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One of the challenges of feeding birds in a rural area is keeping the critters from your seed. Here are some things which will help.
I enjoy watching all of nature’s creatures…so my first suggestion is always, try to offer them their own feeding spot, offer squirrels nuts or ear corn in one of the feeders offered at Barn in the Sticks.
Looker Products makes some fantastic feeders at great prices.
If that doesn’t work, or you don’t have the room to offer squirrels food, there are several methods to keep the squirrels from your feeder. If you feeder hangs from a tree or post, you can protect it from above with a squirrel dome, a cylinder, usually made of plastic or metal that you can put above the feeder, so that a squirrel cannot crawl over it to get at the seed.
A solution if your feeder is pole or post mounted is using a squirrel guard below the feeder on the pole or post. These are usually called Squirrel Baffles. This cylinder is just like the one above, only remember that you need to have it at least 4-5 feet off the ground, so the squirrel doesn’t simply jump over the guard. Also remember that squirrels are tricky! If they can come from above, either from your house or from a nearby tree, they will jump on the feeder from above, so place your feeder away from anything nearby that a squirrel could jump from.
To fend off squirrels, people have attempted using axle grease and WD-40, not a very eco-safe or animal safe product. A new option is Squirrel-Slide, a natural food grade, eco-safe product, which will cause the squirrel to slide right back down the pole, after they attempt to climb it. Squirrel-Slip is now available at Barn in the Sticks.
Another alternative is to purchase a feeder with built-in mechanisms which trigger based on the weight of what is perching on the feeder. Droll Yankees offers several of these products which utilize springs to trigger the perch to drop, and even motorized parts, which cause the perches to spin, all based on the percher’s weight.
Usually the thing in common with most of the anti-squirrel products is that they take advantage of squirrels’ natural aerobatics. So it is actually fun to watch the squirrel feed, or try to feed, while amusing you! Finally, if you've had enough, you can go "Fort Knox" on your squirrel feeder, purchasing one that has a cage to keep the squirrels out. Like the one below made by Woodlink.
