#2 Install A Squirrel Baffle – How To Protect Bird Feeders From Squirrels They are great as a stand alone food source, or when added to additional seed to help protect it. Products like C&S Hot Pepper Nuggets contain bird feed with the heat already in place. In addition to doctoring your own bird feed, you can also purchase ready made seed mixes with the heat already in them. Without fail, they work like magic for stopping our squirrels! We actually use the flakes from our Chinese Five Color peppers we grow and dry each year. And it is not just limited to those specific hot peppers, any hot variety will do. With one taste of cayenne or hot chili pepper flakes, squirrels are more than happy to move on. And by simply adding hot pepper flakes to your bird feed mix, you can greatly deter squirrels from coming back for more. The burning sensation from hot peppers comes from capsaicin, an active ingredient found within the flesh and seeds of the fruit of a pepper plant.Īlthough mammals and humans are both highly sensitive to the compound, birds are not. Now that we have covered the basics of preventative strategies, what do you do if you still have an issue? No worries – we have you covered below with three great tricks that are sure to work! #1 – The Hot Pepper Trick – How To Protect Your Bird Feeders From Squirrelsīelieve it or not, birds are not affected in the least from the heat of a hot pepper. Instead, choose a mix with white millet or safflower seeds, both of which squirrels detest. Keeping these foods out of your feeder can greatly help to deter their visits. Squirrels love sunflower seeds, peanuts and dried fruit. And when the ground food is gone, they will soon try to make it up to the feeder as well!įinally, selecting bird feed mixes that squirrels are not fond of can help keep them away as well. Large amounts of fallen food will attract squirrels, racoon and other pests quickly. It is also important to keep the ground area under the feeders as clean as possible. For best results, select posts that are at least 6′ tall. Most importantly of all, make sure your bird feeder post is long! Any post under 5′ in height is easy prey for a leaping squirrel. Be sure to keep it away from short walls, shrubs and other easy access points for squirrels. Unfortunately, that can stop even the best defense at the bottom of the pole.įor best results, locate your bird feeder out in an open area. When placed near a tree, squirrels can quickly and easily “fly” to your feeder. Even worse, that very same tree gives the squirrels natural protection from predators. And if your feeder is located close to a tree, they can easily fly right to the feeder. Squirrels can easily jump distances of five to six feet.
Squirrel proof bird feeders free#
It is like giving a squirrel an instant ladder and a free ride to success. More than anything else, never locate your bird feeder on a tree or within a short distance from a tree. And that begins with locating your bird feeder in the least advantageous spot for a squirrel to get to the food. One of the most important keys to keeping squirrels away from your feeders is to implement a few preventative strategies right from the start. How To Protect Your Bird Feeders From Squirrels Preventive Strategies Here is a look at a few squirrel preventive strategies, along with three effective solutions to keep squirrels from stealing the food from your bird feeders. Well, at least when it comes to robbing your bird feeders of food! But the good news is that there are a few tips and tricks that can stop squirrels in their tracks. Especially when you consider the cost of continually purchasing bird seed to refill feeders. And as you can see from the photograph above, they are not bothered by birds in the least! Squirrels will visit and revisit bird feeders again and again.
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