The height of bird feeder pole is truly important thing to take into consideration for your anti-squirrel strategy. The point is simple: the squirrels should not be able to reach the feeder by jumping straight up from the ground. But the question is how high can a squirrel jump?
By summing up the experiences from numbers of bird feeders owners, I have found out that the most gifted squirrels can jump up to 4.5 feet vertically, meaning that the bottom of your bird feeder should be somewhat above that level.
Taking into account that the bird feeders do not usually exceed two feet in height, the conclusion is that 8 foot bird feeder pole should be perfect in size, while 10 foot bird feeder sounds like overkill unless your feeder is under giraffe attack ☺
Just kidding... 10 foot bird feeder poles are actually deer proof solution.
"Kettle Moraine four arm bird feeder pole" looks pretty much like coat hanger in Victorian style.
But in fact, it is highly decorative heavy duty bird feeder pole made of steel. The surface of the pole is protected by black powder coating in order to withstand harsh weather conditions.
The pole is 8 foot high, while the pole diameter is 1 inch and that's what makes Kettle Moraine compatible with the most of the anti-squirrel baffles in the market.
Kettle Moraine is in the group of the tallest bird feeder poles in the market, but it is not the tallest. If you are after even taller pole for some reason, please check 10 foot bird feeder pole further bellow in this article.
Aside from stylish looks and durability, this feeder pole features another great things: it can accommodate up to four bird feeders with total of 30 pounds of bird seed.
The feeder is also easy to install due to twister ground socket that drives the pole 20 inces into the ground.
And in the end, the most important thing: this pole comes with the anti-squirrel baffle and the overall opinion from previous customers is that the pole is squirrel proof indeed.
For current price of Kettle Moraine 8 foot bird feeder pole please check this Amazon link.
10 foot bird feeder pole example
10 foot bird feeder poles are not exclusively anti-squirrel devices because their primary focus is to keep your feeder out of the reach of the deers. However, there are some great examples of 10 foot deer proof bird feeder polesequipped with anti-squirrel and anti-raccoon baffle, so if your bird feeder gets visited by the intruders bigger than the squirrels, I suggest you should visit the link and read the reviews there.
Things you should know about bird feeder poles
Always remember that proper placement of your bird feeder pole is single most important thing you should pay attention to!
To learn how to choose the best placement for your bird feeder pole please check my article Why squirrel proof bird feeder poles are so important.
There you'll find plenty of useful info on pole baffles as well which is also one of the key factors in squirrel proofing bird feeder poles.
Recently, while reading numerous reviews of various anti-squirrel devices for bird feeders, I came across dozens of comments from readers asking the authors questions like: "What are the best anti-squirrel spikes?"
Or: "Where do I put the anti-squirrel spikes? "
I've been thinking to myself: how come I've never seen a single review of squirrel deterrent spikes itself?
So, I've started looking around for any kind of other people's experience with spiky squirrel protection and finally now I can give you shortest possible advice on that matter: "It does not work!".
Here's why.
Do anti-squirrel spikes exist at all?
I took the time and did thorough research on the Internet and I really could not find any kind of solid proof that barbed wires or spikes of any kind are actually effective in stopping the squirrels from looting bird feeders.
On the contrary, the squirrels don't seem to care much about the spikes!
Just check the comments from the all the folks who tried and failed with so called anti squirrel spikes at this Amazon link and you'll see what I mean.
The worst thing of all is that the squirrels can even use your spike protection as a ladder to climb up your fence and reach your bird feeder.
Here's the real life example:
No matter how fragile they may seem, the squirrels actually have pretty flexible bodies, tough fur, tough skin and paws due to their way of life. Persistent scratching against rough tree bark and scrub-like vegetation made the squirrels practically immune to spike protection.
Therefore, the analogy of protection from squirrels and protection from the other animals can not be made, or at least not in this case. It's obvious.
So, the anti-squirrel spikes don't work. What works for bird feeder, then?
Squirrel proof bird feeding is not so simple no matter how it may seem. It's rather complex skill with very wide base of knowledge you should adopt first, often even before you get your own bird feeder.
But if you are really into it, you'll may want to spend some time learning the best squirrel proof tactics.
I hope my article about squirrel proof bird feeding tips is a good way to start and I hope you'll find it useful.
