Rodent relationships

November

My relationship with the squirrels at home isn’t as strained as the one I have with the woodchucks. After all, it took most of last winter for the squirrels to figure out the tight-rope routine needed to get to my bird feeders. And, what’s some bird seed compared with the loss of lettuce, zucchini, green beans, etc. from garden-thieving woodchucks?

That said, I’ve added what I hope are some squirrel bafflers this year to the wire cable from which my feeders hang. I’ve strung an old record (as in vinyl) sandwiched between two short pieces of PVC pipe on each end of the cable. I’ve used records before to keep the squirrels off the feeders – they have trouble negotiating the spinning, plastic disk while trying to maintain their footing. Eventually, though, they usually manage to overcome the records. I’m hoping the PVC pieces provide slicker footing than the cable and they, too, will also rotate around the cable as squirrels step on them.

If that doesn’t work, I may order an anvil from Acme . . .

For some professional bird-feeding advice, check out these tips from Cornell University’s Project FeederWatch.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 3:56 pm by Mike Risinit.
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One Response to “Rodent relationships”

Bill Cary November 13th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Hey Mike, keep us posted on how your homemade squirrel baffle works. Would love to see a photo, too. I’ve pretty much given up on any feeder that hangs from a tree – use platforms instead, with a metal baffle from below that has worked so far.

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