Dealing with squirrel problems

From some of the responses to post here, squirrels seem to be a problem for most people who feed birds. There are plenty of ways to solve the problem and I'll try and cover some here.

When I first started feeding I constantly battled keeping squirrels out of my feeders. Once I finally started listening to advice from people who had experience, I fixed the problems and squirrels were no longer an issue.

Most of my feeders are set up on pole systems from Wild Birds Unlimited. It's a great system that allows you to design your pole to your liking. I set up one for finches and woodpeckers, another for variety of birds and yet others just support a single feeder like a fly through which attracts cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees and woodpeckers. The rest hang from a huge silver maple tree in my back yard.

With that being said, I had to come up with different ways to fight my squirrel problem. The first thing to consider was feeder placement. Squirrels can leap 5 feet in the air and can jump up to a distance of 10 feet across to get to something. With that being said, common sense says to place your feeders at least 5' high and keep the at least 8' from sources like trees and building where they can jump to a feeder.

From there you'll want to consider a squirrel baffle. They make them for every feeder situation. Whether on a pole, 4x4 post or hanging there's a baffle out there to fit your need. They can be expensive but if you look there are some at decent prices. I found a clear plastic baffle here in Ohio at Home Depot for $9.99. The baffle can either be used for a pole system or used for hanging feeders and they work great. If I can find it online I'll post a link here on the blog.

I eventually switched to the baffles from WBU for my pole systems only because they matched. They did not work any better or worse, just matched my poles. OK so I'm an idiot for spending $22 more just so it matched.lol

You can make your own baffles for pole system real easily. You can cut off the top of a 2 ltr plastic pop bottle and use it as a baffle on a pole system. An even easier way is to get some 4 inch diameter PVC pipe and place it over the pole. Not only will this keep the squirrels out, it will keep raccoons out as well. Just cut it at least 4' long then slip it over the pole.

You can also add cayenne pepper to your seed mix. WARNING: Do not mix it like a maniac or stand directly over it while pouring it into the feeder. I've done this and it is not pretty. I inhaled the hot pepper fumes and looked like the village idiot the next several minutes with my eyes watering, nose running and coughing. Not to mention the pleasant burning sensation in my eyes and lungs. Squirrels can taste the hot sensation of chili peppers but birds cant.

Then there's the feeding safflower. For some reason I've been hard headed towards trying it so far, but everyone who uses it swears by it. I think the reason I have not yet tried it is because there is not as much nutrition in safflower. But as I stated in an earlier post, I am going to dedicate a feeder to it and see how the grackles and starling react to it this winter.

By following these simple tips your squirrel problems will go away. Baffles and feeder placement is really the key to keeping them out. If for some reason these do not work for you, there's always specialty feeders. There are the weight sensitive feeders talked about in earlier post that for the most part seem to work. Also I've seen video of a feeder from Yankee Droll called the Yankee Flipper. It's their version of a weighted feeder. But it's calibrated so that when the weight of a squirrel is placed on it the motor activates. The squirrel now finds him self on an amusement park ride on the midway. It sends him twirling around until the little criminal is flipped off. There is also a baffle made to to the same thing using your feeder. If I remember correctly it's called Twirl a squirrel. These are expensive but if you want a good laugh and pay back for all the seed they stole it may be worth the price.

So there is hope and you can keep the squirrels out with out having to place a neighborhood watch on your feeders. Also if you look online I'm sure there are plenty of great ideas to keep unwanted critters out of your feeders.