Rocky the flying squirrel never really got into much trouble. In fact, he was the opposite of trouble, helping his pal Bullwinkle J. Moose outwit the evil Boris and Natasha time and time again. To another generation, Ray the Flying Squirrel is a trusty companion to video game creature Sonic the Hedgehog.
Unlike Rocky and Ray, the squirrels in your yard are not in the business of making your life easier. And while they may have their charms (when you are in the mood), the fact is, they are primarily in the business are eating and gathering. And most bird feeders provide an easy target for these rodents (Yes, they are rodents, of the family Sciuridae, along with chipmunks and marmots).
So what to do when your relationship with you squirrels gets truly rocky? How do you keep them from absconding with the food you tenderly intended for your feathered friends?
There are some simple rules of thumb that might help.
- Keep your feeders a good distance from trees. The further the better.
- Load the feeder with such things as safflower seeds and thistle that squirrel don’t necessarily like.
- Spread cayenne pepper. You’ll have to redo this after a rain. And, honestly, do you really want to spice your yard?
So what else to do? Many find success with bafflers, which are attached either below a poled feeder or above a hanging one to keep the creatures from being able to reach their target. Others start from scratch and use bird feeders designed to keep unwanted visitors away.
Some of these, such as the Mandarin Sky Café Bird Feeder and the Brome Squirrel Buster feeders, are designed to make use of the “peck and pull” way that song birds—but not squirrels, eat. There are feeders that work on weight, such as Heritage Farm Birds’ Choice Feeder, which closes the food doors whenever anything as heavy as a squirrel tries to land for a meal.
Others, such as the battery-powered Droll Yankees Yankee Flipper Feeder and the manual Twirl-a Squirrel gives the perch a spin to dislodge squirrels. The latter two have the added value of providing entertaining, America’s Funniest Home Videos-style viewing as a side benefit.
