Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 14:46:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Groucho
Subject: Squirrels and Bird Feeders
Ahnie Rising asked about squirrels and birdseed.
I have the feeling you will receive a lot of advice on this topic. There are only two kinds of people who feed birds: Those who have been outwitted by squirrels and those who won’t yet admit it, who fight on with Hillaryesque tenacity, refusing to concede, despite the certainty that Mr. Squirrel ultimately finds a way to thwart feeder designers and homeowners alike.
Life is unfair and squirrels are as determined as they are ingenious. In my yard, live a number of squirrels with advanced degrees in aerobatics, logistics, and physics. I would not be surprised to see an appearance in the Beijing Olympics by the bushy little rodent who leaped nine feet from a tree to my feeder pole the other day. Others have figured out how to pry open the lid of a feeder, hang in precarious positions ( spit on your feeble, spring-loaded mechanism ), and gnaw on various parts until the feeder surrenders its prize.
Manufacturers produce both squirrel-resistant and squirrel-proof models. Squirrel-resistant is an industry term that means the feeder will defeat most of the squirrel population that is three-legged and blind. There are also some platform feeders that are purported to be squirrel-proof, but platform feeders are a pain to maintain.
I have found two products that do seem to work, neither of which is cheap. The first is “The Eliminator.” No, this is not Arnold Schwartzenegger with a sawed-off shotgun. It is an actual bird feeder, sold by Wild Birds Unlimited (www.wbu.com), which has a store at Waverly Place in Cary. This is a solidly constructed tube feeder with six perches surrounded by a plastic ring at the bottom of the feeder. The perch ring is spring-loaded so that the weight of the squirrel anywhere on the ring closes down all six seed ports. It is very easy to clean and maintain and because all the seed ports are at the bottom, the added advantage is that you don’t have to refill it until it is nearly empty. Squirrels persist in climbing the feeder and contort their bodies in every imaginable hanging position, but they have yet to achieve their evil aim.
The second is not a feeder, but a really cool pole from which you can hang as many as eight feeders. It’s called the Squirrel Stopper System, by Duncraft (www.duncraft.com). It’s an easy-to-assemble 8′ pole with a floating, spring-weighted center baffle, shaped like a torpedo. The squirrels cannot climb the baffle, period. This item is so popular that it is back-ordered until June. If you have $140 burning a hole in your pocket, the entertainment value of watching the squirrels try again and again to climb the pole may be worth the price.
Good luck in your quest…Groucho
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