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Bird feeders allow us to help nature in keeping birds well nourished. It provides a selection of tastes and feeding venues, and implies less competition for the many flocks and species of birds in and around your area.
However, as birds gather on one feeder, it also carries the problem of contracting and spreading disease. That is why it must be kept clean. Cats and other animals are attracted to bird feeders, too. Mainly, squirrels are the biggest menace when it comes to bird feeders. It caused people who feed birds to resort to the squirrel proof bird feeder.
Cats scare the birds away. And cats, being their playful self, won’t hesitate to prey on those adorable yet helpless birds. And let me tell you, encounters such as these don’t look to good for the birds. A good workaround for this is by properly placing the bird feeder in an area or a position that is out of reach for our feline friends.
Squirrels also love bird feeders. They just ravage these feeder sites for birds, help themselves to the contents since they just love the same seeds, and often carry it away to their hoard leaving bits and pieces left for the birds. A quick fix is again to place the bird feeder in a position that is unreachable by the squirrels. But more often than not, this is simply a temporary solution as squirrels almost always find their way to the feeders.
Luckily for us, someone invented what’s called a squirrel proof bird feeder! The squirrel proof bird feeder is one device that keeps the birds safe from those squirrels and often times other creatures as well.
It is manufactured in two major designs. The weight-triggered squirrel proof bird feeder is designed with perches that collapse under a heavier weight than that of a bird’s. This design also has a battery-powered variation that shocks the trespasser lightly or rotates the perches to toss off the intruding animal, safely that is.
There is also the caged squirrel proof bird feeder. This feeder is surrounded by a wire cage which has openings just right for the size of a bird, but too small for a squirrel to reach the seeds inside. Baffle and feeder combinations are also available alternatives. It serves as barriers for squirrels to climb around and jump over it.
The only disadvantage of the squirrel proof bird feeder is that, it is not 100% guaranteed to work all the time at preventing these creatures from getting to those feeds.
If you don’t want to invest on one, another good option is to simply sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on the tray and seeds. Amazingly, squirrels hate this stuff and are driven away from it! Birds, on the other hand, don’t care much for these and are unaffected by it.
In closing, squirrels have the agility and intelligence to take over the bird feeders you have in your backyard. Having a squirrel proof bird feeder is one excellent strategy to keep them away. Another may be to try the pepper flakes alternative. I personally use a squirrel proof bird feeder as I find it, extremely reliable, and just as clever, even to the most determined squirrel. Happy bird watching!
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