Squirrels. They’re a menace to every bird feeder in every backyard there ever was. There’s nothing more frustrating than waking up one morning, looking out your back window, and seeing your bird feeder completely emptied of bird seed or even knocked to the ground and busted because of pesky squirrels.
On this page I’m going to discuss several options that you have for squirrel proofing your bird feeder. I’ll discuss different options, as well as different prices that you can expect to pay. I’ll even mention some do-it-yourself methods that you can use that will be quite effective against most squirrels in most cases. So lets get right down to it…
What’s the best method of squirrel proofing? this is an interesting question, but I’m not sure there is a real answer for it because everybody’s situation is different, and everybody uses different bird feeders. Some people hang them from tree branches, some people swing them off of deck poles, and some people use traditional bird feeder polls that are free standing in the backyard. Each of these things requires different squirrel proofing methods, but I’ll try and touch on as many as I can here today.
One squirrel proofing option are weight sensitive feeders. These feeders actually sense the heavier weight of a squirrel and take action depending on the kind of feeder it is. Some of them will close a little door so that a squirrel can’t get to the bird feed. When the squirrel leaves, the little door opens up again allowing birds to get to the seed. Others like the droll Yankee bird feeder will actually spin the perch and knock the squirrel right off! Of course, a determine squirrel can get around these measures by knocking the bird feeder and bumping the seed on to the ground, at least these measures help a little bit!
Another Option is a Baffle which is a sort of hood that encompasses the entire feeder in an attempt to keep the squirrel out from above. I’ve not had an enormous amount of success with these, but in the right circumstances they can work if you have a smaller bird feeder hanging in a certain way.
Cage Options are another way to keep squirrels out. Basically you enclose your entire feeder in a cage that has holes large enough for birds to get in, but too small for squirrels to reach through. These can work great for smaller bird feeders that focus on smaller birds, but if you like having larger birds the cage may keep them from being able to use your bird feeder. Another version of the cage contains a spinning cage-like perch that is weight activated and allow smaller birds to rest on it without turning but will spin and knock a squirrel off.
Do it yourself options? yes there are a number of do it yourself options and some of them can be done incredibly cheaply sometimes for as little as $10. But I’m not very handy and whenever I try and do something myself it always looks bad, and even if it works good, I’d rather have something that I paid for that looks nice because I spend a lot of time watching my birds and don’t want to be looking at something ugly all day.
Prices Vary depending on the bird feeder you choose – prices can vary dramatically. For instance a baffle can be purchased for less than $20, sometimes even less than $10; while a droll Yankee bird feeder will cost you at least $100, and sometimes a little more. A good caged bird feeder can start as low as $20 and go up to $50 depending on size.
The fact of the matter is, squirrels are very clever and you may have to try several methods before you find one to stop those pests from stealing your bird seed. Good luck and battle on!!