Keeping squirrels off of a bird feeder?

I hate squirrels. I have a ';squirrel-proof'; bird feeder (the weight of the rodent closes the feeder) hanging from my gazebo that they still manage to get into. It doesn't work. Short of a BB gun, how do keep them from eating all of my seed? Maybe a special kind of seed??





Oh yeah, squirrels are cute...until they tear up your yard!!Keeping squirrels off of a bird feeder?
yeah i was gonna say a gun... i dont knowKeeping squirrels off of a bird feeder?
I put mine out away from the trees where they couldn't attack the feeders on a spiraling wire.....and gave them their own feeders in the greenbelt.





I enjoyed watching Rocky and Rochelle play and jump up and down when dinner was coming....outside my property.
If it is on a pole, grease the pole with lard, crisco or any cooking oil. This won't hurt them but you'll laugh your butt off watching them try to get to the seeds. If hanging by chain, do the same. They will be slipping and sliding everywhere. Oh, this will have to be repeated every so often. You may want to place a piece or cardboard or plastic underneath if it is hot where you live to keep oil from sliding down on floor. I know they are pests but sit and watch them try to get to the seeds and get a good laugh!
As you have discovered, the hanging ';squirrel-proof bird feeders'; usually aren't. A wooded area borders my backyard and I have dozens of the furry suckers that view my yard and plants and birdseed as a buffet. What have I done?


1. Feed them. Yes, that's right. I bought a squirrel feeder and put it on a post in the FAR corner of my backyard. I keep it full of seeds. After it went up, not one squirrel has ventured any farther into my yard than the squirrel feeder.


2. All my birdfeeders are the kind that hang from hooks screwed into a post. I put a squirrel baffle on the post just in case any squirrels get curious.


I have not seen a single squirrel in my yard in a year. Good luck!
Make sure that your counterweight on the squirrel proof feeder is set so that the door that shuts off the seed closes when a squirrel gets on it. Move anything that they can stand on away from the feeder (our Absolute was raided by raccoons until we realized that they were standing on a flower box to get to it). If it's on a pole, you can get a ';chimney'; that fits onto the pole or you can make your own from a coffee can (spray paint it so it doesn't rust and look yucky). If it's hanging from a chain, there are plastic half domes that won't let the squirrel come down from above. We've had squirrels try unsuccessfully to get into the Absolute but the chipmunk could do it because he didn't weigh enough to close the door. We added a coffee can to the pole and that was the last of seeing the chipmunk sitting on the perch with his little cheeks bulging with sunflower seeds.
we usually add ground cayenne pepper to the seed.The birds can't taste the hot stuff but the mammals sure can!