What's a humane way to deterr squirrels from bothering a bird feeder?

A squirrel is just a rat with longer hair.


You can put up a separate squirrel feeder!What's a humane way to deterr squirrels from bothering a bird feeder?
oh my its funny some of the answers given by others some sound interesting, I did however see one that was very close to a cure, yes and i have done this i bought several bags of hot-hot pepper flakes and mixed it with my seeds and soon the pest went away this does work and will not hurt the birdsWhat's a humane way to deterr squirrels from bothering a bird feeder?
Never be humane to a squirrel.


They will chew their way into your shed over the winter, gnaw your belongings and cover every square inch with yucky gnawed up pine cones.


If they come near your yard, throw rocks at them until they leave.
Put your bird feeder on top of metal or stiff plastic pole. Hanging your feeder on a wood post or tree limb is just an invitation to a squirrel.





Following is a web page with lots of info about keeping squirrels out of bird feeders and your attic. It mentions the ones listed in the other answers as well.





http://birding.about.com/library/weekly/鈥?/a>
I do not know the answer to this one, but I have the same problem. I did see some squirrel-deterrent bird feeders in a magazine. I thought I might have to resort to buying all new feeders, but I will be checking back here to see if you get some good suggestions.
Get a hunting dog, and keep him outside the house where the squirrels are. You won't have to feed him as much if he catches a few, and there are lots of squirrels to sacrifice for the cause. Make sure to mount the feeder on a pole, and put his doghouse out there close to the pole.
If the bird feeder is hanging, get a car oil funnel, cut a slit from top to bottom, place the funnel with the opening up on the wire so they can't climb over it without falling. If it's on top of a post, consider hanging it instead. Squirrels are very agile as I'm sure you know, so don't put the feeder too close to the house or too close to the trees.
Surround the bottom of the tree or pole with tin foil; this will make it to slippery for them to climb.
Train a Hawk to scare it away !
A wide metal plate with a hole in the center to fit around the pole just below the bird feeder itself.
Put hot pepper flakes into the bird feed. The squirrels don't like it and it doesn't harm or bother birds.
Buy them a TV.