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Use shepherd's hooks and apply petroleum jelly liberally. Be sure they are in areas far enough a way from trees, shrubs or anything that a squirrel can jump from to get to the feeders. This is my all-year-round entertainment watching these bushy-tailed rodents try to climb the shepherd's hooks. If you want to outsmart a squirrel you need to be able to think like a squirrel. I have tried cayenne pepper in the past and it does not phase them. They just spread the word that I am serving food Mexican style. Birds cannot taste. A large jar of petroleum jelly at a dollar store is $1. Have fun everyone!!! An avid birder who has good bird sense. Also the use of peanut butter attracts these little rodents like a magnet. They seem to adapt to nearly anything. Once they realized they could not get to the food they left my area. This time I won and did no harm.
It takes a while. My brother spent three or four years figuring out how to defeat the squirrels.
I bought this solid metal bunny statue, heavy as concrete, nothing like I've seen before. Put it out in the garden. One day I noticed a squirrel sitting on it's head, thought it was cute. Went out a few days later and looked at my bunny. His ears were chewed down, his nose was chewed down, and his eyes were chewed on a bit Damn squirrels were using it to file their teeth. I couldn't believe it. I hoped they'd die of metal poisoning, it would serve them right for doing that. The bunny has been sitting in my shed for the last 3 years, lonely, and afraid to come out of hiding in fear that he will be attacked again.
Sorry, I no longer think anything about squirrels are cute! Well, maybe the white squirrels.
Use shepherd's hooks and apply petroleum jelly liberally. Be sure they are in areas far enough a way from trees, shrubs or anything that a squirrel can jump from to get to the feeders. This is my all-year-round entertainment watching these bushy-tailed rodents try to climb the shepherd's hooks. If you want to outsmart a squirrel you need to be able to think like a squirrel. I have tried cayenne pepper in the past and it does not phase them. They just spread the word that I am serving food Mexican style. Birds cannot taste. A large jar of petroleum jelly at a dollar store is $1. Have fun everyone!!! An avid birder who has good bird sense. Also the use of peanut butter attracts these little rodents like a magnet. They seem to adapt to nearly anything. Once they realized they could not get to the food they left my area. This time I won and did no harm.
The ant guard I have on my shepherds hook for my hummingbird feeder has directions to put petroleum jelly on the rim so the ants won't go through it and leave the feeder alone - would someone tell the ants this?? They seem to not be bothered at all by it. I even put some petroleum jelly at the bottom of the shepherds hook, same thing, they march right through it.
I have some Tangelfoot that is sticky as all heck that I'm going to try using instead. Wonder if that would work for a squirrel problem somehow???
The ant guard I have on my shepherds hook for my hummingbird feeder has directions to put petroleum jelly on the rim so the ants won't go through it and leave the feeder alone - would someone tell the ants this?? They seem to not be bothered at all by it. I even put some petroleum jelly at the bottom of the shepherds hook, same thing, they march right through it.
I have some Tangelfoot that is sticky as all heck that I'm going to try using instead. Wonder if that would work for a squirrel problem somehow???
The petroleum jelly works for me against the ants, but I put it on very THICKLY. Great big gobs of it. Seems to stop the little guys. But these are wimpy New Jersey ants. If you live down south, all bets are off!
I gave up trying to defeat squirrels a long time ago. I use platform bird feeders made of a composite material (NOT wood), and the squirrels come along, eat their fill in the morning and then apparently nap all day until about 5 PM. They don't chew on the feeders, and the birds seem to love the platform, too.
I bought this solid metal bunny statue, heavy as concrete, nothing like I've seen before. Put it out in the garden. One day I noticed a squirrel sitting on it's head, thought it was cute. Went out a few days later and looked at my bunny. His ears were chewed down, his nose was chewed down, and his eyes were chewed on a bit Damn squirrels were using it to file their teeth. I couldn't believe it. I hoped they'd die of metal poisoning, it would serve them right for doing that. The bunny has been sitting in my shed for the last 3 years, lonely, and afraid to come out of hiding in fear that he will be attacked again.
Sorry, I no longer think anything about squirrels are cute! Well, maybe the white squirrels.
Now do you understand why I refer to squirrels as bushy tailed rodents-also feel the same way about chipmunks.
We trapped squirrels eating our garden and relocated them. Home Depot has a live trap that works pretty well. Bait it with lettuce. Or get a dog. I recommend a rat terrier.
I have squirrels also. Here are the things that work for me.
I put an old, large size pan lid at the top of my feeder. It looks a bit odd, but it works to keep them off and out.
Hanging feeders on tree branches is not something that I do anymore, having had small feeders pulled down, so I use large shepherd hooks, put solidly into the ground away from tree limbs.
I also have put olive oil on the pole, it is then too slippery for squirrels to climb.
ETA....I think that I'll try the Vaseline instead of oil next time.
Somehow the subject jumped from bushy-tailed rodents to ants the ants go marching one by one. Never had this problem, but they do not like bleach.
Hurrah! Hurrah! The ants really don't like dielectric grease. I called my son one morning when dozens of ants were crawling out of one of the outlets above my kitchen counter. He took off the plate, smeared grease over everything, and that was the end of the ants in that area.
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Well, maybe the white squirrels. 