After reviewing over a hundred squirrel proof bird feeders and hand-picking only the best ones to be presented on this website, I am truly surprised and honestly touched by the noble cause behind Squirrel-X bird feedersales policy.
This is the statement from the Squirrel-X manufacturers that moved me:
"A portion of every purchase is donated to a bird habitat and conservation"
Honestly, I can't remember I've heard anything that comes even close to this. That's why I think Squirrel-X is the noblest squirrel proof suet feeder available for online purchase. By buying this fider people are helping wild bird feeding nationwide.
It's no wonder so many people are engaging philanthropy. Besides, it's both affordable and pretty solid in terms of squirrel resistance and weather durability as stated by well over 600 previous customers.
Advantages of squirrel proof suet feeders for birds
Squirrel proof suet feeders are caged bird feeders that use cage as a physical barrier to prevent squirrels and big birds like blackbirds from stealing small birds food. The logic is simple: only the small birds can get past the cage bars and reach the food (as shown in the photo above), while the squirrels can't.
Possibly the biggest advantage of suet feeders is compact suet texture that's less likely to spill around the feeder than a bird seed food. This way the squirrels and the other uninvited animals will not get accustomed to camp underneath your bird feeder waiting for the crumbs to fall to the ground.
But just in case they get attracted to the feeder, you can chase them away in no time using squirrel proof suet food and that's the bird food squirrels hate.
Suet feeders may have up to four suet slots. For example, Squirrel-X has two suet cakes capacity.
Another great advantage of suet feeders is sturdy construction. Steel construction with no plastic parts is completely safe against squirrels teeth.
Also, the weather durability of these feeders is really awesome as the cage bars are coated with rust resistant colors.
And in the end, each and every caged suet feeder is real workhorse and requires no special maintenance except for the cleaning.
How and where to hang squirrel proof suet feeder?
Proper hanging of suet bird feeder contributes to its squirrel proofness in a huge way and it's truly important to understand that not just sued feeders but all of the anti-squirrel bird feeders depend upon the right choice of placement.
Good practices of hanging suet feeders are no different from hanging any other squirrel proof bird feeders.
But, going into depth here is way beyond the scope of this post, so I strongly recommend you should read my squirrel proof bird feeder tips. You'll find plenty of useful tips for placing bird feeders there.
Where to buy suet cakes?
In case you are not sure how to make suet cakes on your own, you can always rely on Amazon suet cakes offer. There's plenty of blends there you can choose from, indeed.
Squirrel repellent food is absolutely way to go approach to squirrel proofing your bird feeder and it's definitely worth of your attention if you want to divert squirrels from stealing bird food.
Let me tell you some science behind it.
The very concept is based on a fact that the birds are able to eat extremely spicy, hot pepper blended food without noticing any difference comparing to regular bird seed (or any need to dial firefighters after the lunch).
On the other side, the squirrels will hate hot food because they just can't stand the taste of it.
This is because the birds don't have hot food receptors in their mouth, while the squirrels do.
So, when a squirrel tastes even a smallest bit of this kind of food it will start acting like most of the people would do: it will start running around in circles feeling the heat rush to the ears and it will finally run away looking for the way to put out the fire... and never to come back.
Oh yes, this works for Mexican squirrels as well :)
Of course, the squirrels don't get hurt permanently. They just learn they are not invited to the feast.
What should one expect from squirrel proof bird food?
Nowadays, the bird food production is highly competitive branch. Having in mind all the advanced methods and expertise used in the bird food production, I suggest we should not go for the second best when choosing top quality squirrel proof bird food with squirrel repellent properties.
What we need is one stop solution for following requirements:
Birds must love the food. The food must attract various kind of birds over and over again meaning that all the nutritional needs of the birds must be satisfied using right choice of food ingredients.
Squirrels must hate the food: the amount of repellent ingredient within the food must be carefully balanced to deter the squirrels but not to hurt them.
All the food ingredients must be 100% natural. Therepellent component must be 100% natural as well because the birds ingest it together with the food.
The shape of the squirrel proof bird food must suit your feeder requirements: the food should be available either as squirrel proof bird seed for classic bird feeders, or in the form of squirrel proof suet in case you have suet bird feeder.
Great reviews are more than welcome: if the positive feedback from previous customers is there to support the claim that this squirrel proofing method actually works, then it's definitely good anti-squirrel solution.
