Friday, June 14, 2024
For most of my life, birds haven't interested me much, but sometime in the pandemic, I started adding bird feeders to my garden, and now I am completely charmed by my new visitors. The number one threat to bird feeders are squirrels—animals which, historically, I am quite fond of—but I’ve managed to create an environment where squirrels and birds can coexist on my property.
I have read every treatise on squirrel mitigation (and have tried just about everything), but here is what has worked for me.
You shouldn't try to keep away squirrels altogether
The single best mitigation strategy I have for squirrels is to simply give them their own feeder. Squirrels are trainable, like most animals, and if you give them food they like in an easily accessible manner, they’re not going to care much about your bird feeders.
This strategy doesn’t just protect your feeder; it also distracts squirrels from ransacking your garden. Squirrel feeders are also, for the record, delightful. They range from basic horizontal jar feeders to more elaborate squirrel saloon situations. I myself went for an English tea feeder.
Choose the right bird feeder
Once you have something that's enticing to the squirrels, you can move onto a better bird feeder. In my opinion, the best squirrel-proof bird feeders are those that are pressure sensitive, and will simply close the seed portholes when there is too much weight on the feeder. (Birds do not have enough weight, but squirrels do.) The best I’ve tried and keep going back to are produced by Roamwild. They have multiple kinds of squirrel proof feeders and the free-hanging versions work very well.
Window bird feeders, as much as I enjoy them, are just squirrel bait. They’re just too easy for squirrels to get to (either from your roof line or a windowsill) and unfortunately even my Roamwild window feeder ultimately failed the squirrel test. It’s not just that squirrels will grab the food, either. Their weight on the feeder, particularly as they leap to it, will be too much for the suction cups and cause the feeder to fall, eventually breaking it.
Use multiple squirrel mitigation strategies
Even with the right bird feeder, you still need a multi-faceted approach to squirrel management. This begins by choosing the right location, meaning that it's more than 10 feet from overhanging branches, roofs, or any sort of structure a squirrel could leap from, including hanging lights. This includes lower structures like patio chairs or raised beds. The pole for your bird feeder should be far enough away so that it stands a fighting chance. This isn't an option for every home, of course, but it is an important factor.
The bird feeder should also have a baffle over it, which is a clear dome that you hang the feeder from. The squirrels can’t climb over it, so it’s harder for them to access the feeder from the top. While squirrel baffles exist for under your feeder, I haven’t found them effective. What has been effective is a cheap Slinky. Attach one end to the feeder and let the other end fall to the ground, unwound. Squirrels seem to struggle with the mechanism of climbing the coils.
You can try squirrel-proof feed, too
It’s believed that squirrels can’t handle cayenne, while birds don’t care about the spiciness of the seeds, so bird food with added cayenne may help. I have had limited success with this, but as per the multi-faceted method, you should try a little bit of everything.
I think it also comes down to the fact that some people are just determined to see squirrels as the enemy. I’ve found far more success seeing them as part of the ecosystem rather than trying to exclude them from it entirely, which is a losing battle. I suspect that, like birds, once you start feeding them and paying attention to them, you’ll find the charm in them, too.
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