Best Ways on How to Keep Squirrels Out of Bird Feeder – Chipper Birds

Squirrels are clever, but they can be kept away from your bird feeder. There are many ways on how to keep squirrels out of bird feeder, and some take more time than others. The first thing you need to do is identify how the squirrels are gaining access to the food at your feeders.

This may take a little detective work on your part. Once you know how they’re getting in, then it’s just a matter of altering that area slightly and making it unattractive for the squirrels to get access to the birds’ food. So, here are some great ways on how to keep squirrels out of bird feeder and fulfill you’re the essence of your kindness towards our feathered friends successfully.

Best Ways on How to Keep Squirrels Out of Bird Feeder – Many Ways!

Once you discover how they’re gaining access, sit down and think about what makes good sense for keeping squirrels out of your bird feeder. You can find a variety of products/tools to keep squirrels away from the feeder at your local garden supply store, department store, or online. Start simple and work your way up to the more sophisticated methods to discourage squirrels from stealing your local bird’s diet. The following items will work remarkably:

Bird Feeders with Weight Sensors – These weight sensors let you know when a heavy object such as a squirrel is on the feeder. As soon as that happens, the lid pops down and keeps them from getting any food. Just remember that if you have smaller birds in your backyard, they won’t trigger the sensor; only larger birds such as cardinals, jays, and woodpeckers will do so.

Squirrel Baffles – These are round or cylindrical items that are placed on top of the pole of your bird feeder. The cylinder shape makes it impossible for the squirrels to climb down since they can’t get a foothold. However, smaller birds can still come in and eat without triggering the weight sensor on most occasions.

Seed Catchers – This is the one item that fits beautifully over your bird feeder, preventing the fat little varmints from getting any seeds once they’ve jumped up there. There’s just one small problem: It will work only if it is in place properly.

Electric Fencing – This item provides an electric shock that deters not only the birds but also any larger animals from coming near the bird feeder. It’s a bit more expensive than most other products out there, but if you have a serious problem with keeping squirrels away from your bird feeder, then it just may be worth the investment.

Some Less Effective but Cost-Friendlier Methods

Cayenne Pepper – This method has been used by gardeners for years, but it’s only effective if you reapply it on the feeder periodically. Those cute squirrels will avoid anything that smells even a little bit spicy! Thus, you will cheaply and easily keep the squirrels away from your bird feeder.

Citrus Peels – You can scatter citrus peels around your bird feeder and plants. The strong scent will permeate the air and keep squirrels away from the feeder, or several feeders if you have these many. Among various methods described so far on how to keep squirrels out of bird feeder, this one method costs almost nothing and is an entirely natural one. But again, the only problem is that it should be reapplied continuously after few weeks, or until the peels are completely decomposed.

Methods That Take Time but Highly Effective

The following steps will take more time, but they will deter not only the birds but also the larger animals:

• Preventing harm to the birds
• Protecting the bird feeder
• Keeping squirrels or other predator birds away from the feeder roof

And here are the methods you will find extremely helpful for these purposes!

Wash Feeder with Soap and Water – Simply getting to know about how to keep squirrels out of bird feeder, with all the products and methods mentioned above, is not complete until we have considered the basic home-remedies, too. Keeping the feeder clean and neat, with only water and soap, will make it less attractive for the birds of prey and other animals, including squirrels. Don’t bother buying special feeder cleaner; just use some mild dish soap and water instead. This method is inexpensive, but you’ll need to do this more than once or twice a week.

Pigeon Repellent Plants – Want to get rid of those pesky pigeons? Grow some around your garden, flowers beds, porch railings, and more, as these plants give off an unpleasant odor that will keep both the trouble-making birds and animals, such as squirrels. The only problem is that you’ll need a lot of these plants before it has any noticeable effect, so this method will take some time and money.

However, to prevent the invasion inflicted specifically by other birds, such as pigeons, you should need to understand why they’re doing it in the first place. Usually, their presence on a feeder is prompted by one or more of the following reasons:

Nesting on a bird feeder – In certain situations, pigeons will lay their eggs in a bird feeder where the warmth of the sun provides both heat and protection from predators.

Protecting their young while they are gone for food – Pigeon parents may choose a feeder as a safe place to leave their young while they seek out more food for their hungry babies. You can prevent this by making the area uncomfortable and less inviting with items like fencing, spikes, netting, and repellent plants. Don’t be too concerned if it takes some time before you see results; just be patient!

Conclusion

So, as you may have figured out by now, squirrels and other animals combined are trouble to your kind act of local bird feeding. But it is not intended by any form of malice from either squirrels or other birds/animals, it is more an act of natural instinct.

By understanding, realizing, and having suitable tools/techniques at our disposal, we can both ensure the sanctity of feed and our local feeder as well as keep other animals at bay, without harming them at all!

But since this narrative was mainly based on how to keep squirrels out of bird feeder, we have given every possible method for both the varmints and additionally for other animals, too. We hope this will help you greatly in keeping your local bird feeder protected and nourishing for the local birds.