UKH

Started feeding the birds during lockdown and now the squirrels are raiding the feeders every day so the food disappears very quickly! 

Does a squirrel proof feeder (that actually works) exist - or are they all just marketing as squirrels will always find a way to get on them no matter what !

I have seen spinning types and weight activated ones but they all seem to have some kind of flaw. Are the cages best, or is it just best to have a separate place to feed squirrels to keep them away from the bird feeders?

youtube.com/watch?v=oNltR4iCRCA&

I put a cage round one of mine. Upside was the squirrel couldnt get to it. Downside was the birds didnt like it either.

Since I have a bird feeder stand I then went for putting one of those protective cones on it. After some adjustments it seems to be working. Downside is it is further out from cover than I would like which does put some birds off.

Is your feeder hanging clear of anything a squirrel would be able to use to access it?

In bothys I use a little trick to stop mice being able to get to my food bags. Punch a hole in a can lid (or other similar disc shape), tie a knot in the hang line and thread the disc on top of it. This creates a wobbly platform that critters can't get passed in order the reach the food below (see https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/13646497... for ref)

This obviously won't work if the squirrels can jump or bypass the hang line. 

Can you hang the feeder from a piece of string? That worked for me.

That was good. I laughed out loud.

I watched a squirrel get bullied off my feeder by a massive wood pigeon, was interesting.

Turn that up to 11 youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg&

Give up now – it is a road to nowhere. On the lightest high pole that bends with slightest weight and with an anti-squirrel cone at the bottom I see the squirrels get round the monstrous contraption regularly and upside down, handing on with one leg they fill their stomachs. Unless you go outside and get close they ignore the dog barking or bands on the window!

This is what i thought may be the case, they have more cunning than we think! 

Looks like the only approach is the catapult.. ! Or perhaps a separate squirrel feeder to keep them occupied, the corn on the cob ones look pretty good.

It's unfortunately hanging from a tree hence easy access from branches / wall / jumping / etc 

My wife bought a fancy squirrel proof feeder, unfortunately it's also bird proof. Weve given up now, the squirrel barely registers me shouting and throwing things at it. Hopefully it will become horrible ill from a hazelnut and fatball OD....

It's extremely difficult. I got one of the weight activated ones which the squirrels did struggle with (provided it was sited correctly) but then the birds made such a mess with the seed that it ended up all over the floor and the squirrels hoovered it up from there. Now we have fat ball holders with cages round them which seems to work a bit better as the fat balls create less mess for the squirrels to hoover up and the squirrels can't get into them at all.

The squirrels also chewed a hole in our roof and moved into our loft for a while, so you really don't want to encourage them. I love animals but not crapping all over the loft and making an unbelieveable amount of noise at 3am. This never happened in all the years we had a dog but they seem to have cottoned on to the fact that the dog is no longer with us.

My neighbour has a genius one.

He attached a 1m square sheet of transparent plastic sheet to the side of the wooden fence and suitably positioned the bracket for a suspended feeder. Squirrels can't approach without sliding off the plastic. Feeder suspended about level with middle of perspex/acrylic/whatever. 

The transparent plastic is very unobtrusive, was amusing to see squirrels trying but they don't even try anymore.

Thanks for that! Great stuff!

I find that a Daystate Huntsman in .177 seems to put them off well enough. 

Whatever you do the squirrels will work out a way to get some of the food, the best you can hope for is to make it a bit harder for them which is probably good in an evolutionary sense.

Either learn to love the squirrels or stop putting food out. We have three regularly visit our garden and they're fantastic creatures. Watching them chase each other wildly around the garden is comedy gold and well worth the cost of the peanuts.

We have one of these -

https://homgar.com/collections/squirrel-proof-bird-feeders/products/pestoff...

which works in our garden.

We also have a feeder in a cage, a bit like this one -

https://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/product/nut-guardian-feeder/

and this work well too, although I have had to wire the top down because a squirrel managed to open it and bite around the top edge of the tube so the lid doesn't fit properly.

Without some sort of barrier, like a cage,  or a mechanism, as in the first link I don't know of a feeder that is squirrel proof - the squirrels either drive the birds away of destroy the feeder.

Dave

The feeders in cages work fine, but it takes a few weeks for the birds to get used to them. I tried a brand that is green for a while, but the Birds wouldn’t come, then a friend recommended a brown one, which is much better. Squirrels have given up. (Not that the birds prefer the brown colour, though it does have bigger holes, but I mention the colour to help you find the one I mean) 
Also, the birds prefer the feeders in bushes and trees, rather than out in the open on a stand. 

+1

A tip I had from a zoo keeper was Vaseline, applied to the top of the feeder and as ours was from a pole, on the pole too.   Worked a treat

We used to have up to 10 squirrels eating from our feeders, got a weighted one and it  works fine.  I actually missed them so now have a feeder I use that I know they can access with a bit of effort.