Nightingale’s Tully Lakes Hardware

One of the most common requests for help we hear from our customers in the bird food aisle is: how do I keep the squirrels out of my bird feeders?! The succinct answer is: discourage and distract or in other words make it hard for them to get where you don’t want them AND make it easy for them to eat elsewhere! Basically, if squirrels are a persistent problem (and we all know how determined and crafty they can be when they want what you fill your bird feeders with!) ­one way to manage them is to go ahead and feed them where and what you want them to eat so that they stop eating the feed you buy specifically for your birds! This strategy will only work if you set up your bird feeding area to do both. Discourage squirrels from feeding at your bird feeders by installing pole or post baffles under a feeder, or squirrel domes for hanging feeders. Many styles of squirrel­buster feeders can also give squirrels more of a challenge. This will cause the critters to have to expend energy in order to consume energy (bird seed). Next, distract them with an easier alternative. A simple platform feeder placed on the ground and filled with whole or cracked corn will give the squirrels a less strenuous opportunity to dine (and will save the “good stuff” you fill into your bird feeders for the birds!). You may place a squirrel trapper on where they usually steal food from the bird feeder. Also, squirrels are an arboreal animals meaning that they dwell in wooded areas and trees. By placing a squirrel feeder adjacent to the woods or tree line, it is more likely to keep them contented and away from your preferred bird viewing location. If you are willing to live with persistent squirrels and set up two feeding areas-you may find that you spend fewer dollars a month feeding the squirrels and attract more desirable varieties of birds to your bird feeder!