Dear Readers, as you know I am usually enchanted by the squirrels that visit the garden, but this year they are slightly ‘taking the Mickey’ as my Dad would have said. There are at least two adults and two youngsters who visit the garden as soon as the seed feeders are put out and sit there until they have eaten so many sunflower hearts that they can no longer move. Then, they sometimes move over to the suet feeders. I had no idea that squirrels had a taste for animal products, but I should have guessed following a squirrel’s interest in the prey of a sparrowhawk a few years ago. At one point, all four feeders had a squirrel attached.
So I have come to the conclusion that while I am happy for the squirrels to have some of the food that I put out for the birds (after all, when you make a wildlife garden you can’t necessarily be that fussed about who turns up), I don’t want them gobbling it all up. This morning there were three varieties of tit (coal, blue and great), some sparrows, a dunnock and some chaffinches who were all unable to feed because of the squirrels, and that’s without the collared doves who looked as if they were gathering en masse to at least attempt a take over.
So I have turned my mind to ‘squirrel-proof feeders’. If I had one or two of these at least the birds would get a look in. But which type to buy? There are so many different kinds, and I know that not all of them actually foil the furry foe (a quick burst of alliteration there). Have you had a similar problem? What has worked for you? Before anyone points out that attaching a seed tray to one of the feeders probably helps the squirrels, I need to tell you that I put this there for the woodpigeons/collared doves so that they could feed.
So, looking at Vine House Farm (my favourite bird food provider), it appears that the choice is: cage…
Photo by Vince at https://www.flickr.com/photos/vince2012/5254073092
…baffles….
Photo by Jim Winstead at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwinstead/78308502
or the ‘Squirrel Buster’ (the weight of a squirrel or large bird closes up the ports of the feeder, though clearly I’d have to be careful about where it was located). I haven’t found any photos of squirrels ‘busting’ the squirrel buster feeders, so maybe this design really does foil them. Shame it’s the most expensive, but there we go.
Over to you, Readers! Squirrels and bird food – your thoughts. I will report back soon.
Friends in the Western Cape have a similar problem with squirrels taking over their bird feeders. They have now suspended the feeder on a long string tied to a branch: the string is too thin for the squirrels to hold onto.
I am thinking that the string solution might well be a good idea….
I have long admired your tolerance to squirrels , feeling rather ashamed when I shoo them off my feeders but they are SO greedy ! I have tried putting food out on the ground for them thinking it would be an easier feed and a rationed one ( it is but they then jump onto the bird feeders). I have tried every feeder known to man and I’m afraid to report they do beat the squirrel buster . Mine hangs from a low branch on a mature apple tree and they seem to hang from their toenails and feed somehow circumventing the drop down mechanism- grrrr! The best one seems to be the cage but get one with very strong bars because they can bite through metal ! Good luck … I love your posts , have learned so much and wish you a happy retirement!
Thank you so much, Lesley! I have equal votes for the cage feeders and the squirrel busters, and some people saying that neither work, so I think I shall have to see what works for my particular squirrels. I wouldn’t mind if they would just choose one feeder, but they seem to take everything as a challenge.
We have had the same ‘outwitting the squirrel challenge’ for many years. Baffles stopped the squirrels jumping up from the ground but our north London garden is small and they managed to jump over the baffle from a shed roof or a garden chair left too close. I then tried cages, but the squirrels jump onto those and sometimes overbalance them. A few times baby squirrels have managed to get inside and then run round and round in a panic until they work out how to get out! In the end we bit the bullet and bought the squirrel busters, one for peanuts and one for sunflower hearts. They really do work, and are easy to take apart and clean, I give them 5 stars. If you’d like to borrow one to try out let me know. Liz
Thanks so much, Liz! Christmas is coming, I might try to persuade Santa Claus to leave me a few squirrel-proof bird feeders in my stocking…
I had some success with smearing the supporting pole with vaseline. Messy to do but it gave the squirrels a bit of a problem.
Now there’s a thought…..I’d have to smear most of my whitebeam tree though 🙂
I hang mine from a clothes line. Squirrels can’t quite manage a metres-long balance along the line, and it’s not within leaping range.
I think this is such a great idea….
We’ve always used the feeders with an outer cage to prevent squirrels from reaching the foot in the mesh tube in the middle. They’re made of coated metal, usually green.
Thank you!
We use the lantern cage style of feeders. All our small birds are fully trained now.
Good to know, Mal! I can see I’m going to have to get a couple of feeders and trial them…
Large silver metal lantern style feeder from Robert Dyas is the best in our garden. However, the lid required wiring down as they managed to flip it off! A ‘spring’ feeder, that is supposed to close with the weight of a squirrel, is not effective: the little beast leans across, supporting its weight on the feeder pole and has a feast. I need to try it in the middle of a long string as suggested above.
Thanks Jill! I rather like the washing line idea, though I fully expect to see the squirrels leaping from the tree above wearing parachutes and crash helmets 🙂
We have the squirrel buster one for nuts..it’s great and squirrels can’t get into it, or feed from it but bigger birds like woodpeckers can if you adjust the weight to suit them. We did give the squirrels a little hinged lidded box for their own nuts and they used this for a while but then just disappeared off the scene. It is more expensive but worth it in the long run rather than replacing the damage that squirrels did to previous nut feeders. The ones with a cage always concern me as a neighbour had one and a woodpecker got stuck behind the bars and we had to take it apart to free it.
Thanks Anne, I know what you mean about the cage ones, I’d hate to see any kind of creature stuck in one….
We have tried one of those outer cage types, with a gap of about an inch between it and the real feeder, but we found at least one squirrel managed to climb down the outside and back up the inside. So whatever you try, it may only be temporary. I’ve seen videos of squirrels going along a clothes line too, upside down.
I resorted to squirting water out of a washing up liquid bottle at them, but they always came back. It was fun (for me) though!
We now have a puppy, so he chases anything that moves in the garden, especially the birds unfortunately, but he’s never caught anything yet. 🤞🤞
Roamwild do a good squirrel proof cage tho it is a good idea to hang it where the squirrels can’t get a purchase. I don’t have a problem but my sister has a constant battle and that one has worked for her.
We hung a slinky toy around our pole bird feeder and the squirrels have not been able to get to the suit cake and small seed tray that hang from it’s hooks. The pole is in a clearing so they squirrels can’t access the pole from nearby trees, bushes and roofs. If you want look up youtube videos of squirrels and slinkys.
There are some videos of squirrels figuring it out!