Outdoor Ontario
Discussion => General Discussions => Topic started by: mr.sharp-photo on September 03, 2009, 01:36:51 PM
-
We've been tempted to get a bird feeder, but the squirrels in our area are very hungry and ambitious.
we keep on hearing that Home Hardware feeder commercial.
any suggestions on squirrelproof feeders to hang from a tree or place on a fence?
-
Squirrels do not like nyger seed. I have a metal, mesh finch feeder (great for goldfinches, siskins and other finches). The squirrels check it out, even lift the lid to see what's inside, and then move on. I also have a pole with a metal baffle. As long you set it far away from trees, fences, or anything they can jump from, that will also help you feed birds and not those wily rodents. Hope this helps give you some ideas.
-
Actually, our local psycho squirrels have gnawed a hole in our plastic nyger (thistle seed) feeder and swing off it regularly. But I agree they're far less interested.
The trouble is, many birds don't seem to eat nyger seed. We've had house finches and gold finches on ours, plus house sparrows. That's all, whereas chickadees and cardinals plus the house finches come to the black sunflower seed feeder.
I too would like some advice on feeders; for example, does the kind that closes a baffle every time something big lands on it actually work? What experiences with what brands can people tell us about?
thx
Julie
-
We finally got one of those "Squirrel Buster" feeders last year, it has one of those baffles that is weight sensitive. The squirrels initially investigated it but have since lost interest and don't even bother with it now. One important factor might be that our other feeder spills out enough food to make the squirrels happy to ground feed. And the "Squirrel buster" can be adjusted to allow bigger birds to go on it if you like.
They aren't cheap but well worth it . I only wish I had got one sooner
http://www.squirrelbuster.biz/squirrelbusterplus.htm (http://www.squirrelbuster.biz/squirrelbusterplus.htm)
-
so where do you buy these from?
-
I got mine in Cambridge at Grand Valley Fortifiers and I've seen them at Creature Comforts in Georgetown. I am sure that any bigger bird seed supply store will carry them. I am thinking they are in the $60 range but have forgotten for sure.
-
There are a number of "squirrel proof" feeders available from The Urban Nature Store which has locations in Etobicoke and Pickering.
http://www.urbannaturestore.ca/shop/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=12
Some funny videos of the Droll Yankee feeders can be watched here.
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/594528/2878973
Walter
-
Do the squirrel proof mechanisms work equally well during winter conditions ?
Thanks,
Jim
-
i just bought a squirrel-proof feeder from PetsMart. set it up yesterday afternoon. don't think the birds like the feeder :) zero activity so far (well, i was at work all day, but I assume that there was zero activity).
will see if the squirrels manage to figure it out.
-
just an update.
it took about 3 weeks, but it seems like the birds received the memo about our feeder.
yesterday was the first time we saw birds feeding. at one point, we had 5 sparrows.
today, 3 cardinals (2 female, 1 male) are buzzing around it along with a bunch of sparrows. and a downy woodpecker just ate a bit.
so i guess it takes time.
and the squirrels, so far, haven't eaten the seed
-
I invested in a squirrel-resistent feeder 2 years ago and it is worth it. Lee Valley has a number of models.
The squirrels still jump on top of it to figure out how to get at the seed but no luck. However, the birds drop enough seed to satisfy the squirrels on the ground below.
-
If you mount feeders on a sheppards hook away from something that they can jump from, using vaseline on pole is a good deterrant...and good for ants etc. if you put up a hummingbird feeder....I get just the reds and I kinda like them sooo....I feed them too.
-
Okay, here's my two cents or more on this... bear with me as I can be detailed but you and whoever else may find this useful.
First off, I too bought a Squirrel proof feeder. It's not the Squirrel Buster which I think is a tube like feeder with a metal mechanism around it. This one I got looks like a barn and the perch is weight sensitive... so when a Squirrel sets a paw on it, the thing closes up. Well, unfortunately, the roof doesn't have the best locking device on it. I get home one day and the roof is torn completely off! It is now screwed in and they can't do that again. The weight perch doesn't do much when the Squirrels hang off the roof like Spiderman and scoop the seed out of the holes. That feeder cost me about $60. :cry:
Nyjer is not a seed they are interested in but the young and the curious I find... or the hungry enough... will investigate those feeders. So, one of my seed socks has had holes chewed through along with one plastic tube feeder in 5 years. I invested in a metal mesh type feeder and replaced a plastic one also (spoiled Finches here!).
I use a very high pole with a Squirrel baffle around it, 3/4's of the way up. It's worked great! It does need to be well away from trees, wires and anything else. I mean, even a high enough bird bath that they can get on top of for those extra couple feet and they might make it up there. I find Squirrels under it often waiting for the birds to toss stuff down. It must drive them crazy to see all those roasted peanuts up there.
I have one of those cheap green gazebo feeders and I put plain Safflower in it and nothing else. It's not a seed of choice for Squirrels and even for most birds. The Cardinals eat it up along with House Finches. The other bird species will check it out but don't stick around. I've seen a hungry Squirrel have a nibble and then run off in displeasure.
