5 Best Squirrel Proof Hummingbird Feeders
Juegoal Hummingbird Feeder with 8 Feeding Ports, Hanging Design for Birds Lover
Garden Hummingbird Feeder with Perch – Hand Blown Glass – Blue
Juegoal Window Hummingbird Feeder, 8-Ounce
Best-1 8oz. Hummingbird Feeder
BOLITE Hummingbird Feeder, Glass Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoor
Therefore, it is strong enough to hold up for years. You can easily slide open the bottom part. You can stand up the top flat section of the feeder as you refill the glass bottle. This way you can tighten it conveniently because now you have a sound grip on the glass as well as on the base parts.
Learn More: Best Woodpecker Proof Hummingbird Feeders
Tips on How to Keep Squirrels Away from Hummingbird Feeders
- Squirrels are pretty intuitive rodents. They are smart enough to teach other squirrels how to eat or drink something from bird’s feeders. Therefore, while preparing hummingbird feeders, it is always necessary to make your feeder as unappealing to other unlikely visitors like squirrels as possible. In order to ward off these furry critters, you need to make it as hard as possible for them to get their hands on any kind of nectar.
- Squirrels can jump as high as up to five feet into the air. For that reason, you need to install your feeder as high as possible and certainly not close to any tree. If you put your feeder near the ground or right next to your house, it would be an open invitation to enjoy a ‘free meal’ for any squirrel. However, if you happen to put your feeder close to any tree, you’ll need to cut down some of the branches that may give squirrels easy access to the food.
- One of the effective ways to push back squirrels is to attach slinky on the feeder pole. By doing so, the squirrels it would be quite hard for them to climb and reach for the bird food. Actually, you need to make it as hard as possible for squirrels to hold onto something. Once they realize that it is too hard to get hold onto it or reach for the food source, they will soon give up and will never come back.
- You may also consider buying a feeder with very small openings that it becomes too hard for squirrels to fit through such wires. Thanks to their smaller beak size, the hummers can still make it through any kind of opening and retrieve the nectar easily. In an effort to eat, squirrels may also seek to chew the plastic of the bird feeder. As a result, this may create sharp edges that can injure hummingbirds. In order to avoid this, you can have a feeder with a sturdy metal base or strong plastic material.
- It is important to realize how resourceful and tenacious these furry animals are. That’s why you should employ several methods to deter squirrels from the feeders.
Keep the Feeder Clean
Squirrels have a pretty keen sense of smell. With the help of this sense, not only do they communicate with each other but also find mating partners. By keeping your feeder clean all the time, you’ll less likely draw any unwanted visitors including squirrels.
Make it Difficult to Access
You can put a cage around the feeder and also put it far away so that the paws of these inquisitive rodents may not reach the feeder. Plus, the horizontal jump of a squirrel cannot exceed 5-7 feet, which means if you place the feeder far enough, it is possible to do away with it.
If the feeder drips, fix it!
When the feeder leaks, it would be something like an open invitation for these pesky animals to dine. Thanks to their extraordinary sense of smell, squirrels can easily find out the nectar spill nearby. Note down how many times you’ll have to do refills. However, if you feel like you may have to refill multiple times in a day, the odds are that your feeder may have a leakage. In that case, you’ll either have to replace the damaged part or fix it right away.
Provide Heat
If you apply a chemical called Capsaicin onto the feeder, it will provide heat to these furry creatures. The good thing is, hummingbirds won’t be affected by this heating chemical. This type of chemical is readily found in chili peppers.
Install PVC Pipe
Squirrels are very agile and can easily climb up the wooden poles. But if you cover it up with a PVC pipe, it becomes too slippery for them to have a firm grip on it.
Give the Squirrels the Food they want!
If you provide them their food like sunflower seeds far away from the feeder, it is less likely that they’ll try to make an attempt for the hummingbird feeder. Like most other wildlife, squirrels would probably go for easy pickings and hassle-free lunch.
Put a Squirrel-Baffle
Putting squirrel-baffle at the top of the pole can block up the passage for these furry creatures. A baffle is a kind of an upside-down plate with a slippery surface at the top of it. If the squirrel climbs from underneath, there is no way it can get around the baffle. Plus, the upper surface is too smooth and slippery for these animals to hang around for long.
