There are really 2 basic approaches to keeping squirrels out of your bird feeder. The first is to simply try to block them from getting to the feeder. There are two common types of feeders that do that.

Baffled Bird Feeder - By simply restricting access to the the food in the feeder, you frustrate them and they move off. The advantage to using a baffle is that it more or less separates the squirrel proof barrier from the feeder itself, so that the bird have free access to the bird seed, and any size bird can still use the feeder. This is often the more aesthetic approach. This is often done by pole mounting the feeder, and putting the baffle on the pole. Other types use a hanging arrangement and the baffle forms a roof over the feeder.

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The disadvantage of this approach is that squirrels can leap large distances, and are incredibly agile climbers, so that they will often find a way to land on the actual feeder and bypass the baffling. With the top mounted feeder you may also find a squirrel smart enough to climb down and cause the feeder to swing, and while they may not gain access to the feeder itself they can cause the bird food to spill to the ground, where they can get all the food they want.

Caged Bird Feeders - Another very common solution is to use a caged feeder. These are easy to spot, the construction includes some type of cage around the actual feeder area. It's a fairly open mesh, and in fact a tube style caged feeder looks similar to an electronic bug zapper with the open mesh surrounding the tube.

Caged feeders are better at keeping the squirrels out of the feeder, but they can still get to it and scare off the birds that are trying to use the feeder. This is often the case when you are trying to attract smaller birds.

The second approach to getting rid of squirrels in your bird feeder is to move them out. The much more effective types of squirrel proof feeders are those that cause the squirrel to fall off or be thrown from the feeder. There are two types of those feeders as well, weight activated feeders and the battery powered or electronic motorized feeders. While this won't harm the squirrels they are fun to watch in action...

You can learn more about these feeders and see videos of these squirrel proof bird feeders in action at http://www.birdfeederz.com This includes the motorized Droll Yankees squirrel proof birdfeeders as well.

By J Ruppel

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How to Control the Grey Squirrel Population

Squirrels have three of four litters per year, with each litter producing an average three infants. They reach maturity in approximately 10 months and their average life span is 2 years.

Grey squirrels are part granivore and part omnivore. Common vegetation eaten by the grey squirrel includes acorns, flowers, tree shoots, nuts etc. aswell as fruits, roots and cereals. They also cause damage to trees by stripping off the bark and feeds off the sappy tissue beneath. Occasionally grey squirrels will feed on insects and bird eggs and they eat approximately 50 grams a day.

Control

The grey squirrel is a serious pest problem and control is necessary. They cause damage to trees by stripping the bark off them. They damage parks and gardens (by eating away at flower beds etc), and in urban areas they are often found damaging roof timbers, electrical wiring and plumbing after gaining access to the loft spaces.

Control methods include shooting, trapping by using cages and spring traps or the use of poisons. The use of poisons is strictly by professional use only and licenses are required under the Grey Squirrel (Warfarin) Order 1973.

Squirrel cage traps and squirrel traps designed to kill on impact are somewhat easy to set. Single or multi catch cage traps are readily available for grey squirrels. When using the single cage traps outdoors, one unit should be effective for up to one hectare, and spaced around 100 metres apart from another. If using a multi-catch cage trap, one unit is suitable for three hectares and should be spaced 200 metres apart.

The best position for cage traps is under trees which are known to be used by the pest or in hedges. Ideally the ground should be clear of vegetation,

Pre-baiting of the cage traps is essential to the successfulness of the programme. Maize is a good attractant and it should be placed inside the trap for five continuous days. The trap needs to be visited twice a day and users should expect immediate success after a couple of days of pre-baiting. Cages can also be used in roof spaces etc in the same manner.

Once grey squirrels are caught in cages, they should be immediately humanely destroyed. One method is by running the squirrel into a sack and striking it with a sharp blow to the head.

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If you are suffering from a squirrel nuisances why not try squirrel traps available from PPC Supplies.

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