Squirrel Proofing

Squirrels are kind of cute. Also annoying. They chewed through the screen on our porch to get at the birdseed we stored there. We took care of that problem by enclosing the porch. They also tend to figure out a way to get at the bird feeders. They are persistent.

But I have devised several methods of keeping them away from bird feeders. The solution is empty bottles.

Vertical Pole Mount

The first successful approach was with the wooden bird feeder that our son, Drew, made at the church boys club. We mounted it on a 1/2" galvanized pipe. A threaded end of the pipe screws into a flange that fastens to the bottom of the bird feeder. Any squirrel can climb a vertical galvanized pipe, but they can't get past a 2-liter pop bottle. Cut a hole in the bottom of the bottle and slide the neck up the pipe. The neck of a pop bottle fits snug around the pipe, so you don't even have to fasten it to the pipe.

Vertical pole mount

Clothesline Mount

When we moved, there was no spot in the back yard far enough from a tree or fence to prevent squirrels from jumping onto the wooden bird feeder. It had already seen better days, and it wasn't long before it fell apart.

Clothesline mount

We had a clothesline, and I got some plastic conduit and put about 18" of that on the clothesline on either side of a hanging bird feeder. Didn't work. The squirrels either ran across it quickly to the bird feeder or crawled upside down if they flipped. Solution: 2-liter pop bottles. I mounted one on both pieces of conduit. Problem solved. And, because it was a hanging bird feeder they couldn't jump onto it; it would swing away as they attempted their landing. (Caution: when trying to cut a hole in the bottom of one of the bottles with a knife, I cut my hand and needed four stitches. A painful and expensive solution to a squirrel problem.)

Tree Mount

When we returned from a year in Germany this past winter, the clothesline was gone. We could have strung a new one, but I was ready to try something more elegant. I rummaged around in the basement and found an old broom handle. Unfortunately, it was a bit too thick to fit a pop bottle around it. So I used a juice bottle (these can be recycled, but there is no 10-cent deposit, so I come out ahead). For this job, I needed a drill. First, I drilled a 1" hole in the bottom of the juice bottle. Then I slid it over the broomstick and drilled two small holes on either side of the bottle. I put a galvanized nail in each of these holes to keep the bottle from slipping down the pole or off the end of it. Then I drilled a hole in a Norway maple tree and stuck the broomstick in the hole. I have a limited collection of bits, and the hole was too big, so I jammed a few sticks in around it to hold it tight. I recommend you get the right size bit. Hang a bird feeder from the end of the stick, and it's done. Well, almost. One juice bottle is not long enough to prevent a gray squirrel from reaching the bird feeder. So I drilled another nail hole in the broomstick further down and added a second juice bottle.

Broomstick mount

I didn't think that much of my invention, though I liked it. When I mentioned to a friend that I had a solution to squirrels getting to my bird feeder, he said he wished his dad had talked to me before he died. His dad was a math professor and much more handy than I am. He built a miniature steam train in his back yard and gave neighbor kids rides in it. One of his life quests was to keep squirrels out of his bird feeders, but he apparently never quite managed it. So I'm giving myself a pat on the back for this one, and sharing my solutions in his memory.

Broomstick inserted in maple tree

Feeder hanging from end of broomstick

Frustrated squirrel

Frustrated squirrels chew on the bottle