Spring was a "golden age" for my bird-feeding setup of squirrel-proof peanut and mixed seed feeders, a finch feeder, and a suet cage (w/ Hot Pepper suet.) All this was hanging from a pole on my deck (too short for a baffle, and too high off the ground for a backyard pole.
First the squirrels started tolerating the C&S Hot Pepper suet, which is a shame, because it was really popular. The last straw was when they dumped a fresh cake on the ground and ate the whole thing.
Next the raccoons figured out how to rotate the feeder pole and reach the seed feeder and munch off it. (Once they even removed it entirely, and squirrels chewed up the insides.)
The last straw was the raccoons deciding that the finch feeder perch covers are excellent chew-toys.
Well, yesterday I finally finished my new setup: It's a S K 12-ft Purple Martin House pole set in concrete in the yard. (The height was necessary to clear my deck.) (Mail-ordered for $60 or so from Home Depot.) I slid a 2' length of 2" PVC (painted silver to disguise it vs. the metal) over the pole and used large hose clamps to attach my standard 1" feederpole/attachments. A rope run through the 1" pole up through the tall pole's pulley means I can lower the feeders for easy filling and maintenance. A raccoon baffle protects the whole setup from most rodents.
The only four-legged pest I can't defend from is flying squirrels, but the one I saw on my peanut feeder was so cute (and small) that I'll let them slide...
The birds found the relocated feeders (about 10' from the old setup) in under an hour, including my notoriously-picky goldfinches. The only feeder not getting much traffic is the suet feeder, but it took about a month for the birds to figure it out the first time and eat the first cake. After I go through my remaining Hot Pepper suet supply, I'm looking forward to trying some of the other blends.
First the squirrels started tolerating the C&S Hot Pepper suet, which is a shame, because it was really popular. The last straw was when they dumped a fresh cake on the ground and ate the whole thing.
Next the raccoons figured out how to rotate the feeder pole and reach the seed feeder and munch off it. (Once they even removed it entirely, and squirrels chewed up the insides.)
The last straw was the raccoons deciding that the finch feeder perch covers are excellent chew-toys.
Well, yesterday I finally finished my new setup: It's a S K 12-ft Purple Martin House pole set in concrete in the yard. (The height was necessary to clear my deck.) (Mail-ordered for $60 or so from Home Depot.) I slid a 2' length of 2" PVC (painted silver to disguise it vs. the metal) over the pole and used large hose clamps to attach my standard 1" feederpole/attachments. A rope run through the 1" pole up through the tall pole's pulley means I can lower the feeders for easy filling and maintenance. A raccoon baffle protects the whole setup from most rodents.
The only four-legged pest I can't defend from is flying squirrels, but the one I saw on my peanut feeder was so cute (and small) that I'll let them slide...
The birds found the relocated feeders (about 10' from the old setup) in under an hour, including my notoriously-picky goldfinches. The only feeder not getting much traffic is the suet feeder, but it took about a month for the birds to figure it out the first time and eat the first cake. After I go through my remaining Hot Pepper suet supply, I'm looking forward to trying some of the other blends.
