How to Hang Bird feeders to Keep out Squirrels

It's a bird lover's nightmare. No matter how much money I spend on bird feeders the squirrels always find a way to eat from them. I've bought feeders that are motorized, feeders that have guarantees, and even feeders that claim they close when a squirrel is on it. But the end result is always the same, the squirrels win. Except today...

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cunning
• Determination
• Fishing line
• Ladder

1. Some people spend a lot of money on bird feeders that are designed to keep out squirrels and I can safely say I think I have personally tried them all. The squirrels just see them as a game or a challenge and although the seed stays safe from their prying little paws for a few weeks, they eventually figure out how to get to the seed again. So in short, don't waste your money on expensive feeders. Instead focus on strategy of placement of the feeders and make sure they have a dome top or canopy to annoy the squirrel.

2. Squirrels are not only great problem solvers, they are also relentless. The first thing you must do is place bird feeders more than 12 feet away from any object they can easily climb and jump from. This includes trees, roofs, decks, and even bird baths. If the squirrels can sturdy themselves enough to leap from it, your bird feeder needs to be at least 12 feet away from it.

3. Next, squirrels can't leap from the metal poles of sheppard hook, but they can climb the pole and stretch their bodies across to your feeders. There isn't much that will keep the little buggers from climbing your sheppard hook except a good lube of Vaseline, but you don't want to do that every week. So what's the solution? Well, the pole to hook distance on the sheppard hook would need to be greater than 4 feet! Also, it would need to be over 9 feet tall so you could hang your feeder done from the hook at least 3-4 feet. Now I've personally never seen one like this. So I recommend putting out daily rations of feed to keep the squirrels from eating a whole bag of feed.

4. So what's the best way to hang a feeder? Hang it from a tree limb that is over 12 feet from the trunk of the tree and any other object the squirrel can use as a jump spot. Use fishing line to hang the feeder at least a 5 feet drop from the limb. Now grab you a glass of lemonade and watch as the squirrels debate sliding down the fishing line. When they start their descent down the line they won't be able to control their speed. This will trigger danger in their mind and they will abort the mission of stealing your seed. Remember, they never give up so they'll periodically come back to try it out, but they'll have the same experience each time.

[poyomi]

on 8/22/2009 Great article, I think I'm going to actually put up bird feeders this year

[plumberi]

on 8/8/2009 Good advice. Thanks

[godfather25]

on 6/13/2009 Great tips on hanging bird feeders to keep out squirrels. 5*