Are there ways to keep these squirrels away from your bird feeders? There are! Our entire discussion will be focused on this area of interest.

People get to choose which animals to take as pets and those to avoid. This is the case for birds and squirrels. If this defines you, then you might be interested in finding ways to keep these rodents away from your bird feeders.

Squirrels are known to always hang around locations with food supplies.

As long as you feed your birds, there’ll be an ample supply of food for squirrels. This is because they help themselves whenever they can.

Squirrel Bird Feeder Solutions

As clever as squirrels are, these creatures can still be outdone by implementing any of the tips listed below. The goal is to have only birds feeding on this food source and nothing else.

So, why shouldn’t we let squirrels join in the feast? Do they pose a threat or danger of any sort?

This will be fine with some homeowners as they can tolerate squirrel presence as long as they don’t become a nuisance. For those seeking to get these creatures as far away as possible from bird feeders, we’ll provide you with a justification for such action.

Reasons Squirrels Should Be Kept Off Bird Feeders

Before we put down a reason for squirrel exclusion, it’s important to note that not everyone will find such a reason convincing enough. This is especially true for squirrel lovers.

Now, squirrels aren’t decent eaters when it comes to feeding. To put this in a fun way, squirrels lack table manners!

While feeding, squirrels will leave a mess behind by littering bird feed. At the end of the day, you’ll have to clean up such areas to prevent other pests from coming around. We’ve started with the more tolerable reason.

The other reason why squirrels need to be kept off bird feeders is due to the damage they cause. Squirrels are attracted to food sources. When they come around to feed, they also spend their time causing damage.

Among the most common squirrel damage to houses is chewing on irrigation lines.

This is a situation most homeowners will want to avoid. Not only are irrigation lines affected, but squirrels also cause damage to property such as burrowing holes through your attic and gnawing on decks among other furniture.

How To Keep Squirrels Out Of Bird Feeders

The following tips will go a long way to keep squirrels at bay.

When implemented, these rodents find your home surroundings uninviting. The incentive for coming becomes increasingly difficult to access.

  • Consider Using a “Squirrel-Proof” Bird Feeder

While some bird feeders are easy targets to squirrels due to their ease of access, certain feeder designs are more difficult to access. These can be termed, squirrel-proof feeders.

So, will such bird feeders allow birds to feed? They absolutely will! There’s no hindrance to feeding birds.

So, while squirrels get excluded, your birds get access to the feed you provided for them. These feeders have varied designs. There are those which are weight-activated while others are covered with cages.

You get to choose from available designs that best fit your needs.

  • Bird Feeders Should be Positioned Away From Trees

It’s common to find a higher number of squirrels flocking to bird feeders hung on trees. This situation can be salvaged by placing such feeders away from trees. You’ll need a squirrel-proof feeder pole for this to be possible.

Squirrel-proof feeder poles are designed with squirrel behavior in mind. Squirrels are incredible climbers and can work their way around obstacles to reach their objectives.

Such poles keep them off with the presence of a baffle placed along the pole’s length.

Squirrels find it very difficult to scale past the baffle to the feed. This way, bird feeders are left undisturbed by these rodents.

  • Consider Adding Some Spices to Bird Feed

Birds will readily feed on feeds laced with hot spices without a problem. However, the same cannot be said for squirrels. Capsaicin-coated bird feed is available for repelling squirrels.

Whenever they ingest such feed, their mouths are set on fire (peppery feeling on tongue) which causes them to give up. To make a squirrel deterrent bird feeder, apply a pepper-based repellent product to your bird feeder.

  • Motion Activated Sprinklers Could Help

Looking for squirrel deterrents for bird feeders?

Motion-activated sprinklers have been used successfully as scare devices to drive off pests. These can be applied to repel squirrels. The sudden activation of these sprinklers makes squirrels scurry away.

However, motion-activated sprinklers won’t remain effective for long. With time, squirrels get to know that these only spray water and won’t do any harm.

  • A Baffle will Serve the Purpose

If your feeder pole doesn’t have a baffle, you can have one installed along its length. However, this has to be done right. Apart from being excellent climbers, squirrels can also jump.

As such, it will be necessary to place your baffle as high as possible to keep them from jumping over.

  • Certain Feeds are Preferred Over Others

It’s common knowledge that squirrels will feed on just about any bird feed they can find.

However, certain feeds are known to be disliked by these rodents. The good part is, your birds will still feed on these without a problem.

So, while squirrels find such feeds uninviting, birds will readily feed on them without a problem. Examples of such feeds include canary seed, millet, canola seed, nyjer seed, and safflower.

Change in diet type has been used successfully and is still being used for squirrel control.

  • Create Obstacles To Deter Squirrels From Bird Feeders

With obstacles, you’re making it increasingly difficult for squirrels to gain access to bird feeders. These obstacles can be placed along all possible paths to the bird feeder.

Apart from the baffle which we’ve mentioned earlier, multiple types of obstacles can be added.

For feeders hanging from a wire between two poles or a tree, you can introduce or string used thread spools along the length of the wire. Squirrels will always slip off whenever they climb.

These are some of the ways you can keep squirrels away from bird feeders. Each has been used successfully with great results. You too can apply any of them.

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