Pluggers by Rick McKee for August 11, 2024

LOL, I can relate. I got some birdfeeders when I moved to my current home, as we had some nice trees in the yard. I’d look out in the morning and see squirrels EVERYWHERE! I’m sure they were bringing in squirrels from other neighborhoods to have parties! I gave up bird feeders. I opened my door and let the kitties out. They scattered!

A good pellet gun would take care of her squirrel problem

I guess it’s too late to tell her that sprinkling better – or – better yet – cayenne pepper – into the bird feeders. The birds don’t notice the pepper but the squirrel gets it on his paws, wipes his face and eyes with the peppery paws, and immediately loses interest. I also put up a “squirrel” feeder far away from the bird feeders. I put peanuts and sunflower seeds inside the squirrel feeder – which is mounted on a post about five feet up. The squirrel feeder has a lid – the squirrel is the only one who is smart enough to realize that if you lift the lid, you can get at the peanuts. There is only room at the top of the post for one squirrel at a time – so any other squirrels which show up just have to wait their turn. Around sundown, I empty to squirrel feeder. Squirrels don’t hunt nuts after dark – but raccoons do. Raccoons are no more happy when they run into pepper in the bird feeder than squirrels do. Sprinkling pepper around your flowers, carrots, lettuce, also is an easy way to discourage rabbits from nibbling on your crops before they are ready to enjoy. If you want to save yourself the expense of buying birdseed – get some seeds for Skyscraper Sunflowers – then sprinkle around your planting area with lots of hot pepper and a lot of hot tobacco sauce – this will stop curiously seekers from digging up your seeds – and from climbing the stalk to feast on the sunflower seeds when they’re ready. Canaries and other songbirds just love these. You’ll end up with a very musical backyard.

Go for a walk every day for exercise ! As far as the bird feeder goes the cayenne pepper does a good job as one commentor posted ;-)

Don’t forget the bears. Black bears love bird seed.

Rats are even worse, because my feeders will close off if a squirrel gets on one, but a rat doesn’t weigh enough.

I guess we are in the minority but we don’t mind the squirrels. They are fun to watch as they chase each other and stick to just on or two of the feeders with black oil sunflower seeds or corn and leave the rest alone.

How nice of cheecken to offers free seeds for fellow birds.

I don’t understand the anger towards squirrels, l love watching them, everybit as entertaining as a flock of birds.

This is why I don’t feed the birds. Plus, I have cats.

That’s just drama, not exercise.

We have the very same two suet feeders out front. I think our squirrels are too stupid here. Not a problem. That is my wife out back though when they are eating her flowers.

Squirrel-Buster feeders. I have two: one for seeds, one for suet. The squirrels, despite trying everything, have to wait patiently underneath for the birds to drop something. Fortunately for them, we have very sloppy birds.

a slinky works much better. Haven’t had any issues with squirrels getting to the feeders. It is funny to watch the squirrels TRY and climb the slinky to get to the seeds.

BB guns work too ;)

Can she help Fang from The Duplex deal with ’em?

Cole’s Hot Pepper bird seed. Simplest solution I’ve found. No deer, no squirrels, no chipmunks, and birds love it.

That would be anerobic exercise if you chase them a couple of miles down the street. :)

We don’t have bird feeders as we would rather the birds not come around and use our cars as a bathroom.

BUT – last summer husband decided he has never seen an actual hummingbird and he wanted to see one. So he researched. (We over-research everything.) We then went out and bought a feeder, a glass pie plate to put water in, and liquid food for them.

We did not have one hummingbird come. He would dump the contents of the feeder and water plate, wash and refill them – but no, none came.

The pieces are now on his table saw in the garage as they never attracted any thing to come and eat or drink. It is apparently a great disappointment of his life to have never have seen one.