DIY or cheap squirrel proof feeders? (1 Viewer)

Having been squirrel free for some time - I now have the little darlings visiting me again. Don't want to spend pounds and pounds on fancy squirrel proof feeders - anyone out there know where you can get the absolute cheapest from?

Or - any DIY ideas on squirrel proofing approx 5' pole with two seeder attachments?

Thanks in advance

I bought one of the metal tube-types with ceramic ends from B & Q for about 8 quid. That was a few years ago, so I'm not sure how much they cost now. I get squirrels in my garden pretty much every day, and they haven't got into this thing once, despite several attempts.

I think this type of feeder is generally cheaper than buying a less resilient one & trying to protect it by adding a squirrel baffle or a protective cage. It also has the advantage that the holes in the tube don’t allow birds to pull a whole peanut out – they can only peck out small pieces, so I can use it all year round without worrying about chicks getting choked on whole nuts.

Adrian

Hello Adrian - I'm in the US so I don't know what's available where you are - but after all my years of backyard feeding, this squirrel-proof feeder is the only truly squirrel proof one I've ever found, and it wasn't terribly expensive. It's totally made of metal and has proven to be indestructable, plus easy to clean and disinfect, so I think it has paid for itself.

The basic design feature which they claim makes it squirrel-proof is the weighted feeding tray - it just shuts if something too heavy gets on it. But on mine, the squirels never even make it to the feeding tray - they just can't get on it at all. The one I have has a more rounded, sloped top than this picture, and being metal, it's slick, there's nothing for them to cling to, so any time they climb on top of the feeder, they just slide right off, on to the ground. It's a great deterrent (plus that can be very entertaining). I have it hanging in the middle of the yard, from a shepherd's pole, so there's no jumping and landing on it from any tree. These types of feeders have been around for many years. I can attest to their success!

I have used the cage-type feeders, which you can buy fairly inexpensively, but the squirrels figure out how to hang on them so the feeder tilts and seed falls out -- until the thing is empty! I even had a cage version where the squirrels figured out how to undo all my lashings on the latch at the top, opened it up, and then just scooped the seed out like ice cream from a bucket! Squirrels are nothing if not terribly smart. Plus my birds all hated the cage-type feeders. They were very intimidated... I can only assume that the "bars" of the cage might keep them from making a quick getaway from the feeder.

The other squirrel-proof choice in my yard is a metal-mesh thistle feeder that the goldfinches love, and which my mobs of sparrows only occasionally bother with. The squirrels ignore it - both the design and the seed turn them off.

Good luck to you!!

walker said:

Having been squirrel free for some time - I now have the little darlings visiting me again. Don't want to spend pounds and pounds on fancy squirrel proof feeders - anyone out there know where you can get the absolute cheapest from?

Or - any DIY ideas on squirrel proofing approx 5' pole with two seeder attachments?

Thanks in advance

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I've thought of all sorts as we are plagued by up to four greedy squirrels and I do not feel happy feeding the very animals that predate so many bird's eggs (even if the RSPB can't see that's the case (-; ).

Anyway, having tried a few things, the only thing that's worked in the end is to shell out for one of the tubes with a green "cage" over it. I bought it from a garden centre and it was about £20-00. Quite a lot but it works and looks as if it will last. Since buyig it the number of birds has fallen, sadly, but I suspect that will change as the cold weather arrives.

A friend has one that has a spring-loaded device such that when anything heavier than a bird perches on it the feed holes cover up. He says it works a treat but I haven't seen one available anywhere.

Have you considered putting up a squirrel feeder and giving them their own food? Squirrels used to steal our sunflower hearts and peanuts all the time until we put up their feeder, now they only go there very occasionally. It doesn't cost much more than peanuts (literally), and they are facinating and amusing creatures to watch. I have at least 5 visiting me almost every day- 3 youngsters and 2 parents (I think!)-, I can tell some of them by site and know their different personalities. One enjoys me throwing walnuts and chasing them down the garage roof! Don't be put off them, wouldn't you do the same thing if you were hungry?

Enjoy them both and have a happy wildlife garden.

Laura W

turkish van said:

Have you considered putting up a squirrel feeder and giving them their own food? Squirrels used to steal our sunflower hearts and peanuts all the time until we put up their feeder, now they only go there very occasionally. It doesn't cost much more than peanuts (literally), and they are facinating and amusing creatures to watch. I have at least 5 visiting me almost every day- 3 youngsters and 2 parents (I think!)-, I can tell some of them by site and know their different personalities. One enjoys me throwing walnuts and chasing them down the garage roof! Don't be put off them, wouldn't you do the same thing if you were hungry?

Enjoy them both and have a happy wildlife garden.

Laura W

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Greys do look pretty but don't they eat young birds and their eggs? I try to discourage them because it seemed odd to me to help the very things that were destroying what I was trying to help (if that makes sense!).

scampo said:

Greys do look pretty but don't they eat young birds and their eggs? I try to discourage them because it seemed odd to me to help the very things that were destroying what I was trying to help (if that makes sense!).

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They don't do that to any devastating extent. You lose more eggs to weather and bad parenting than you do to squirrel predation.

Stateside, Droll Yankees has a good like, the Flipper, Tipper, Whipper, and Dipper, all diffferent methods of preventing squirrel access. I like the tipper and dipper myself, though I do not have squirrel trouble. I have no idea if Droll Yankees is available to you.

scampo said:

Greys do look pretty but don't they eat young birds and their eggs? I try to discourage them because it seemed odd to me to help the very things that were destroying what I was trying to help (if that makes sense!).

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Maybe they take a few, but no one can tell for sure can they? Magpies especially and sometimes woodpeckers take their fair share too. I think everyone has a rudge against them because they presume they are the reason for the red squirrel decline, which may not even be the case.

Anyway it's a bit of a circle. To confuse things even further though, if you feed the squirrels then perhaps that would lead them to taking even less eggs or chicks(if they actually take any anyway)?

I'm sure you'll all end up best friends if you give them a chance! :t:

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Only have a small garden and don't want it cluttered with squirrels. I'm in BTO GardenBirdwatch and want to concentrate on the birds. The squirrels have only just started coming back because one of my neighbours has strated feeding birds and they put fat out - which the starlings eat - and I think this has begun to encourage the squirrels.

After doing lots of research on the web I am initially experimenting with the smaller plastic drink bottles - neck and bottom cut out with a stanley knife so that they fit over the pole - I now have five on top of one another covering the entire pole from ground to hangers - they are very lose and spinny and there is no way a squirrel will be able to get up those, also with them being see through they aren't particularly an eyesore - so far haven't seen any squirrels over period of about one week - the next test will be whether they will jump from the ground directly onto the feeders - am determined to out think them for as little money as possible (call me sad if you want to!). As I don't have trees near to the pole - they can't jump down onto them.

Will report back on success or failure.

Thanks again.