Little bastards, bottomless pits.

We've got a suet feeder hanging on a hook in our back yard. It's one of those whimsical ones, shaped like a bird, got a little door on one side with a latch. It's lasted a good while but the squirrels have worked so hard getting into it, they've all but pried the door off its hinges, and they've destroyed the latch mechanism.

I was determined to keep using it so when I refill it, I use about ten twist ties passed through the screen holes. Yeah, it keeps out the squirrels, but the birds seem to have an aversion to the feeder now. The wife thinks it's the tails of the twist ties that they don't like. She thinks it makes the birds think there are birds already on it, or maybe insects. Whatever the case, I'm ending up with moldering suet.

I need a suet feeder intended to hang from a hook and that is as squirrel-resistant as possible. I guess there's no such thing as squirrel-proof. I swear I'm going to look out one night and see the sumbitches workin' a blowtorch.

I thank you, the missus thanks you, and the birds thank you. Pretty much everybody except the melon farming squirrels. Little bastards never get full.

I've been considering getting a suet feeder and I too have lot of the little bottom-less bastards around.

My search brought me to this:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingsya...mFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Its funny the squirrels don't even look at our suet feeder, Plenty of other birdseed around maybe that's the reason. Now Blue Jays, those bastards will just tear off chunks at a time with half of it falling on the ground.

The Brome Squirrel Buster Suet model is the trick. I used to watch those tree rats devour suet like they were at an "All You Can Eat" buffet. It's expensive, but mine has paid for itself by not letting those gray thieves have their way at my feeder. I like the fact that it holds 2 cakes of suet, the Downy Woodpeckers will double team it, one on each side. The website mentions not protecting against some critters, mine hangs outside 24/7, nothing has been able to eat the suet except the birds.
Brome Squirrel Buster Suet

A hunnert dollars???

+++ Brome. Mine has withstood deer and bear attack. My squirrels now wait patiently under it for the birds to drop the seeds to them.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
A hunnert dollars???

A mere bag of tells.

Squirrels are not from this earth. If they were man would have invented a device they could not breach. But since they can breach any kind of secure container, they must be of alien origin.

Dear birds in my yard,

I have good news and I have bad news.

The good news is that the squirrels will no longer be eating your suet.

The bad news is that neither will you.

Regretfully,

Your Sugar Daddy

Ha ! It's why we love to shoot them in the head, fry their ass in the pan, and eat their brains. I never ate their brains, I don't trust alien brains. Aliens +1, Humans zero.

Home Depot sells a ‘pepper suet’ that the squirrels are not supposed to like because of the pepper, but the birds are okay with.
I have no experience with it, but might be worth a try.

Squirrels are just tree rats... but properly cleaned they can be very tastey prepared many different ways.... many years ago it was a known fact that when squirrel was on the dinner table that my father had dibs on the head and that was NOT up for discussion or debate....................... drill sgt.

Buy a rat guard. Should be cheap enough.

my wife loves the birds and maintains several feeders. For the suet we just buy cheap metal framed feeders at home Depot, usually a couple bucks, then get some copper picture frame wire and reinforce the latch.

My wife loves to feed the birds. I have a double threat, squirrels and raccoons. We use poles that allow placement of arms on which the feeders are hung. On the poles we place squirrel or raccoon baffles (https://order.wbu.com/shop/poles-baffles-hobby-products/poles-baffles-hobby-products/aps-squirrel-baffle). It requires tuning since the little demons are crafty and can jump. Our feeders are now pretty much squirrel and raccoon safe.

It was very satisfying to watch the demons jumping and failing, persistent little devils.

We use a suet box similar to what Para described. We too use small zip ties to close. We snip the excess from the tie and the birds seem good with it.

To be squirrel proof at my house, the feeders are a good height above the ground. I took an extension pole, used for pool cleaning, and rigged a j hook at the end. We use that to hang and retrieve the feeders.

This summer we found that flying squirrels are visiting the feeders in the evening. Cute little demons that my wife has deemed ok. That's good, those guys can really jump/fly.

I know some are looking at this saying "Way to complex". However, my wife very much enjoys watching the birds so it was a pleasure to make it work.

I suppose 100 bucks IS a lot for a suet feeder. Over the years I’ve spent more than that on various feeders + suet cakes.
On the other hand, in the overall scheme of (my) life, it is relatively not a lot of money when weighed against other nonessentials I spend money on, like subscriptions, guitar lessons, etc. It isn’t a reoccurring charge.
The Brome absolutely works. Mine has been 100% squirrel proof. Provides its own entertainment when watching the occasional assaults by the bushy tailed vermin.
I am no longer filling the feeder in the dead of winter cause the tree rats ate $5 worth of cakes in mere minutes.

If you mix hot sauce into the bird feed the squirrels won't eat it. It won't effect the birds, just mammals.

Just don't buy this one - (birds mostly ignored it anyways):

Jerks chewed right through it.

Wife found this setup at that Wild Birds store (round seed "cakes" with pepper in it to keep the squirrels away):

Brings in a lot of cardinals and haven't seen a squirrel near it so far.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:
Squirrels are just tree rats... but properly cleaned they can be very tastey prepared many different ways.... many years ago it was a known fact that when squirrel was on the dinner table that my father had dibs on the head and that was NOT up for discussion or debate....................... drill sgt.

First time I had Squirrel was fried in Bacon Grease, not bad.