Here I am, Kate! Been missing in action due to a hip injury that kept me sidelined for a couple of weeks, but I'm back now! I have been feeding birds for about 50 years and have tried every product on the market, and then some. Many work for awhile, many are just a joke. Spring loaded feeders that close when a heavy bird or squirrel gets on them will work until the squirrels figure out they can hang from the roof of it by their back legs and reach down to scoop out the seed without activating the lever that closes the feeder. Feeders enclosed in cages with openings only big enough for small birds to pass through will work for awhile...until you find (as I did) a dead squirrel hanging from one of the holes, where it got its head stuck trying to get in. It's very unpleasant to clean up. Also, caged feeders usually don't allow any of the larger birds in...not even cardinals. Safflower seeds are a good idea for feeders that you want completely accessible, as squirrels don't particularly like them. BUT...they WILL eat them when they are really hungry and if they can't find any other seed around. I usually keep one or two feeders with safflower in them because cardinals and titmice love them so much, but now and then, a really hungry squirrel will empty them. Personally, I think the very best way is to find a baffle that works for you. All of my main feeders hang from "shepherd's hook" type poles. About 4 or 4 1/2 feet off the ground, I mount a baffle on the pole, just under the hanging feeder. It completely stops the squirrels from climbing UP the pole...they run up, get stuck under the baffle, and run back down again. And if you get the height right, they can't jump OVER it, either. You have to locate the pole where they can't jump to the feeder from a nearby tree, of course, but other than that they are very effective. No squirrels are getting to any of my feeders now, and I probably have at least 20 that live in my trees and yard. There are several kinds of baffles. I use the cone shaped ones I get from PetSmart. They are relatively inexpensive (I think less than $20) and last forever. IF an industrious squirrel manages to jump high enough to grab at the baffle, it tilts and dumps him off. There is another type that my friend uses, which is also quite good. It is a cylinder about 6" wide that fastens to the pole. If they run up the pole, they are stuck inside. And if they jump up and grab the cylinder, it's too wide for them to hold onto and they drop right off. BTW, my squirrels have no trouble climbing up PVC pipe at all, no matter the diameter...it gets scratched and roughened quickly, and they can hold on to it with their sharp little claws. And in the same vein, forget about greasing the pole with Vaseline and the like...it melts in summer, runs down all over the ground, and they are soon running right up the pole. Not to mention, dirt and debris stick to it and the pole soon looks pretty bad. The link below will take you to one place online that sells several types of baffles. You can see samples of both the cylindrical type and the cone shaped ones on this page. And if you have hanging feeders, there are samples of the domed baffles here, too. Hope this helps. Good luck! Marcia (ps...I have 2 squirrel chasers, as well, but the trouble with them is, they are just as happy chasing the birds as they are the squirrels! *grin* ) Here is a link that might be useful: Baffle Samples

Unlike the Hourglass shaped with 4 flowers and very large Bee Guards (I think it is a PP), the Hummzinger Fancies seems to have a learning curve. Not only a learning curve, but also I think they have problem seeing and finding the feeding ports. Otherwise there is no reason for hungry birds to come check it very up close and hover right above it and not feed from it. I cut out a couple of yellow flowers and stuck them on top of the feeding ports with scotch tape and guess what? it worked immediately. now, when the regulars check it out, they go to the two ports with yellow paper flowers. But there seem to be quite a lot of hummers in my area and I would like to get all the fly byers. the old feeder did this but I am not sure about the Hummzinger Fancies. I am new at this and have not had the bee problem yet. so I am thinking of painting the flowers yellow with food coloring or something else that is safe and does not smell.

I don't have a pic at the moment, but a squirrel has never made it onto my platform feeder since we put it up many years ago. It is made of threaded iron pipe hammered into the ground with a screw on flange attached to the feeder. Below the feeder is a baffle made out of round metal duct probably 6" diameter and 2' long. There are some sheet metal strips crisscrossed to close off the top of the baffle tube and to give it some way to hang off the pole with another pipe fitting. The bottom of the feeder is probably a little under 5' off the ground. The pole has a clear area of maybe 4-5' all the way around. It is also a good 10' away from anything real high that they could use to jump down onto it from above. The setup is ugly as sin, but it works. I plan on trying to use a pole in an umbrella stand next so that I can move it around easily since I don't use it in the summer. I have heard that a baffle made out of 4" pvc with a cap is sufficient too. I wonder though if the plastic would not get roughed up enough over time to let them get a grip. Here are instructions for that type of baffle and it looks a lot better than mine. I'll have to try one with a nice cap and black finish someday Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-make-a-squirrel-and-raccoon-bird-feeder-baffle/

haaahaha...i now don't feel so bad knowing that a family of squirrels has taken up residence in my garage. good thing my garage is not attached to the house. but they have torn a huge hole in the back of my garage, and it seems that they are not even scared of me anymore. when i go in the garage, the mother squirrel does not even move from her spot up in the rafters. i swear today that one of them was waiting for me on my back porch....wtf?? thankfully my husband has just bought a giant assault rifle type pellet gun and is excited to use it. the squirrels have done so much damage to our garage, i almost feel like we might as well tear it down and build a new one. they have ripped down ALL the insulation, and the holes are ridiculous. so...good luck to all you squirrel hunters out there...and just remember...they might be cute..BUT THEY ARE STILL RATS!!!!