Squirrels eating birdfood...

15 years ago

I really enjoy feeding the birds on our deck. We live close to beautiful trees so we get lots of activity. Problem is of course, squirrels are eating - devouring - the bird seed. I'm a real animal lover so hurting them is out of the question. I've heard about putting Vaseline on the bird feeder pole (concerned about bugs getting stuck-yucky), I've tried special bird food that contains chili pepper (they just dump it all over my yard), squirrel proof bird feeders don't work because they've figured out how to hang upside down without moving the mechanism shut. I thought about putting mothballs in a wire bird feeder near the real food but I'm afraid of hurting the birds. Do you think they'll be harmed or will it repel the birds as well? Isn't there a plant or something that I can hang on the other side of the feeder to repel the squirrels?

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Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
You should never use mothballs in the outdoor environment for any reason. They are harmful to everything...and will not repel the birds (who might even try to feed on them).

I's suggest that you do some looking around (on the internet, first, for some ideas) about squirrel proofing your feeding stations. There is a wide variety of (so-called) squirrel proof feeders, baffles, etc. Some can be very successful.
Kimmsr
15 years ago
The active ingrediant in moth balls is naphthalene, a class 1 carcinogen so moth balls should never be used in any many not specifically outlined on the packaging, always in a sealed container. Besides it is a violation of Federal Law to use them other than prescibed.
Squirrels can be a real pain for us bird feeders, but there are ways to keep them from the feeders. First never put a feeder closer to anything a squirrel can climb and jump from than 10 or 12 feet. second be sure the feeder is high enough off the ground that they cannot jump to it (I have seen the wee buggers jump 4 feet to reach a feeder). Third if the feeder is held up by wire thread some 2 liter plastic bottles on that wire, drill holes just a bit larger than the wire so when a squirrel does get ont that bottle will simply spin around. Fourth if the feeder is pole mounted get a 2 foot section of 8 inch sheet metal duct, make a round wooden disk to put in the top of the duct with a hole just large enough in the wood to slip over the pole, after placing something on the pole to keep that duct up of the ground, and put the duct work on your pole. The squirrels will still climb up that pole but the duct work will keep them from getting to the feeder.
For one feeder I have what is called a "Twirl A Squirrel" a device that twirls the feeder around when a squirrel gets on it that worked quite well for a time until the squirrels found they could still hang on and eat all the while getting a ride.
There is also a, very expensive, feeder out there that has an electric fence like charger that jolts the squirrels (they make contact with two pieces of metal that the birds will not) so they get knocked off. Theoretically the squirrels "learn" to stay away from those types of feeders, but in reality not that I have seen. If food is there they will try everything to get to it.
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I tend to think rabbit is your most likely culprit, and it really is not unusual to never lay eyes on the little guys. It would be a very normal rabbit to know when you are out during the day. As prey animals they are very sensitive to changes in the environment around them and you make plenty of noises inside the house that they can hear... And they can tell when the house is silent. They are experts at freezing and blending into the background if humans suddenly appear. They also get quite well acquainted with our schedules and will grab a bite to eat when they know we are not usually outside. I once spent an extra half hour outside on a nice June evening at dusk and startled the heck out of two rabbits who frolicked their way up from the bottom of our property to end right by my feet at the clover patch right there. I was also surprised because I assumed they would have come from the much closer tree-farm off to the side. I could tell by their shocked expressions when they realized I was there that they were thinking "you're never out here at this time of day!" Anyway. I had one remaining chard plant in my garden that very slowly got grazed down to a nub, and then they gnawed on the stump of it. So I can attest that my rabbits like chard. A simple solution would be to get some bird netting and wrap it around a tomato cage and place that over the chard plant. Cheers!
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The thought of killing those cute little, playful creatures is very disturbing to me. They really are fun to watch frolicking around the yard and jumping around. My cat loves to watch them. She's an indoor cat, so she is no threat to the squirels. But looking at her, she'd love the chance to chase them In most forums, the idea of killing squirrels is frowned upon. I've had lots of squirel damage, but they've never crossed "the line". In this particular thread, the question of squirels destroying a crop comes up. I certainly encourage everyone to act as they deem best. But for wilson1963 I really have to wonder and I hope you don't mind me asking, what kind of recipes do they have for squirels? Not a lot of meat there. The only way I could think of cooking them is on the barbecue. Not that I'd like to do that. But let me say, when it comes to cooking chicken thighs, the part they sell for real cheap. No one does that better than me. It's really scary how good they turn out.
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Karen Pease
15 years ago
On the subject of springloaded feeders -- the springs on mine got stretched out somehow, so now it won't open up at all, squirrel or no. Anyone have any idea if there's any way to get it working again?
MissMyGardens
15 years ago
If your feeder is mounted from deck railing there's not really enough height to protect it from squirrels jumping over any baffle you put under feeder.

Baffle 4-5' up from ground on 6-7' pole with pole at least 6' from nearest jumping off point 360 degrees around pole was our solution.

Nothing worked on deck...they could jump over & around any barrier that close to food source. Tried hanging feeder out on clotheline type thing strung from deck to house with 5' clearance on either side of feeder.

They are ingenious little scouts who quickly learn the "paw over paw" method of traversing the clothesline to get to the feeder. Hysterical to watch but waste of seed.

Squirrels eating birdfood...

Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Kimmsr

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