Still looking for that Squirrel Proof Feeder.........
May 27, 2013 13:34:45 GMT -5
Post by Ira Runyan on May 27, 2013 13:34:45 GMT -5
I must have more Squirrels in my yard than most people. I have counted as many as 16 in my back yard at one time. Put out some Wild Bird Seed and within 10 minutes the squirrels find it, and within 30 - 45 minutes they can empty all the feeders. Feeding these squirrels can get very expensive!
I have tried trapping and/or destroying them in the past (in fact one year 140+ in a three month period), but found that within days a new group of squirrels moved in to replace those I got rid of.
Back in about 2008, I thought I had the answer. I purchased a clear plastic salad bowl and placed it above the feeder thinking that when the squirrel stepped on it, the bowl would flip causing the rodent to fall on the ground. The setup looked like this.......
Well that worked for about two days until the squirrels found out that they could hang on to the cable holding the feeder, step on the bowl causing it to slowly tilt, then they could drop to the feeder below it. Next, I tried one of those black plastic flower pots, but got the same results.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided what I needed was something large enough that a squirrel could not see the feeder under it even when it was tilted. I had a very large black plastic flower pot that was used for planting trees, so I placed it over the feeder. That worked like a charm, that is until a squirrel noticed the water drain holes on the pot, and began to enlarge the holes with its sharp teeth. Ounce he had enlarged the water drain holes, he simply crawled through and continued to the feeder.
I was at the store and saw what was described as a Squirrel Proof feeder, so I purchased it. I put it up, and indeed the Squirrels could not get to the wild bird seed, but, I quickly found out that the birds also could not get to the seed. That was a waist of money.......
Well, I don't give up easy, so I am trying a new idea. I went out and purchased some 1 1/4" PVC pipe, and a 5 gallon paint bucket. I then cut a 1 1/4" round hole in the center of the bucket to allow the PVC pipe to be inserted through it. The paint bucket had some 3/8" reinforcement rings at the top which a squirrel could hold on to, so I cut them off the bucket.
One end of the PVC pipe was placed in a ceramic flower pot and I pored some concrete to anchor it. I bolted a 9" piece of wood 5 1/2 feet above the ground to the PVC pipe to act as a support for the paint bucket. I then placed the paint bucket over the PVC pipe to rest on the wood bracket, and mounted the bird feeder about 10" above the bottom of the paint bucket onto the PVC pipe. As Squirrels can jump about 6 foot, the feeder must be at least that far from any branches. The feeder looks like this.........
It has been only two days now, but so far the squirrels have not been able to get to the Wild Bird Seed. I will let you know how it turns out.........
I have tried trapping and/or destroying them in the past (in fact one year 140+ in a three month period), but found that within days a new group of squirrels moved in to replace those I got rid of.
Back in about 2008, I thought I had the answer. I purchased a clear plastic salad bowl and placed it above the feeder thinking that when the squirrel stepped on it, the bowl would flip causing the rodent to fall on the ground. The setup looked like this.......
Well that worked for about two days until the squirrels found out that they could hang on to the cable holding the feeder, step on the bowl causing it to slowly tilt, then they could drop to the feeder below it. Next, I tried one of those black plastic flower pots, but got the same results.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided what I needed was something large enough that a squirrel could not see the feeder under it even when it was tilted. I had a very large black plastic flower pot that was used for planting trees, so I placed it over the feeder. That worked like a charm, that is until a squirrel noticed the water drain holes on the pot, and began to enlarge the holes with its sharp teeth. Ounce he had enlarged the water drain holes, he simply crawled through and continued to the feeder.
I was at the store and saw what was described as a Squirrel Proof feeder, so I purchased it. I put it up, and indeed the Squirrels could not get to the wild bird seed, but, I quickly found out that the birds also could not get to the seed. That was a waist of money.......
Well, I don't give up easy, so I am trying a new idea. I went out and purchased some 1 1/4" PVC pipe, and a 5 gallon paint bucket. I then cut a 1 1/4" round hole in the center of the bucket to allow the PVC pipe to be inserted through it. The paint bucket had some 3/8" reinforcement rings at the top which a squirrel could hold on to, so I cut them off the bucket.
One end of the PVC pipe was placed in a ceramic flower pot and I pored some concrete to anchor it. I bolted a 9" piece of wood 5 1/2 feet above the ground to the PVC pipe to act as a support for the paint bucket. I then placed the paint bucket over the PVC pipe to rest on the wood bracket, and mounted the bird feeder about 10" above the bottom of the paint bucket onto the PVC pipe. As Squirrels can jump about 6 foot, the feeder must be at least that far from any branches. The feeder looks like this.........
It has been only two days now, but so far the squirrels have not been able to get to the Wild Bird Seed. I will let you know how it turns out.........