If you are into preparing bird seed mixture according to your own recipe, you could try and add some cayenne pepper powder to it. It should work against the squirrels. Have fun with, do a couple of experiments and try to determine the right proportion of the pepper powder in the seeds.
Still, most of the people people find using Cole's Flaming Seed Saucemore efficient than cayenne powder because the sauce is liquid and stays on the seeds as it dries out.
Surprisingly enough, the sauce does not spoil the seeds and the seeds does not rot under the influence of the liquid from the sauce.
A bottle of 16 oz of Cole's Flaming Seed Sauce is enough for about 40 pounds of the bird seed (3 tablespoons per 5 pounds of the seed) and it seems like real good bargain to me.
About battery operated squirrel proof bird feeders
In spite of the fact that battery operated squirrel proof bird feeders represent the youngest generation of bird feeders in the market, they have already been established at the very top of the best selling anti-squirrel bird feeders today.
It is needles to point out how popular and efficient they are; the numbers of excellent reviews from previous customers speak for themselves.
All the feeders in this group have one thing in common: they use electric current from batteries to keep squirrels away from bird seed. That's why they are also known as the electric anti-squirrel bird feeders.
However, this group is not uniform as there are some crucial differences between specific models of feeders inside of this group.
Differences between battery operated squirrel proof bird feeder models
The first difference is about the way the feeders work. There are two equally effective but essentially very different concepts of feeder functioning you can choose from:
Spinning feeders: these feeders use electric battery power to spin the perch once the squirrel steps on it and the squirrel finally gets spinned off from the feeder
Squirrel shocking feeders: electric battery power is used to hit the squirrels with tiny electric shock so that the squirrels become conditioned not to hang around bird feeders of this kind
The second difference is based on the type of the battery. Thus, there are feeders with:
Rechargeable battery: the battery is integrated as a part of the feeder and the feeder usually comes with charger with or without additional cost for the charger.
Replaceable battery: feeders with replaceable batteries use commercially made batteries, usually 9V type
The best battery operated squirrel proof bird feeders out there
According to reviews of previous customers, the vast majority sent really positive feedback on two two feeders of this type:
After several hundreds of reviews and the rating 4.5 out of 5, Yankee Flipper is by far the best spinning anti-squirrel feeder in the market.
You can read all the reviews at this Amazon link.
Flipper has rechargeable type of the battery. The battery is integrated within feeder structure and the good thing about the battery is you can replace it with new one once it loses charging power.
Yankee Flipper's manufacturers offer limited lifetime warranty on the feeder, while the warranty on electric parts of the feeder is limited to one year.
This feeder is tagged as "Amazon's Choice" product and that's certainly great recommendation for quality, nice price and great reviews from verified customers.
2. Wild Bill's 8 station - Squirrel shocking bird feeder
Wild Bill is truly great squirrel proof bird feeder with electric shock surprise for the squirrels!
This feeder is rated with 4.0 out of 5 after well over hundred of reviews and you can read the reviews on this page.
Unlike previous feeder with integrated battery, Wild Bill's feeder does not need recharging. It works on replaceable standard 9V battery with enough power to give the squirrel tiny and harmless electric shock and keep it away from the feeder and the bird seed.
Don't worry - this feeder is constructed in the way the birds don't get shock at all.
Wild Bill is also "Amazon's Choice" product, meaning it is the top of the class of battery operated bird feeders.
Pros and cons of battery operated bird feeders
There's so much good about these feeders:
Both spinning and shocking feeders are really efficient against the squirrels because the squirrels will finally give up trying to outsmart the feeders
They are fun to watch and that's why kids love them! Squirrels are so sweet after getting dizzy from spinner ride or acting clueless after getting a little electric shock. All in all, they get instantly confused by electric feeder experience that's nothing like they are able to meet in the nature
Great customer support, fair warranty terms and spare parts you can count on
But there's one downside I can think of: you should never leave the battery without power.
Regular recharging or battery replacement is mandatory procedure.
Actual granny's bird feeder with slinky hanging
down from feeder pole
It has been almost two years now since I've heard the news about how Kentucky grandmother got rid of the squirrels by attaching slinky to bird feeder pole. In her own words, she has been testing different squirrel proofing tactics for some time and finally concluded that slinky on bird feeder gives the best homemade squirrel proofing results by far.
Being honest (as grannies usually are), she also added that slinky is not exactly 100% effective against the squirrels.
