How to Make a Bird Feeder Out of a Margarine Tub

Squirrels often empty conventional feeders in less than a day, leaving the birds out of luck when they stop by for dinner.

Whether the weather is warm or cold, you can rely on birds to frequent a yard with a well-stocked bird feeder. They will not only eat the seed and any other treats you leave out for them, but they will also keep bugs down in the summer and make your lawn look pretty, lively and bright all year long. If you want to bring in the birds but do not wish to invest in a traditional, pole-mounted bird feeder, consider making your own. Birds are not picky about how their food is presented, and this margarine-tub bird feeder is highly squirrel-resistant, as well as holding a lot of seed.

Things You'll Need

• Empty margarine tub
• Thick string or twine
• Bird seed
• Scissors

Instructions

1. 

   Poke four holes around the upper rim of the margarine tub. These holes should be in pairs, directly across from each other and toward the outside of the tub. If you drew two lines between them, you would get a cross.

2. Cut five pieces of string, 1' in length. These will suspend the bird feeder level above the ground. Use the first piece to measure the others, to make sure they are all of equal length.

3. Thread a string through each hole in the margarine tub. Knot one end, so that the tub does not slip off the strings. If you prefer, you can thread the string through the hole and knot it around the rim of the tub, but this will wear out the holes a little faster as the strings pull on the plastic.

4. Tie all four strings to the end of the fifth string. Keep the four strings as close to equal in length as possible. The single string will be used to tie the feeder to a tree branch.

5. Fill the feeder with seed. You can fill it up to the very top. Now you are ready to hang it outside and let the birds dig in.

Tips & Warnings

• This feeder is a good one to use if you have trouble with squirrels, but you need to hang it far enough off a branch that the squirrels cannot just hang upside down and eat out of the tub.

Resources

• How to make a wide variety of homemade bird feeders.