The other day I was watching a YouTube video, I can’t remember who it was by, but he created an intricate assault course to stop squirrels getting to his bird feeder but they were so persistent that they tackled the course in a few weeks and got the feeder anyway, at which point he figured they had earned the right to the food!

That being said, it shouldn’t be as difficult as that, and you don’t need a mass amount of engineering skills like that guy had in order to stop squirrels getting to your bird feeder.

Most methods will work in some manner but which strategy will keep squirrels and do so most effectively? If you keep reading we’ve gone into several methods that you can try and utilise.

There are many approaches you can use to try and stop squirrels. Some will succeed, some will fail and also a great deal of cash can be spent on goal. On the other hand, the best means of beating these intelligent squirrels and the easiest way is entirely free, using household items.

Squirrels are extremely intelligent animals, don’t by any means underestimate them or it will be to the peril of your bird feeder, make sure you try a few of these solutions. They’re able to quickly adapt to many situations especially when the result of their success means a free lunch. You’ve got to be smarter and think tactically to outwit the squirrels. I know, it sounds ridiculous, like I’m overplaying it, but believe me, I’m not!

Top Tips To Keep Squirrels Off Your Bird Feeder

I’ve done the research, looked at all the online resources and found the best ways that you can stop squirrels from getting to your bird feeder, so without further ado here are your options:

Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder Pole

There are a few ways that you can squirrel proof your bird feeder pole, here we go through a couple of the ways you can do this:

Mount a Squirrel Baffle on the bird feeder pole

A squirrel baffle is a simple device attached to bird feeder poles to prevent anglers from hitting the bird seeds. The cone-shaped device will cause squirrels to slip off if they attempt to jump towards the bird feeder. Smearing the baffle with Vaseline can offer added security and will mean they struggle to get any grip. You can create one yourself using any scrap material you may have however make sure its something waterproof like metal or plastic. Alternatively if aesthetics don’t bother you, you want attach empty plastic bottles to the pole for a quick and easy fix. Here’s a short video showing what the setup looks like.

Attach a Slinky to the pole

It does sound a little bit silly, but also a more entertaining solution, you can try attaching a slinky into the upper section of this bird feeder rod, it completely baffles them! The squirrels will have little luck since the slinky will drop them down when they hang on to it.

Purchase a “Squirrel Spinner”

If the about DIY methods aren’t working for you, you can always get yourself a Squirrel Spinner. Another alternative that’s harmless to squirrels is to get a bird feeder which will spin the moment the squirrel lands on the bird feeder causing them to loose their footing and fall off.

Choose the Best Bird Feeder Placement

The squirrels around your home can jump great heights for their size but they can’t fly, at least not yet anyway! The easiest way to stop them from reaching the bird feeder is by positioning it using the 5-7-9 rule so long as your backyard has the space for it. The rule is fairly simple, you want to place your bird feeder:

• 5 feet from the ground
• 7 feet from any tall structures a squirrel could leap from (mainly trees)
• 9 feet from anything hanging above

You can try hanging a wire from between a back shed and the fence or perhaps between two trees to hang the feeder from.

Choose Bird Seeds That Squirrels Don’t like

There are a few kinds of food that squirrels don’t actually like and will avoid eating unless they are desperate. Unfortunately, though, they are still rodents, which means if they are really hungry they will still seek nourishment from whatever they possibly can.

Here are three seeds you can stock your bird feeder with that will make squirrels look elsewhere:

Safflower Seeds
Cardinals, chickadee’s, titmice, and lots of finches love this little, white seed while our little squirrel friends do not. Blackbirds (starlings and grackles) don’t consume safflower seed, so this could possibly be the best kind of food to be stocking your bird feeder with!

Nyjer Seed

Goldfinches can not get enough, but squirrels do not bother with nyjer seed, they don’t like the taste.

White Proso Millet

These little seeds are generally too small for those pesky squirrels to mess with, however, doves, juncos, and sparrows will definitely be glad it is available.

Use Capsicum Seeds 

Capsicum seeds are a great natural and non-toxic way to deter squirrels from eating from a bird feeder without harming the birds that come to visit. Whilst birds can eat the seeds just fine, squirrels hate both the heat and the flavour.

All you need to do is save the seeds when you next prepare capsicum for dinner and mix them in with the bird seeds in your feeder. I recommend sprinkling a few on the ground around the feeder as any opportunistic squirrels will want to try those first and be put off from trying any from the feeder.

Please (and I cannot stress this enough) DO NOT use any form of powdered peppers. Not only are these powders not found by birds in nature, the powder can get into their eyes causing a great amount of pain and discomfort. If you are looking for alternatives consider using peppercorns or hot pepper flakes.

Feed The Squirrels Separately

Part of me says don’t write this, because if you feed pests they never leave, but I figured you’re feeding them with the bird feeder anyways!

To stop and deter squirrels from eating the meals that you’ve intended for the birds, consider feeding them in another feeder set out specifically for them filled with squirrel decoy food.

Squirrels love a lot of things including peanuts, peanut butter, pecans, pistachios, grapes, corn, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, strawberries, carrots, apples & sunflower seeds so you can choose to set any of these aside for them.

What Else To Consider?

So you’ve gone through how to get rid of squirrels but we know that it’s easier said than done, if they want to find a way to get to your bird feeder, then they tend to do so!

Just live with them
It is annoying that squirrels feed from your bird feeders, I get it, but they are beautiful creatures themselves, so why not just live with them? Can’t beat them, join them, right?

Don’t Hurt The Squirrels
Another thing, don’t hurt the squirrels. Please don’t be trying to hit them with an air rifle or get them with traps. Believe it or not, it’s a common question to ask if you can kill squirrels.

Unfortunately, the answer is that if you can do it humanely you can, grey squirrels at least, as red squirrels are protected. It is unlikely however that you will be able to kill a squirrel without causing it pain, which means you easily cross the legal boundary.