How to Stop Squirrels From Climbing Bird Feeder Pole? (5 Tips)

When it comes to decorating a garden, a bird feeder pole is one of the most indispensable items, especially if you love inviting birds to your yard. However, almost everything has its own inconvenient aspect and installing a bird feeder pole is no exception. If you already have one, you will realize that squirrels are also other visitors who often come and get food apart from birds. This is a very common issue because squirrels are very annoying. So, how to stop squirrels from climbing bird feeder pole?

In the following sections, I will guide you through a brief description of what a bird feeder pole looks like and five practical tips to help you chase squirrels away, which includes squirrel proof feeder products, placing feeder poles far away from trees, offering food squirrels don’t like, attaching a slinky or a baffle. Keep reading to find out.

Overall About a Bird Feeder Pole

A bird feeder pole is basically a pole used to hang one or a few feeders. Because it is made for birds, a pole can be around 2 to 9 feet tall. These feeder poles can be located anywhere outdoors and anchored into the ground solidly. Then, expect some birds to visit and hangout.

Apart from birds, squirrels also get attracted to the feeder poles. Birds are not troublesome but squirrels really are. If one spots your bird feeder, it will visit frequently and cause a series of annoyances: loud squeaking, birds are scared away and the food is wasted. Perhaps, these are also reasons why you should keep in mind our five following tips to keep squirrels from climbing bird feeder poles.

Tips to Keep Squirrels From Climbing Bird Feeder Pole

1. Install a squirrel proof feeder pole

A squirrel proof feeder pole is exclusively made to keep squirrels off the bird feeder pole. Here are two of the most popularly used with different features:

Greasing poles for squirrels is another good choice for you to look at. Since squirrels will struggle to climb on greasing poles and keep sliding back down. Any kind of grease and oil you can find in your house can all be used to apply on the pole. However, it is highly recommended that you should use a natural oil such as cooking oil or coconut oil for smell reduction and absolute safety. This is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to prevent squirrels from climbing bird feeder poles.

2. Locate the feeder pole away from trees

Trees and their branches are where squirrels often hang around. If your feeder pole is hooked up to one of the branches or located near them, it would be an ideal condition for squirrels to hop on the feeder from a nearby limb. This is one of the most common shortcomings, which makes your bird food source quickly get the attention of squirrels.

3. Place food squirrels don’t like

Fruit, nuts, corn and flower seeds are squirrels’ favorite. If you also feed the birds this food, you might as well replace them with something else squirrels don’t like; otherwise, they will keep visiting your feeder pole. Don’t be too concerned because squirrels don’t like everything the bird eats. It is suggested that white proso millet, safflower seed, nyjer seed are the best choices. As soon as your bird feeder is filled with these seeds, squirrels don’t even bother to come close.

4. Attach a slinky

Not only does this tip really do the trick, but it is also very entertaining to watch. Firstly, you need to attach the slinky to the hook point on top of the feeder and gradually slide it down and over the pole at the bottom. To do this, you have to detach the pole from the ground. However, you need to go for a secure size of the slinky, or else it will fall off when a heavy squirrel jumps on it.

This method is only useful when you locate the pole far away from trees. Otherwise, squirrels can jump from the top and ruin the slinky. Moreover, another wonderful hack is that you should leave a gap of about 2 feet to make it difficult for squirrels to reach the slinky from the ground. Squirrels will climb and suddenly fall when meeting the slinky, making them give up and go away in no time. Watch this video to see how efficient this method is:

5. Buy a baffle

If you install the baffle on top of the feeder pole, its steepness makes the squirrels trip over and prevent them from reaching the food source. On the other hand, if the baffle is placed from below, it will effectively interrupt squirrels while climbing. Also, don’t install the baffle too low from the ground because squirrels can easily jump over it, at least five feet high is the best height.

Conclusion

Squirrels climbing on bird feeder poles and stealing your birds’ food is absolutely inevitable. However, this problem can be solved in no time as long as you have a thorough grasp of the solutions. Hopefully, our five tips on how to stop squirrels from climbing bird feeder poles may come in handy for you. They all work effectively depending on your situation, from installing a squirrel proof bird feeder pole to attaching a slinky or a baffle. Finally, it is best if you are patient, if one tip doesn’t work, apply another; and attempt to combine a few methods at the same time.

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