Sooner or later, everyone who has a bird feeder wants to know how to keep squirrels away from them.
You will have to put up with these creatures, whether you like them or not.
They might steal the bird food, and you would lose everything you had so far worked so hard to build for your little bird haven.
Therefore, you need to come up with ideas nice and fast! By using the ideas and tricks in this article, you will be able to effectively keep squirrels away from bird feeders.
Install A Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
This is the first action you should take to prevent squirrels from accessing bird food. However, to protect it from attacks by squirrels, you must install the proper kind of bird feeder.
Weight-sensitive hardware is included with weight-activated bird feeders that rapidly seal the seed port the moment a squirrel steps on it. The port then reopens as the squirrel walks away. These look great strung out in the trees.
The fact that the pole-mounted bird feeders don’t dangle from a tree makes them fantastic. Instead, it hangs from a pole where it is extremely difficult for squirrels to access bird food. Although they have a relatively straightforward construction, a pole is required to hang them.
When a steel chew-resistant cage surrounds the feeder, caged feeders are also beneficial. Despite their substantial weight, they are particularly successful in keeping squirrels away from bird food.
The Feeder Location Is Important
After selecting the ideal squirrel-resistant bird feeder, you must decide where to put it. If you arrange it properly, squirrels won’t even attempt to get to it. What this rule reveals is as follows:
- A squirrel can only jump up to five feet in the air.
- They are only allowed to jump a maximum of 7 feet across.
- Additionally, they are quite hesitant to climb onto a feeder from a height of more than 9 feet.
You may take care of a huge number of squirrels without doing anything else if you set the bird feeder while keeping these figures in mind.
Additionally, you should be aware that squirrels can jump ten feet in the air. Place your feeder more than 10 feet away from any nearby trees or walls in order to stop them from making this leap.
If you don’t have a location to put your feeder in this position, string a line as high as you can between two points (such as trees or walls).
On a bouncing string, squirrels will have a tough time walking and will struggle to jump in the direction of the feeder.
Use Seeds That Squirrels Don’t Like
There aren’t many varieties of birdseed that squirrels don’t like. There are several, though, and you can use them well.
Nyjer seeds are not something that squirrels would eat, yet Goldfinches adore them.
A squirrel also doesn’t like safflower seeds. However, a large number of finches, cardinals, chickadees, and titmice enjoy eating them. These seeds are unappealing to starlings and grackles as well.
The squirrels don’t crave White Proso Millet either because it is a little too little for them. But juncos, sparrows, and doves enjoy them.
Hot peppers can also be added to the bird feeder. Because of the presence of capsaicin, peppers are hot and unpleasant to eat.
But there is a catch: only creatures like squirrels are harmed by capsaicin. It doesn’t make birds spicy after eating it for the entire day. You can use it in your bird feeder as a result.
Use A Separate Squirrel Decoy Feeder
Squirrels are the only creatures that are attempting to reach a food source. They share this trait with all other species, including humans, and it is part of their essence. It doesn’t matter if they are pests attempting to get into your produce.
By providing them with food from a separate squirrel feeder that is only for them, you may prevent them from getting to the meal and frighten the bird away.
Make it tough for them to go to the bird feeder, but make it simple for them to get to their own feeder. Add some affordable foods they enjoy such as maize or sunflower seeds.
Try to feed them away from bird feeders so they won’t think about making the effort to reach for food that isn’t theirs. If you can’t compete with them, join them.
Spice Their Food Up
As we said above, you can add hot peppers to the birdfeed to liven things up for the squirrels. Additionally, peppers are a natural insect repellant. A natural squirrel repulsion agent is pepper.
You can spray your feeders with a repellent for squirrels like Critter Ridder®. This will permanently deter squirrels from the food. Only squirrels will be harmed by this spray; birds won’t even be aware of it.
Peppers naturally deter squirrel activity, and the rodents don’t enjoy their taste or fragrance. You can make the best use of this to stop the next invasion of squirrels. Birdseed that has been pepper-treated is an additional option.
Since there have been no reports of bird health issues to date, peppers have long been used in bird seed as a squirrel deterrent.
Install A Squirrel-Proof Feeder Pole
It is preferable for you to purchase a pole if your area lacks one for your bird feeder. Make sure to take into account a pole for a bird feeder that is specifically made to keep squirrels away.
Due to their extremely smooth surface, these poles are difficult for squirrels to climb. To further deter squirrels, these poles also have a spring-loaded baffler or a pole baffler.
