There are many lovers of birds who become aggravated when instead of their expected birds they see squirrels eating all the bird food. Even though squirrels are very cute animals, they’re also intelligent and very devious. Therefore instead of spending their time foraging for food they’ll instead raid the bird feeders that you’ve put in your garden. Any wooden, tube, or ground feeders in your garden are in danger from these little thieves. The answer to your trouble maybe squirrel proof bird feeders.
For those of you who have standard bird feeders you should locate your feeder in a clear and open area where there is at least 10 feet between the feeder and the nearest tree or place where the squirrels can jump on to the feeder. The feeder should also be mounted on a pole so that it’s about 5 feet or a little higher off the ground.
This placement can aid in helping to keep your bird feeders safe for a little while. Unfortunately this state won’t last for very long. You may have to resort to tricks like keeping black oil sunflower seeds in a pile some distance away from your feeder. However no matter what you try and whatever tricks you use, the squirrels will eventually find where you’ve kept the bird feeder and they’ll commence to eat again. Squirrel proof bird feeders maybe just what you need.
There are a lot of squirrel proof bird feeders in the market. These feeders have become more sophisticated and complex and more entertaining for the bird watcher. The long running battle between man and squirrels takes a turn for the interesting as the Yankee Flipper becomes the bird feeder manufacturing industry’s answer to the squirrel problem.
As squirrels have the size, strength and the intelligence to take over any unprotected bird feeders, a feeder that can use their size to repel them is a wonderful innovation. These squirrel proof bird feeders are battery powered. The motor is activated by the heavier weight of the squirrels. When the squirrel sits on the perch, its weight triggers the perch to spring close. This closing action can send the squirrel flying through the air. Once the squirrel has left, the feeder opens up again.
You can also use baffle and feeder combos to try and keep the squirrels away from the bird feeder. Large domes or tubes are used to impede the squirrel. Since the squirrel can’t jump over or around the dome or climb around the tubes, they have trouble getting to the bird feed. Other squirrel proof bird feeders are caged feeders. These keep the squirrels out of the seeds by surrounding a tubular feeder with a wire cage that has minute bird sized food openings.
Therefore even though no bird feeder is 100% squirrel proof, your bird visitors can enjoy their bird seed in peace and the current squirrel proof bird feeders will send the thieving squirrels flying – literally!
