Grrrrrrrrr! (1 Viewer)

[humminbird]

Hi Susan,
I finally found this morning at the hardware store here in town, 2 tall shepard's hooks that are really quite heavy! They only hold one feeder each but I was also able to hang woodpecker feeders from them so they now serve more than one purpose. These hooks are only about a 1/2 inch diameter so I'm not sure if the rats will be able to climb them or not. I've also moved them away from the trees so there's nothing to jump from. Now it's a wait and see game.
Thanks for the tip!

If my memory of that area of Northern Ontario is not fading too fast Tammie, I am wondering how you found a place to move them where they would not still be within jumping distance of squirrels? These critters have been recorded jumping more than 10 feet at times!

 

[Tammie]

If my memory of that area of Northern Ontario is not fading too fast Tammie, I am wondering how you found a place to move them where they would not still be within jumping distance of squirrels? These critters have been recorded jumping more than 10 feet at times!

:eek!: That's true, Mark! I had to center them between the garage, the deck and the trees in the backyard and pray that the difference is enough to keep them from jumping!
I tried someone else's suggestion yesterday to grease the poles and it worked at least for a while. I'm sure I'll have to do it every day tho'. Ol' Mr. Squirrel was none too pleased yesterday when I chased him away and then he came back only to find he couldn't climb the poles! It was quite funny to watch him try that but it was even funnier to watch him throw a fit after 5 minutes and go running literally at top speed up the wooden 4x4 post and just sit there staring at the other feeders in fury! :clap:

 

[tifoso]

Hi Tammy, We were going crazy with the squirrels then I bought some safflower seed which is billed as being loved by birds and hated by squirrels.

I know I'm going to feed it forever, or until the squirrels learn to love it.

I live in Northern Virginia and it took about a month for our squirrels to learn to love it and love it they did. I went the baffle route. We use a stovepipe baffle long enough to keep the raccoons out as well. Works a treat. The squirrels don't even try climbing up anymore. They're content to feed off the ground, which they get an opportunity to do when the white-breasted nuthatches visit our tray feeder -- they're messy!

I almost felt sorry for one squirrel a couple of weeks ago, but not quite. He was perched on a dead limb about 25 feet above the feeders and you could tell he was contemplating his chances on jumping and landing on the feeders. He decided against it in the end. I had no idea squirrels vocalized like that.

This is what I mean by a stovepipe baffle: