How to Keep Squirrels Out of Your Birdfeeder
We all know the story-girl meets bird, girl wants to provide a stable food source for bird, then squirrel steals food from the object of girl’s affection. What feels like profound injustice at the time is unfortunately just nature running its course. So, how can you protect your feathered friends and not choose violence? Here are some approaches I’ve found that are more or less effective.
Scare Tactics
If you’re not the firing squad kind, tapping on a window can sometimes be enough to temporarily scare the little thieves away. I’ve resorted to using my kitchen sprayer more times than I care to mention, creating pools of water on the countertops. I’ve also tried using my body as an intervention-walking briskly to the yard anytime I saw a fuzzy tail working its way down a tree. Of all the approaches, I recommend this one the least. For weeks I spent my free time obsessively monitoring my bird feeders and almost rejoiced when I was given the opportunity to stoke fear into their little hearts. It’s a gateway drug on the path to becoming a serial killer.
Hot Pepper
Here’s the deal-birds’ taste receptors aren’t sensitive to heat. Squirrels’ are, and man do they hate the stuff. But, and it’s a big caveat-squirrels only respond to blends that are very high on the Scoville scale. In other words, it has to be very, very hot. Like, burn your skin kind of hot. And even then, you have to spray the stuff on your birdfeeder almost daily to keep them away. Honestly, I’ve had fair to middling success with this approach. But if you feel confident you can make this work for you, it can be a relatively inexpensive option. I’ve had the most success with this brand.
Poles and Caps
There are a number of squirrel proof poles and feeder caps on the market. Some range from very expensive to relatively cheap. The cap on one of my birdfeeders is ostensibly squirrel proof, though you can’t tell the little ingrates that. They pull and hang on it, seemingly just to mock me. The poles are effective, however, if you are wanting to hang your birdfeeder from a tree like a damn hippie then this option isn’t really helpful to you.
Squirrel Proof Feeder
Once I realized the futility of my previous methods, I settled on getting a new birdfeeder that was designed to keep squirrels out. Once the squirrel puts its weight on it, it shuts the little holes leading to the feed. It’s magnificent, and I don’t worry anymore when I see the squirrels approach because I know their attempts will only lead to heartbreak and frustration-much like the last several weeks of my life. Karma, it’s a beautiful thing.
