Squirrels/birds/hot pepper (1 Viewer)

[dscherman]

Hi,

I have a "squirrel proof" feeder that has been working well for several months. Today, however, I went out to fill it, and noticed that a squirrel or squirrels have clawed their way up the side of the house, and gnawed nearly clean through the nylon rope holding the feeder.

I had heard something about people using hot pepper suet to keep squirrels away, and that it does not affect the birds. So I got a large jar of cayenne pepper and coated the entire holdup rope with it to try to discourage the squirrels. I can take about .01 gm of the stuff before running for water, so I assumed it would be effective. What concerns me now is if the birds will be harmed, or find it so distasteful as to stay away from the feeder entirely. Usually there are a lot of birds on the feeder this time of day, but I just had a couple of chickadees fly in, sit on the horizontal section, and fly away in a panic. Nobody's visited since. Has anyone had a similar experience? If I lose the birds I can always just replace the nylon rope with wire, but these darned squirrels will probably figure out how to chew through that, too.

Thanks for any advice,

Dave B

Update -- the birds are back taking seed, but they don't like sitting on the horizontal span of the rope. They grasp on to the vertical upright support, which is metal, as they wait their turn for their next morsel. I guess I should replace the rope with wire, probably 14 or 16 gauge insulated, but it doesn't seem to be an emergency situation.

Still open to comments.

 

[chris butterworth]

Damn. I thought you'd written about a spicy mixed meat stew Dave. I've heard of people trying all kinds of "chemical" deterents against Grey Squirrels here in the UK, but they all seem to fail as the bloody Squirrels learn to adapt, sometimes very quickly. Good luck in your search for a squirrel-proof nirvana mate.
Chris

 

[Kits]

I heard about mixing cayenne pepper or paprika in bird seed/peanuts from a nature programme which would imply that cayenne/paprika is safe for birds. I tried it as a squirrel deterrent. All that happened was the grey squirrels took on a reddish orange tinge as they loved it. The birds weren't affected by it at all.

I do have a lot of paprika left over.

Goulash, anyone?

 

[dscherman]

That's great. The birds seem to be used to it now. But if it doesn't keep the squirrels away, what's the point? Not sure I understand how they tolerate it -- this stuff keeps ME away!

 

[Kutter]

Having heard the same thing about hot pepper, I tried something new for me this last spring. I feed the squirrels peanuts & sunflower seed through the winter, to keep them away from the bird feeders. To save money, I thought I would plant peanuts. within 24 hours, a 65 foot row was dug up by the squirrels and eaten. Remembering the hot pepper idea, I tried soaking the peanuts in hot sauce before planting the second time. This time, it took 48 hours for them to dig up and eat all the peanuts. Obviously, the sauce didn't deter them much. At least now I know that the legend of squirrels being able to remember where they buried each nut is wrong, they appear to be able to "sniff" them out as they found every one I planted.

 

[dscherman]

I guess it's a never-ending fight. However, since I spiced up the cord holding the feeder, squirrel invasions have dropped to zero. I am assuming that the cayenne on the vertical sections has helped cut down the attacks from that angle. However, I believe that the critters have just given up trying to penetrate the defenses of the squirrel-proof feeder. I hope that's the case -- I'll call it a victory!

 

[chris butterworth]

"Cayenne on the vertical sections" :eek!: Well, it'd stop me from climbing up, anyway :t: :t: :t:. Have to try it on my feeders now.
Chris

 

[zz1666]

The hot pepper suet works wonders. The old suet I used melted in heat, which isn't good, and the squirrels ate it all. However, the hot pepper suet doesn't melt in heat and it keeps the squirrels away. I believe it's because birds don't have taste buds, and aren't sensative to the spiciness, and since squirrels have taste buds, the taste the spiciness, and don't like it, which keeps them away.

You can pick up the hot pepper suet at a typical bird store, such as Wild Birds Unlimited, which I know you can find in Massachusetts.

 

[dscherman]

You can pick up the hot pepper suet at a typical bird store, such as Wild Birds Unlimited, which I know you can find in Massachusetts.

There's one just up the street. WBU also liked the hot pepper suet, but said that squirrels would also avoid plain suet (no seeds or peanuts or anything). Maybe that's the stuff you used that melts in the heat?

Dave

 

[zz1666]

Yeah, it was the plain suet that melted on me. I really only use it during winter time. It won't melt, and the squirrels are gone. Hot Pepper in summer, regular in winter. That's how I look at it.

 

[dscherman]

Thanks. I'll try it out.