Idea for a feeder support post (1 Viewer)

[dmonn]

Hello.
We moved to our current location in January. We have a nice sized backyard and love the birds we're getting. We also get a lot of squirrels, which are also fun to watch. However, we want to keep the squirrels out of our oriole and hummingbird feeders! The shepard's hooks we use are too low. The squirrels can jump up all the way to the feeders from the ground. They also climb the poles to get there. Any suggestions?

 

[delia todd]

Hi dmonn and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. I've moved your post to the Garden Birds and Feeders section of the forum which it is likely to find the people with more knowledge of what is available for you.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. It is very hard to deter squirrels from feeders. You can try greasing the poles to stop them climbing, but it will need to be done regularly when the rain washes it off.

 

[dmonn]

Thanks. I think grease might be the quickest thing to try, but I know it will be a constant battle of wits and persistence when it comes to squirrels 😊.

 

[etudiant]

Hello.
We moved to our current location in January. We have a nice sized backyard and love the birds we're getting. We also get a lot of squirrels, which are also fun to watch. However, we want to keep the squirrels out of our oriole and hummingbird feeders! The shepard's hooks we use are too low. The squirrels can jump up all the way to the feeders from the ground. They also climb the poles to get there. Any suggestions?

Hi dmonn,,
Welcome to BF and congratulations on your new home!
You'll find that squirrels are impressively adaptable and usually learn to cope with greased poles, cayenne peppered birdseed and similar schemes.
What worked for me was a big baffle (20" in diameter) on a tall pole, set far enough away from trees that they could not jump on the feeders.
Audubon sells a cylindrical 24" tall black baffle which is a little less of an eyesore and which should also work.
Just check that the baffle fits your pole and that the attachment hardware is adequate.

 

[Montereyman]

What has worked the best is to use a pole and a squirrel baffle or two. In one instance a squirrel would leap up and over the single baffle and I tried adjusting its location to reduce the amount of the post above the baffle for it to grab. I have used this with multiple feeders and I am currently using a double baffle setup to protect a barn owl nesting box.

The baffles are not cheap but they last forever and save me a great deal on bird seed for the squirrels. With the Trump tax the price on Amazon jumped up by more than 30%.