treated with capsaicin – the chemical extract that makes peppers hot. Then watch the fireworks!
Keep ‘em busy
Squirrels are like electricity…they take the path of least resistance. Throwing some seed in a ground feeder will draw the squirrels to this food source…and away from your wild bird feeders.
Anti-squirrel feeders
Weighted feeders
The squirrel’s weight slams the ports on these feeders shut. Yet they remain open for the far lighter wild birds.
Caged feeders
These feeders are surrounded by a 2 in x 2 in metal cage. Small songbirds can pass through it and access the food. Squirrels can’t.
