Everybody (well, almost everybody) likes the tiny friends that reside in our back yards. They are constantly playful and they show real intelligence and determination. It is unfortunate that this side of squirrels disappears when they start hogging the bird feeders! As squirrels like to consume most if not all of the food on the birdfeeders, bird lovers are always on the lookout for birdfeeders that are squirrel proof, or at least those which will keep them from eating all of the food .
The larger the squirrel, the simpler for them to take over any bird feeder and push the birds away. This has made the bird feeder companies take a closer look at how they can design bird feeders to be “squirrel proof”. One business has even developed a bird feeder that uses the squirrel’s own weight against it.
With this feeder, the squirrel sits on the perch and its weight causes the battery powered motor to activate . The motor causes the perch to flip up. The squirrel’s own weight makes it to tumble off of the feeder perch. This particular squirrel proof bird feeder is known as the Yankee Flipper Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder. That’s quite a mouthful, however you only have to remember “Yankee Flipper” and the major idea is that it performs the job extremely well.
Another variety of squirrel proof bird feeder is a tube feeder . These have the food enclosed by a wire cage, and the concept is that the holes of the cage are too little for the squirrel to grab the food, but they are just the right size for birds to eat their seeds in peace.
Why not make your own squirrel proof feeder simply by putting it on a wire mounted platform? . You’ll need to attach the two ends of the wire to two strong walls or posts. Between the feeder and the posts you need to put some plastic or PVC tubing on the wire. This is done so that when the squirrel attempts to stroll over the tubing to get to the feeder, the slippery tubing will spin, causing the squirrel to lose its balance .
One of the main things to keep in mind throughout your “battle” with squirrels is that they are persistent, agile and acrobatic. One of the greatest ways to squirrel proof your feeders is to set them in a area away from things such as trees, railings and roofs that squirrels can launch themselves from. This means about eight to ten feet away from those places, and your feeder should also be located at least four feet above the ground, in the way that pole bird feeders are. This is the most important way to guard your bird’s food from squirrels .
