Squirrel Resistant Bird Feeders

jimfist

Fractal Fanatic
Anyone have a tried and true bird feeder recommendation that is commonly available (north of boston/nh border) and will keep squirrels from raiding the feed?

Thanks!
 
The most effective thing we've found is a red tail hawk, but I don't know if they're commonly available where you live. :smiley:
 
You can buy bird seed that is coated with hot pepper extract. Birds are not affected by capsaicin (the hot in hot peppers), but mammals are. There's DIY recipes around online that use things like cayenne pepper powder and such too.
 
I had to build one. After many revisions I have a piece of duct work that spins freely. Used a normal hook to hold the feeder and used a reducer and a pipe clamp to hold it in place. I can take a pic if interested. They don’t even try it anymore. We feed the squirrels unsalted peanuts.
 
I started feeding the birds safflower seeds- squirrels hate them and jays don't like them much either. Works great!
 
Thanks for the suggestions and links. Much appreciated. I now realize that we have perhaps a bigger concern with chipmunks as well as the squirrels. Keep the suggestions coming.
 
Ok. I think I'm going with a hybrid approach for starters: lots of cheap feed on the ground near the feeder to keep the squirrels occupied, a slinky on the pole, and possibly chili pepper treated feed for the birdies. Hopefully the plentiful squirrel feed will make them less motivated to try climbing the pole, and if they somehow do figure out the slinky, they won't like what they get in the end.
 
Anyone have a tried and true bird feeder recommendation that is commonly available (north of boston/nh border) and will keep squirrels from raiding the feed?

Thanks!

Works great! Simple to install and very effective. I’ll take a pic. of the one in my backyard tomorrow.

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Yeah, I ended up bribing the squirrels to stay away. I give them food in a different location. A few still come to the bird feeders but as they are outside my study window and I am working at home until who knows when, they are easy to drive off. A little distracting during Zoom meetings though....
They are incredibly cleaver and figure out most deterrents. We have something that looks like a lamp shade above the one feeder and that works reasonably well. Although they have learned that if they hang on to the bottom of it and swing back and forth, it causes the feeder to spill out to the yard. The plus to that is that it makes the ground feeders (Mourning Doves, Towhees, etc.) happy, too.
 

This video made me laugh very, very hard, my wife came over to see what I was laughing at... Ha Ha Ha, my Co worker that lived in Portland ME. use to shoot them with his 22 and now it really makes sense why, Mark Rober has a squirrel infestation that would make me crazy but turned it into a amazing science project video to share! Thank you for sharing mr_fender!
 
Speaking of squirrels and feeding the birds ect, we recently moved from the burbs of NE Kansas, a couple hours south to a small town in SE Kansas. The squirrel situation here is very different than what we’re used to. The squirrels are a reddish fawn color instead of grey, and because this town is absolutely full of pecan and walnut trees, the squirrels have no interest, I mean zip, in eating anything else! I mean it’s great, we put seed out for the birds on the ground, and the squirrels just run on by lol.

This is a picture of what else we have been treated to since we moved here.

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My thoughts are this... anyone who has something that works are either in the honeymoon phase or are just lucky enough to have really REALLY dumb squirrels.

We've tried everything, and most of it actually worked for about 48 hours -- slinky, expensive feeders, slick poles, slick barriers, trap-door ledges... everything. Moreover, they pretty much destroyed everything we threw at them by gnawing holes or scratching through it.

The only thing that really worked is my son using them for bow and arrow practice. Sad but true.
 
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