But guess what? I did my own research and I've found out where she went wrong and I am going to share that with you.
Helping slinky vs. squirrels
What you see to the left is the actual photo of granny's bird feeder with the squirrel trying to climb the pole up and against the slinky that's pushing the squirrel down. At the first look, everything seems to be in place here. But something is in very wrong, indeed. Can you guess what?
It's the feeder itself.
Did you notice how close the feeder is to the tree? And here's what granny says:
"The squirrels tried to climb the pole for two days. After they fell off many times, they gave up. A few are now trying to jump from the tree to the top of the bird feeder. If they land it, I let them stay on the feeder for a snack."
Verdict:
You can't blame slinky for defeat because it protects bird feeder from below!
Also, please note that some gifted squirrels may jump 5 to 6 feet to the side and placing feeder next to the trees is big "no no" practice. Even the best and the most expensive anti-squirrel bird feeders lose great deal of their squirrel proof capacity if placed near squirrels launch pad!
If you'd like to know more tips like this, please read my anti-squirrel bird feeding strategy. Please make sure you grab a big cup of coffee first because it's a long read... but it will pay out if you are fed up with squirrels and you don't want to make the same mistakes as granny did.
Slinky is truly effective against the squirrels. In fact, it acts like anti-squirrel baffle of some sort.
It's easy to use: get your bird feeder dressed with slinky, fasten slinky at the top and that's it. However, do remember to replace slinky with new one if it gets stretched out under the squirrels weight
Slinky is made in different colors and aside from keeping the squirrels away it can be nice ornament to your bird feeder
It's really cheap and you can buy it at any corner. Check the prices and available models on Amazon.com
Now let's see real life example how effective slinky is against the squirrel. Enjoy!
Squirrel proofing time!
After a lot of reading about other people experiences on this subject and taking it all to account, I've decided to put together this small tutorial about making homemade squirrel shocker. The tutorial is aimed to get you acquainted with all the practical advice I've found out there, along with possible dos and don'ts during the construction.
Following lines should help you avoid making common mistakes and help you avoid the dangers along the way.
Yes, the dangers...
But more about that later on.
Of course, I'm not here to talk you in or out from making your own electric anti squirrel bird feeder. I'm here only to point out some important things you should take into consideration before you decide whether to go for homemade squirrel shocker or not.
How easy or how hard it is to build homemade squirrel shocker?
Homemade squirrel shocker: the squirrel just before being shocked
That's tough question for me to answer, because the answer is truly on your side.
Squirrel shocker construction is really no brainer for those that are good with hands and already have some basic knowledge of the electric current.
But for the folks that are less skilful it will require some more effort and possibly more time. If you feel you're in this group, I still encourage you to read this tutorial to the end. Who knows, maybe you are just being harsh on yourself?
Certainly, the power is in the knowledge. So just to be sure you are familiar with the way squirrel shockers work, I strongly recommend reading my article about squirrel shockers basics first.
There you will find plenty of theoretical knowledge that is necessary for your personal squirrel shocker project.
Why should you go for DIY squirrel shocker instead of buying one?
Let's try and see what are the advantages and disadvantages of DIY shockers when compared to commercially made branded shockers you can buy online:
Homemade squirrel shockers are both fun and challenging (in a good way) to build. Buying branded squirrel shocker is not even closely adventurous in that way.
You can use your imagination to customize your DIY shocker any way you want in terms of dimensions, looks, wooden materials you'll use, seed capacity, etc. Commercial shockers are "as is" and that's it.
Commercial and properly constructed DIY shockers are equally effective against the squirrels
Improper placement, wiring or wrong choice of electric supply for DIY squirrel shocker may result in hurting both squirrels and the birds. That is the danger I've mentioned in the introduction. BTW, with commercial shockers you don't risk hurting the animals.
The key component in the electric circuit of DIY shocker is proper electric power energizer. If you don't already own the right type of energizer, you'll need to buy one. It means that homemade squirrel shockers (if made from scratch) are not much cheaper than commercially made shockers as one would expect.
As you can see, DIY squirrel shocker construction is more like subject to fun, creativity and learning process than a chance to save some bucks.
In fact, at the end of the day, a really good homemade shocker may cost you as much as the best squirrel shocking bird feederyou can buy.
