Backyard Birds: Distracting Squirrels From Your Back Garden Wild Bird Feeders
Sep 05, 2010
Keen watchers of backyard birds appreciate the value of bird feeders as a fundamental element of the garden landscape.. So wherever there is bird food there will be squirrels; welcome or not. The solution to the problem of squirrels eating the food meant for the birds is a squirrel proof bird feeder . Prior to going any further, it is well worth thinking about what we know about squirrel habits.
Squirrels are agile, bold and persistent. They are rodents; and so their teeth never quit growing and adults need up to a couple of pounds of food per week. They are proficient at scaling a wide range of surfaces, among them bricks. The more challenging the access to food, the more they transform into ninja squirrels – truly resourceful athletes. They are almost never outwitted, yet they can be deterred and distracted.
Consider the very best feeder styles and best location in your garden – at all times bearing in mind that squirrels will be able to leap up to 10 feet across a gap, leap as high as 5 feet from the ground and are happy dropping eleven feet from a height!
Feeders can either be suspended or mounted on a pole. You could choose to hang them from an isolated branch of a deciduous tree (less thick foliage than pine) or you can consider hanging them from a wire in between a couple of trees (although doing this renders refilling quite challenging). Be sure to suspend from a metal chain or wire and hook, or else the squirrels will bite through the cord to make the feeder fall .
A great squirrel guard is a squirrel baffle . Made from either plastic or metal, the baffle makes an umbrella above both suspended and pole-mounted bird feeders. The squirrels just fall off them. Baffles can likewise be placed about four feet above the ground underneath pole-mounted feeders – greasing the pole with Vaseline can also be effective.
Caged feeders are a great choice as they permit small backyard birds access to the food, whilst keeping out squirrels and bigger birds also.
You can always opt for more advanced squirrel proof bird feeders. They are triggered by weight. When a squirrel lands on one, a spring system causes a metal screen to fall over the feeder or its perches collapse. Another, which is also quite hilarious to view, has a battery-driven motor that rotates the squirrel (harmlessly) off it.
Squirrels consume a vast variety of foods, but one more strategy to keep them away is to offer the birds safflower seed, thistle seed (niger), and /or pure suet (without seed), because squirrels are just not that partial to them.
Needless to say, you can view this problem from a totally different perspective and have some squirrel feeders – complete with trapeze, tightrope and springboard. You can offer squirrels their preferred foods in return for them staging a great circus spectacle for anyone watching. Consequently while they are sidetracked, the birds are able to eat also – everyone is a winner.
To be honest, squirrels will certainly always be a component of backyard gardens, and when combined with proper organizing of bird feeder types, location and types of bird food, we can make sure not only that your backyard birds secure what they deserve but also that we are kept entertained by surprising squirrel antics.