Squirrel wars

Squirrel baffle

While most of us love nature, squirrels can try our patience. These furry gluttons shove their way to the front of the bird feeder. Here are a few strategies for thwarting them:

Distract them. Squirrels love peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn. They'll take the most accessible food, so place these tantalizing treats closer to their home and farther away from your bird feeders. Another option is a Squirrel Log, which is made of compressed corn. The squirrel must gnaw and gnaw just to obtain a morsel of food—and none of it meant for the birds.

Baffle them. Place baffles on your poles or shepherd's hooks. The baffle should be 5 feet above the surface of the ground to prevent the squirrels from leaping onto the feeder from the ground. If the feeder hangs from a tree limb, use a baffle specially designed to block them as they climb or jump down. But be sure they can't leap sideways from the trunk or another limb to reach the food.

Put them on a diet. Avoid offering squirrels their favorite foods to discourage them from visiting your yard. Safflower seed, for instance, is prized by cardinals, chickadees, House Finches and other songbirds. Squirrels don't like the taste, however.

Deter them. Force them to perform a tightrope act. Hang the feeder from a clothes line and add obstacles such as cans, tubes or spools. This may slow them down. You also can use strong fishing line instead of thicker wires or ropes. They'll have trouble grasping the fishing line.

Seed ports close under the
squirrel's weight, blocking
access to the seed

Spice it up. Try mixing hot pepper in the seed or suet. Songbirds won't mind the heat but the squirrels have a more delicate palate. We offer sunflower chips pre-coated with cayenne pepper. Use that in place of your plain sunflower chips. We also have "Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce," a liquid that you can blend or shake into any seed or seed mix. It contains habanero pepper sauce.

Invest in a squirrel-proof feeder. We have some that really work! We've gotten a lot of positive customer response to the Squirrel Buster line of feeders. I've been told that the seed saved is worth the price. Droll Yankees has several top-of-the-line feeders which excel also. The Droll Yankees Flipper, for example, does exactly what its name implies: It flips the squirrel off the perch, letting only songbirds land. Another option is a tube-style feeder that has a metal cage around it. Songbirds can get in but adult squirrels cannot.