Discouraging Unwanted Critters

Squirrels

Although it can be fun to watch a persistent squirrel finagle its way to your bird food, it's less amusing if they eat up all your seeds, chew holes in your feeders, and discourage your feeder birds from visiting. Squirrels can leap several feet horizontally or from above onto your feeder. Position your feeders so that they are at least 10 feet away from jumping-off points.

One way to outwit these furry-tailed rodents is to distract them by feeding them peanuts or dried ears of corn in a location some distance from your feeders. But this tactic might not work for long. You can also try "squirrel-proof" bird feeders.
Squirrel baffles are a good bet. These are barriers, often shaped like an inverted bowl, that are placed between squirrels and feeders. Usually when a squirrel lands on a baffle, it simply slides off. On pole-mounted feeders, baffles should be fixed in place under the feeder. On hanging feeders, a tilting baffle—at least 18 inches in diameter—should be installed above the feeder. As an alternative to commercially-made plastic baffles, bird watchers have used old vinyl records, plastic salad bowls, two-liter soda bottles, even stove pipes.

If your feeder is hung from a horizontal line, another anti-squirrel tactic is to thread the line through several lengths of plastic tubing, end to end; the tubing should spin when a squirrel tries to walk on it. Alternatively, some people have tried suspending feeders on a three- to four-foot length of monofilament fishing line instead of wire—it's too thin for squirrels to climb on.

Try a hopper-style feeder specifically designed to deter squirrels. Most use a spring-loaded or counter-weighted gate that closes off access to the seed ports under the squirrel's weight. This weight adjustment can be changed to selectively exclude larger, undesirable birds as well.

Yet another way to keep squirrels from your birdseed is a "squirrel spooker." As the squirrel climbs up a feeder pole to reach your feeder, it climbs over a moveable sleeve. Because of the squirrel's added weight, the sleeve slips down or spins around, dumping the surprised squirrel onto the ground. Once the squirrel has let go, the sleeve automatically moves back into place.

If you can't dissuade your squirrels from chewing your feeders to get at the seeds inside, consider buying a feeder made of a durable material like Lexan. Also there are feeders available with metal-reinforced seed ports. Some of these come with guarantees against destruction by squirrels.

House Cats

Cats are the most numerous pets in North America. Unfortunately they kill millions of birds each year. Ground-feeding and ground-nesting birds and fledglings are at greatest risk. Feeder birds are also easy prey. The only real way to keep your cat from eating your birds is to keep kitty inside.

Rats

Rats and other pest rodents are attracted to seeds droppped beneath feeders. Once a population is established, it can be very difficult to discourage. The first step is to discontinue feeding for a couple of weeks to encourage the rodent population to disperse. Next, consider ways to feed without any waste falling to the ground. There are several feeders available that will catch dropped seeds, but most of the catch trays aren't big enough to really do the job. You may want to look into constructing a large catch tray to place (off the ground) or hang under your feeders that you can clean or remove each night. The key is to prevent rodents from getting to the seed. It's important to clean any catch tray that you construct, because bird droppings contaminated with Salmonella bacteria may survive on the catch tray and spread disease among your birds.

Bears

Imagine waking up one night and seeing a bear pulling your feeder down to steal a midnight snack! Wildlife agencies from the following states issue precautions about feeding birds in areas with bears: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming.

Here are some of their suggestions:

• Don't feed birds during months when bears are most active—late March through November.
• Bring all of your feeders in at night.
• Hang feeders 10 feet above ground and 6 feet away from tree trunks.
• Don't leave spilled birdseed lying on the ground.
• Keep your birdseed supply indoors.
• Don't hang your bird feeder from your front porch.
• If you do have a bear in your yard, don't approach it.

Other Mammals

If bears, raccoons, deer, or moose become a nuisance the best tactic is to make your feeders inaccessible with fencing. If that approach is impractical, you'll probably have to take down your feeders temporarily. Like hawks, mammals will find new foraging places. If your mammalian visitors appear only at night, take in your feeders at dusk.

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