How do I stop squirrels from emptying my bird feeders?

that is the age old question





you've got to get up pretty early to outsmart a squirrel





saw a PBS documentary on ';and they took flight';





showed a series of 10 puzzles the squirrels had to solve to get to the food - - - took them three days of trial and error and falling - before


one of them found it - -





they created a second set of harder wheels and puzzles - - took 'em 4 daze





and the female that did it first - made the trek 4-5 times a day afterward


celebrating the victory





great videosHow do I stop squirrels from emptying my bird feeders?
Like I have been told when you feed birds you feed all the wildlife out there. I invested in a few squirrel feeders. They are a bit on the costly side but work well. One is a chair that holds corn on the cob and the other is a little house like thing that holds peanuts in the shell and they have to work to get them out. Cute to watch to. Also I have learned to throw a bunch of sunflower seeds under bird feeders so the squirrels will eat those and let the birds eat at the feeders. They also like rodent chow that you can buy and put through your yard. Birds don't eat this so the squirrels look through yard and find it. Keeps them busy.