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For years, My wife and I have kept bird feeders in our back yard. At the same
time, we have also had a small population of squirrels. We didn’t voluntarily get the squirrels. They just showed up one day and liked us so well, they decided to stay.
Now, many people think of Squirrels as dumb little animals. They are little, but they are not dumb, as my experiences have proved. Actually, they are very agile, fast, determined and destructive little animals, who think they are entitled to everything especially bird seed in bird feeders.
For a long time, I tried to keep the squirrels away from the bird feeders and save the seed just for the birds. Imagine my thinking this! The squirrels did not wish to cooperate and I was forced to try several desperate measures. These were:
(1) Surviving with acrobatic squirrels: Our bird feeders are on posts. Some hang by cords, and others sit on top of the posts. Our squirrels had to run and try to make the big jump from the ground to the feeder. Usually, they would get to the feeder and eat the bird seed while throwing some on the ground just for good measure. On rare occasions, they would eat “leftovers” on the ground, but they really preferred to dine in class inside the main feeder
(2) Placing plastic cola bottles on the posts. Someone suggested we place 2 liter soft drink bottles on the bird feeder posts to stop the squirrels if/when they tried to climb. We tried this and it worked - - for a little while. I placed the bottles on the posts about halfway up from the ground using duct tape to keep them in place. The squirrels were forced to stay on the ground and behave for a day or so. Then they learned that they could jump over the bottles and go on up the post with no problem. They even learned to hold onto the bottles with their sharp little claws as they passed over them.
(3) Making the posts slippery. Someone else suggested smearing petroleum jelly on the posts making them slippery for the squirrels. This would keep them from getting enough traction to climb up to the feeder at the top of the post. Our little rascals learned to tackle the posts with their little legs pumping away at about a hundred miles per hour. With this extra effort and perseverance, they learned to get to the top anyway. There must be a lesson on perseverance in this somewhere.
(4) Putting Slinky toys on the posts. Another suggestion was to buy children’s slinky toys and drape them down over the post from the feeder. We bought the toys and hung them as directed. This worked for a day or two. Then the little animals learned that they could jump higher and go on up the post in spite of the Slinky toy hanging around them and banging them on their little bodies. Does anyone need any Slinky toys? I have two that have hardly been used.
(5) “Squirrel proof” bird feeders. The best solution is to buy metal squirrel proof bird feeders. Squirrels can chew through wood and plastic, but metal usually deters them. We had a plastic “squirrel proof” feeder that the squirrels basically destroyed by chewing and clawing at it constantly.
The biggest problem with “squirrel proof” feeders is the squirrels don’t know that they are “squirrel proof..” Therefore they mount a strong offensive effort as long as they see the bird seed in the feeder. One of our “pets” even got inside a bird feeder with the bird seed after lifting the lid and twisting and turning his body in numerous odd positions.
So, I think a good strong metal “squirrel proof” feeder is a good choice. You can feed the “birdies” and protect the birdseed from the squirrels all at the same time. If I had bought a good strong metal “squirrel proof” feeder at the beginning, I would not have had so much trouble with the squirrels. But then who knows? Maybe I would not have had as much fun and entertainment or learned so much about those “dumb little” squirrels either.
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