Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

Bird feeders may not be an indispensable innovation to all, or a hi-tech breakthrough. With various designs to cater to different bird species, it is still considered a simple device for the sole purpose of feeding them. Its success rate can be determined by the many flocks attracted to it, given the right placement and the right food. However, it’s not just birds that feast on bird feeders. Raccoons, squirrels, and even bears, help themselves with its contents as well. The most persistent among these animals are the squirrels. This led to the invention of a squirrel proof bird feeder.

Squirrels are dexterous by nature. They can easily climb onto surfaces that birds reach. They do not just raid and consume the stocks of corn, fruits, nuts, and seeds on bird feeders, they carry it away to their hoard. While birds – either as backyard or wildlife inhabitants – head to bird feeders to sustain their selves, the acrobatic squirrels defy almost any obstacle to get to their target. This scenario is particularly evident during winter wherein food for these animals is scarce.

Putting up a squirrel proof bird feeder lets homeowners and birdwatchers provide birdseeds to which it is really intended for. It prevents squirrels from gaining access to the seeds. It is built with a baffle above its pole or suspension line, so that these animals could not climb any further. It may also be caged or topped with a large plastic dome, in which only birds can easily fly through.

Some manufacturers have more sophisticated and more expensive designs of the squirrel proof bird feeder to keep those rascals away. It utilizes mechanical features like battery power and counterbalancing effects. It still involves baffles or perches, but these will collapse under the weight of anything heavier than a bird. Unquestionably, this applies to a squirrel. In battery-powered models, these baffles and perches could even lightly shock the intruder and fling it off the surface.

There’s also the do-it-yourself approach to having a squirrel proof bird feeder. It involves suspending empty 1 liter soda bottles on each side of a feeder, and it will no longer be unprotected. It is a huge challenge for squirrels as these bottles rotate freely along the lines. A feeder can also be suspended horizontally from a wire, furnished with baffles that stop them from gaining footing across the wire and getting hold of the treats.

eating-squirrel-proof-bird-feeder

By all its efforts, it should be noted that squirrels similarly love the wide variety of seeds, nuts, dried corn, and fruits that birds live on. But with safflower seeds, Niger thistles, and suet cakes, they seem uninterested. Filling your feeders with the right food is a big plus. Mounting a squirrel proof bird feeder will give you a gratifying experience out of bird feeding.