My neighbor said my bird feeder was basically a squirrel buffet. He was right.

I had this big tube feeder full of sunflower seeds hanging from a maple tree. Thought I was doing the birds a solid. Then my neighbor, Frank, walked by and just said, 'You know you're just feeding the squirrels, right? The birds can't get near it.' I argued that I saw birds there sometimes. But I started watching more closely. For three days, I counted. Squirrels: 47 visits. Cardinals: 2. He was totally right. I moved the feeder to a metal pole with a baffle, about 15 feet from any tree limb. Now the chickadees and finches are all over it. Anyone else have a simple fix that actually worked to keep the squirrels out?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy62810d ago

Disagree completely with the whole idea of fighting the squirrels. They are just trying to eat, same as the birds. I put out extra corn cobs and peanuts on the ground for them. It keeps them busy and happy, and they leave the hanging feeder alone most of the time. My yard is full of life, birds in the trees and squirrels on the ground. Seems like a better solution than an arms race with baffles and poles.

hugo_robinson2510d ago

My buddy in Cincinnati tried that exact method, @wendy628. He put out a whole bag of peanuts for the squirrels. It worked for about a week. Then a big old fox squirrel figured out the bird feeder was basically a dessert bar. It brought its whole family. They cleaned out a twenty dollar bag of black oil sunflower seeds in two days. Now he's got more squirrels than ever and they still raid the feeder. He's looking at baffles again.

lunag3010d ago

Honestly, that's a good plan but it doesn't always work. Tbh, if you give them their own food, they'll just eat that AND still go for the bird feeder.