With such a pole, the majority of squirrel-related issues can be easily resolved. They can’t get to the feeder, so they must eat off the ground. You can purchase a pole made to scare away squirrels.
The spring-loaded design of these poles makes it difficult for squirrels to scale them. Additionally, these poles have baffles that make it more difficult for the squirrels to get the bird feed.
Install A Squirrel Baffle
You can also install a squirrel baffle to prevent squirrels from consuming the bird seed. You need to install this plastic barrier, which comes in a dome- or pole-shaped design depending on the model, directly under the feeder.
Squirrels will have a very tough time getting to the birdseed because of the curved barrier. You can include these sleek, metal, or plastic squirrel barriers below and above your feeder.
To prevent the animals from reaching around them, make sure that these baffles are between 15 and 18 inches long and wide.
When a squirrel climbs these baffles, they are designed to tilt or spin and stay off-balance without allowing access to the feeder.
You have the option of adding a baffle to your current pole in addition to purchasing a new pole that is squirrel-resistant. For this use, a baffle can be purchased separately.
There are two different types. The torpedo baffle is one type, and the wrap-around baffle is another. Both of these baffles can be mounted beneath the feeder.
However, make sure to keep it high enough (more than 5 feet) to prevent them from jumping over it to get to the feeder.
Grease The Feeder Pole
Another excellent option is to grease the pole, which simply entails making the surface slick for the squirrels so they can’t climb it. For this, you can add plastic tubing that has been placed around your pole.
But because mustard oil is highly slippery, lubricating the pole with it will also make it difficult for them to grip the pole and ascend.
However, bear in mind that you shouldn’t apply any additional chemicals to make the poles slick. Use no petroleum jelly, glue, grease, or other sticky materials.
By using such things, the squirrels will find it extremely difficult to keep them away from their fur and they risk losing all of it.
In the winter, this can be particularly challenging for them. If they consume these drugs while grooming themselves, it could be dangerous for them.
Keep The Ground Clean
Maintain a neat and orderly environment around your bird feeder. You must clean up any trash or scattered seeds from the ground below. These might be the main thing that draws squirrels.
Cleaning it up would also ensure that the birds don’t consume the infected or decaying seed, which would be harmful to them.
Squirrels like to forage for seeds on the ground, so the dropped seeds may be luring them in. Once they are present, they will make every effort to get to the feeders.
Keep the area beneath your feeders clean to prevent raccoons or rats from using it as a nesting area. For the purpose of capturing all the seeds that fall, you can attach a huge tray to the pole underneath your feeder.
Use A Slinky
If you like, you can add a slinky to the feeder to provide some amusement for the approaching squirrels. Place a metal slinky on your feeder’s pole if it is mounted on a pole.
It will be hilarious to see when a squirrel makes a valiant effort to climb the pole but is unsuccessful. If you put the slink too close to the ground, the squirrels will likely jump over it to get to the feeder.
Not even close to the ground should it be. Make sure it is at least 2 feet high to be effective. Keep the slinky from hanging all the way to the floor. Never even let it touch the ground. Make them ascend the pole in order to reach the slinky.
They will rapidly jump off as a result of this. You must fence the launch point and make it difficult for the squirrel to access the feeder from a tree or a wall if your feeder is close to either of these structures. If not, your slinky will eventually lose all of its usefulness.
Get A Dog
A dog will easily keep the squirrels away if you have one. It is better to have one of those larger breeds.
Even with rabbits and deer, many individuals have found this strategy to be very helpful.
Naturally, the squirrels will return as soon as your dog enters the house, but as long as your furry buddy is outside, there is no threat of an invasion.
Remove Potential Shelter
The final but not least step is to remove any potential hiding places for squirrels. Make sure that those squirrels can’t establish a convenient home right next to your feeder by taking the necessary precautions. As a result, you must permanently remove all potential hiding locations.
Prevent them from building nests under eaves, in old sheds, or in attics. A squirrel won’t visit your property to steal birdseed if its home is far from the feeder.
Something To Finish With
Make sure you take all required precautions to prevent squirrels from accessing your bird seed.
You can discourage them in a variety of ways and with a variety of implements.
But keep in mind that you are not required to cause the squirrels any harm. Simply put, these are creatures attempting to eat the available food sources.
Instead of treating them like certain pests, don’t. With the surrounding continuous bird show, you can get a little more inventive and incorporate the squirrels into your enjoyment.
These creatures are tenacious and inquisitive creatures, and you can amuse yourself by using their basic impulses without harming them.
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