I use plain suet and only the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers eat it, as well as both Nuthatches (White and Red Breasted), along with the Chickadees. I haven't seen any other birds go at it, not even Starlings, nor Squirrels.
Oh, my nyjer, safflower and suet feeders are NOT on the pole. They are well within reach/nibble of Squirrels.
So, while feeders are one thing... what food you offer may also be something to think about.
-
It is definitely a challenge to keep the squirrels off the feeder. Every little thing we did to make it more difficult for them, they managed to surmount. They are extremely agile and acrobatic at times - interesting to watch how far out from the tree trunk they can jump to get to the feeder. We have also used vaseline or margarine on the pole - this does work, but needs reapplication :) Now I have an unwanted raccoon in my city backyard - hopefully not offending any raccoon lovers :)
-
Hi,
We invested in a Squirrel Buster Plus a few weeks ago...as far as Squirrels, it seems to have done the trick(though I guess it has only been a few weeks ;) ). We hung it off our tree and we've seen a few squirrels run up the tree and think about it, but haven't seen one brave enough to jump on it from the side or above like their previous with our previous feeder. The squirrels now just forage underneath to get the dropped seed...
We want to use the feeder for Cardinals as well, but have had a hard time keeping the grackles off at the same time. We first took off the perch ring and left the perches rather big and the cardinals could get seed, but so could the grackles. So then we tightened the adjustable perches to as small as they would go, and can you believe the grackles figured out how to unscrew the perches to make them big enough for them to comfortably get on. Today we even found one of the perches on the ground, which means the grackles unscrewed it all the way....Not sure we're gonna win the battle with the grackles!! And in the meantime, the cardinals can't get any seed with the short perches. Can't win them all I guess. If anyone has any suggestions to keep the grackles away, I'd be happy to know how.
We also have a nyger feeder, which so far seems to have been left alone by the squirrels completely, no baffle or anything. We get lots of finches, chickadees and nuthatches there.
I also had some suet for woodpeckers hung from a pole with a baffle, but since the grackles arrived, they were getting at it mostly and scaring off the other birds.
Mar
-
Hi Mar (Kokanee)... if you skim my post just above some of the food(s) I use may help you as well... like use just Safflower in a feeder that your Cardinals will enjoy and I doubt the Grackles will touch.
-
I stretched a line from my cherry tree to the house and hung a suet feeder about 8 ft from the tree.
On the line I installed a freewheeling double-cone thingy (technical term!) on each side of the feeder.
It's not pretty but it works.
At first the squirrels were quite persistent in their efforts to get past the cones but now they don't even bother trying.
(http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u225/zed37/008b.jpg)
-
Hi Mar (Kokanee)... if you skim my post just above some of the food(s) I use may help you as well... like use just Safflower in a feeder that your Cardinals will enjoy and I doubt the Grackles will touch.
Hi Rob'in'To,
We'll give the Safflower a try!
I've never seen safflower at CTC or Lowe's before, will I need to go to a Bird/Nature store for it?
Thanks,
Mar
-
Yes, a specialty bird feed store would be required. I don't think I have seen it elsewhere for sale. A Squirrel might try it but I guarantee it won't like it and eat anymore. Hopefully one won't have a temper tantrum over you putting safflower out.
-
Interesting reading what some have tried and what the experiences are. I especially like the "double cone thingy" especially the name :lol:
Now here is my 2 cents.
We use the Squirrel proof feeder with the weight sensitive perch. We got it as a gift but I think it came from Lee Valley. We have tried a variety of feed in it and the only birds that seem to use it are the finches and sparrows. As for squirrel proof, it seems to do the job.
The feeder we get the most birds on is on a pole with a big metal cone. The cone was made to keep the squirrels AND racoons off it. Our biggest problem is racoons. Not squirrels.
Like many others have said, our squirrels now seem mostly content to take what ever is knocked on the ground.
-
Yes, a specialty bird feed store would be required. I don't think I have seen it elsewhere for sale. A Squirrel might try it but I guarantee it won't like it and eat anymore. Hopefully one won't have a temper tantrum over you putting safflower out.
Hi Rob'in'To,
Thanks for the tip, we've had some good results! Initially we eased them into the safflower by mixing with some sunflower. Now that we've gone full safflower, we've hardly seen the squirrels and the grackles lost interest too. Our cardinals are now back and feeding, and the other smaller birds go back and forth from the nyger to the safflower. Strangely enough a couple of grackles were still around, and a bonus they were chasing away the squirrels that did come by... we didn't understand why the grackles were still around and behaving like that until one day my husband noticed a grackle from the second floor window, and it was about 3 feet from the top of a blue spruce in our backyard. He got out the binocs and sure enough there was a nest.... so a few weeks later a couple of grackles are still around but not eating our seeds :-) I'm hoping they leave after the little ones are able to fly. They have made some good entertainment chasing a hawk that soars above and nipping at the squirrels. :-)
I still have quite a bit of the sunflower seeds, so maybe later in the summer I will try using some, or store it well and keep it for the winter.
Thanks again for your suggestions! 8)
Mar
-
We set up ours recently and actually had to modify it structurally - my father is a retired Millwright - so he made a few changes to it so all birds could feed .. we could patent this design and make a mint.