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My dad had his bird feeder pretty well "squirrel proofed". He put a 4x4 pot in the ground with some PVC "arms" coming off the top to hang the feeders on. For the big bird feeder he duct taped 2 little pieces of wood on each side of where the feeder hanger will go to keep it in place. Then he got some sheets of thin tin and wrapped around the post, with the top sheet overlapping the bottom. That way, the critters couldn't jump up, hook their claws on the top of that bottom sheet, then do the same to get to the top of the second. Squirrels never got in it, but never really needed to. The birds knocked more seed off on the ground than they ate. lol
First off, it’s newly retired Mr Gentle who wants to feed the birds and squirrels. I think it’s a critter welfare program which create dependency. I’d prefer to plant bird friendly plants, and we already have an oak tree for the squirrels.
Now it has become a funny battle of wills.... Picture Bill Murray in Caddyshack and the gophers.
DH has to find ways to amuse himself. Today he put red pepper flakes in the birdseed. He could buy a squirrel proof feeder, but he’s too cheap, and what kind of challenge would that be?
We have two of the Squirrel Buster feeders, and they are mostly squirrel-proof.
What peeves me most is that I've lately invested in shelled sunflower and safflower seeds -- the "wasteless" kind -- and I get just as much scattered on the ground as I do with the cheap shelled seed. And once all that seed is down there only the doves will touch it, and there are only two pairs, so they can't keep it cleaned up. What the what?
First off, it’s newly retired Mr Gentle who wants to feed the birds and squirrels. I think it’s a critter welfare program which create dependency. I’d prefer to plant bird friendly plants, and we already have an oak tree for the squirrels.
Now it has become a funny battle of wills.... Picture Bill Murray in Caddyshack and the gophers.
DH has to find ways to amuse himself. Today he put red pepper flakes in the birdseed. He could buy a squirrel proof feeder, but he’s too cheap, and what kind of challenge would that be?
I am seriously trying to grow a chinqapin oak for the squirrels as it seems a more natural and healthier way to keep them around than to hand out peanuts. But the rabbits, that I ordinarily love, have broken into the chickenwire enclosure and eaten off the very young tree twice now. I'm about to give up and now I'm shaking my fist at the rabbits!
My friend said that their squirrel feeder does help keep them away from the bird seed. Yesterday, hubby made this, but we are still waiting to see how the squirrels like it.
I have no doubt they attract squirrels. Do the squirrels understand or care what we want?
We like the squirrels and enjoy watching them. We put pepper flakes in the bird feeder, so that seems to have helped. Now, we have discovered a pair of garter snakes near the black door. We won’t be feeding them, however, and I hope they move on. I don’t want them eating my anoles.
My friend said that their squirrel feeder does help keep them away from the bird seed. Yesterday, hubby made this, but we are still waiting to see how the squirrels like it.
I feed squirrels on the ground, as others do. I also have low-hanging tray type feeders that both squirrels and birds enjoy. It's my experience that the squirrels leave my other hanging feeders alone since it's so hard to get to them and hard to balance on them. My squirrels like sunflower seeds and peanuts the best, and I bought a big 20lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds at Walmart (about $10) and bags of unsalted peanuts in the shell at my grocery store (also relatively cheap).
No matter what other things I have tried - baffles, greasing shepherds crook poles, feeders with cages - I have found that squirrels are clever and determined. So, I make meals easy for squirrels (which a lot of other ground-feeding birds also enjoy) and it's all good.
Yes, I do have more squirrels than I did initially, but I have also seen squirrels self-regulate their numbers by chasing off others when the "restaurant" is at capacity.
I feed squirrels on the ground, as others do. I also have low-hanging tray type feeders that both squirrels and birds enjoy. It's my experience that the squirrels leave my other hanging feeders alone since it's so hard to get to them and hard to balance on them. My squirrels like sunflower seeds and peanuts the best, and I bought a big 20lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds at Walmart (about $10) and bags of unsalted peanuts in the shell at my grocery store (also relatively cheap).
No matter what other things I have tried - baffles, greasing shepherds crook poles, feeders with cages - I have found that squirrels are clever and determined. So, I make meals easy for squirrels (which a lot of other ground-feeding birds also enjoy) and it's all good.
Yes, I do have more squirrels than I did initially, but I have also seen squirrels self-regulate their numbers by chasing off others when the "restaurant" is at capacity.
I remember back in 1969 or so we had a bird feeder tethered to a tree branch by a metal wire. The squirrels used to climb down the wire, eat from the feeder and then jump to the ground.
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