Squirrel problem, following on from a recent thread, any ideas ?

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

Today i was having a look through the binoculars at one of the ground feeding trays we have where a blackbird and a robin were having a nibble, then all of a sudden a big grey head and grey bushy tail appeared in the view.

The blackbird and robin both dissapeared, in the ground feeding trays i put a mixture of crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts, chopped up fat cake, mealworms and sultanas so that their is a bit for everyone.

I watched the grey squirrel as to be honest they are amazing little animals, he sat and nibble a few peanuts from his hands, after that he started to take out some of the nuts and run around the garden where he seemed to be digging little holes and covering them with leaves, i take it he was hiding the peanuts ?

Its amazing to watch and that doesn`t bother me that he his taking food as i`m happy he is having a feed, a few minutes later i spotted him under one of our bushes where he appeared with half an apple in his mouth and he ran up the fance with it and into next doors. About 5 minutes later he appeared again but this time with a mate, maybe its his girlfriend or best mate.

His mate then went to where our resident dominant blackbird hangs out during the day, i call it his bush where he has his bruised apple, mealworms and sultanas. The other squirrel pinched his apple and ran off quickly followed by the other one, i had our garden set up just perfect and how i wanted it for the birds but this i can see is going to cause problems.

Both of them have been up into the bird table, ideally i would put some whole peanuts out for them in the corner where they come into our garden but with the breeding season approaching i don`t want any whole peanuts in the open where parents may accidentally grab some and feed them to chicks which could choke them.

I`ll try and get some photos next time then both appear, i only have a small pocket digi camera at the min so they won`t be great. Does anyone have have any ideas what i can do as these 2 Squirrels could spoil what i have created for the birds, also 2 could become half a dozen etc.

I like watching squirrels as thery are amazing animals but they could spoil a lot of hard work i have done getting the birds into the garden.

[Madelinew]

Yup - move here to the Isle of Wight where we only have reds and they're not half so bold!

My friend lives in Brighton and she was chased indoors by a grey squirrel once which then began banging angrily at her patio doors seemingly because she'd stopped refilling her bird table when he launched himself at it and her.

There is one spot on the Island where the reds are bold and my friend has a picture of her daughter hand-feeding some reds. If she agrees, I'll post the picture here. Does remind me of Kate Humble being bitten to pieces by fleas when she did the same on Springwatch once.

[Oscar the Grouch]

I know that feelings are very mixed about squirrels but I have to confess that I do all I can to discourage them from coming to our feeders. As we are on the edge of mature woodland and are surrounded by a considerable number of oak trees, this isn't an easy task!

All I have tried so far has failed. Even guardians with the smallest mesh size don't keep the b*ggers out! Now, if I see one or more in the garden, I let my dog out. She loves to chase them and is getting very good at intercepting their flight paths and giving them a nasty shock. 12 months ago, they were rather cocky. Not now. If they hear the back door open, they run for the trees immediately.

Once chased back into the trees, they don't tend to appear again for 24 hours, leaving the feeders free for the birds (who don't seem to care about a large dog ranting about the garden from time to time).

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Oscar the Grouch

All I have tried so far has failed. Even guardians with the smallest mesh size don't keep the b*ggers out!

Easy!



1) Get a 2 litre plastic fizzy drink bottle and cut the bottom off.
2) Poke a small hole in the bottle top.
3) Suspend the feeder on a length of wire (say) about 18 inches long, with a hook on the bottom and a twisted loop in the wire about six inches above the hook
4) Thread the bottle onto the wire such that it hangs like a bell, with the twist in the wire stopping the bottle from sliding all the way down.

The bottle should hang covering the feeder for a few inches, but not covering the feeding ports.

Squirrels will try to climb down the bottle, but it's too slippery, fat and flexible for them to be able to release their hind feet grip on the bottle top. I've never seen one succeed in getting to a feeder protected like this, but it's entertaining to watch them try until they learn not to bother!

Jim

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by Steve_In_Cheshire

I like watching squirrels as thery are amazing animals but they could spoil a lot of hard work i have done getting the birds into the garden.

We regularly have a couple of squirrels in the garden, sometimes three or four but they don't bother the birds.

I have baffles on the two feeder poles and the squirrels can't get round those (they are positioned so that squirrels can't leap directly onto the feeders from nearby or overhanging trees). There's also a baffle on the bird table pole.



The caged feeder holding a home made suet block hangs from the pergola that squirrels regularly climb over - but they've never yet been able to get at the food!

[Astra]

I have a similar guardian to ElizabethB over the suet and I used to have them over the seedfeeder as well but found that it put off some of the finches.

Now I have large hanging domes so that the squirrels can't climb down but all birds can access - even a blackbird if he's hungry enough!





Ground feeding can be a problem though. Any cages big enough for a thrush is plenty big enough for a squirrel.
Maybe a non-roofed table with a baffle on the pole is the answer?

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by Astra

Ground feeding can be a problem though. Any cages big enough for a thrush is plenty big enough for a squirrel.
Maybe a non-roofed table with a baffle on the pole is the answer?

My problem with the bird table is that wood pigeons gobble down the food there - we have had 18 of them in the garden recently!!! Therefore I use a ground feeder cage to keep out the woodies, and accept the squirrels - at least they can be quite entertaining as they chase each other all over the garden.

[Astra]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth B

My problem with the bird table is that wood pigeons gobble down the food there - we have had 18 of them in the garden recently!!! Therefore I use a ground feeder cage to keep out the woodies, and accept the squirrels - at least they can be quite entertaining as they chase each other all over the garden.

Yes I can imagine 18 would be a problem!!

I also have a groundfeeder guardian that keeps the pigeons off.
Maybe there is someway of fixing one over a birdtable????

[alisonclair]

My squirrels have their own feeder, one designed for them. It doesn't completely keep them off the bird feeders, but it does help.