Starting DIY squirrel shocker construction
There are two obvious choices you can make at the start:
1. Electrifying existing bird feeder or bird feeder pole, or
2. Starting from scratch by constructing bird feeder first and then electrifying it
If you are not much into carpentry, the first option may be the easier way. But why carpentry?
Hand wired homemade squirrel shocker: the frame,
the threshold and the roof (click to enlarge)
Because all three components: bird feeder, the threshold and the frame should be made of wood. Metal, glass or plastic materials are difficult for wiring because you can't fasten the wire to it by hammering. I addition, metal alone may come pretty messy in terms of conducting electric current because metals are conductors while wood is not.
In case you don't already own wooden bird feeder house and you can't construct it yourself, try your local shop or pick one at the Amazon.com.
When choosing/constructing wooden bird feeder, please pay attention to the following:
The feeder must be suitable for outdoor conditions (wind, snow, rain, frost...)
The construction must be robust so it can stand hammering nails to it when fastening the wires. Just look how thick and sturdy the wood is on the above image.
Try to pick the feeder with dimensions that suit desired capacity of the bird seed
Try and find feeder with threshold. If you take a good look at the image above, you'll notice wooden threshold around the bird house is wired. Threshold is mandatory for wiring and if your feeder does not have it, na old wooden serving tray or something similar should do the trick. It is also good protection from spilling the seeds from the feeder.
Aside from the bird feeder with threshold, you'll need the frame (check the photo). It's outer wooden structure around the feeder that looks like clothes drying rack. The frame is also wired with parallel grid of wires. For the purpose of the frame you can use some old picture frame. The larger - the better.
Electrifying bird feeder
OK, now we are getting to the most important part so please pay close attention.
The electric system we'll use to electrify the feeder is made of two components:
1. Electric energizer - this is your electric power source. It is usually used for electric fences to keep away domestic and garden animals away from passing the fence line. Energizers of this kind feature pulsating electric current - a single, short electric impulse at the time. Thus, shocked animal has enough time to recover and instinctively move away from the power source.
Energizers are plugged in 110V wall outlets and when connected to the fence (in this case: the feeder wire circuit) they send electric energy impulses to the circuit.
Since the squirrels are small animals and we do not want to harm them, I strongly recommend energizers with small energy outputs of 0.1 to 0.2 Joules (J).
For the squirrel shockers the most used energizers with very positive reviews arePatriot PE2 for smaller shocks andDare DE 80 for slightly stronger shocks.
Energizers come with detailed manual instructions that will give you plenty information on how to wire them and much more details for broader picture of usage and maintenance.
2. The second component is your electric grid. It is made of two separate circuits: power circuit and ground circuit.
On the image above you'll notice two clamps: red and green. Power circuit starts from red clamp, while the ground circuit starts from green clamp and ends in the ground with ground rod. Once again, these two circuits are separate and the electric current does not run until the squirrel touches both circuit wires at the same time. So, when it happens, the electricity starts running through squirrel's body and the squirrel will experience the electric shock.
Wiring the feeder components
Imagine black is ground and the red is power
The logic behind the wiring is simple: you need to place power and ground wires next to each other in parallel grid using the rule: power, ground, power, ground, always shifting alternately... and never like power, power, ground, ground.
Different circuits must be neighboring ones. For example: if the roof is power, the threshold must be the ground and then the first neighboring frame wire must be power, the next to it is ground... and so on.
I hope you understand that the squirrel must touch both ground and power wire at the same time. If it touches only one wire, nothing will happen.
Another important thing is the distance between neighboring wires. Neighboring wires should be close enough so that the squirrels can touch them synchronously, yet far enough so that the birds can't. Of course, that depends on the size of the birds you are feeding.
As the wires are concerned - it's best to use galvanized aluminium wires of small gauge (up to 12) because of low impedance and durability.
Once finished, your homemade squirrel shocker should work like this:
Electrifying bird feeder pole
Electrification of feeder poles utilizes the same principles as feeder electrification explained in previous part of this tutorial: energizer with power and ground circuit wires shifting alternately and spirally from the bottom to the top of exclusively wooden pole. Pole squirrel shocker is great solution in instances oh high positioned bird feeder where the squirrels can not reach the feeder any other way except for by climbing the pole. Here's great example of homemade squirrel shocker pole using Speedrite 2000 energizer which is overkill in my opinion:
I really hope you'll find this tutorial useful :)
Best of luck with the squirrels...
Cheers!
