A Bird Feeder That Actually Prevents Squirrels From Getting Bird Food

If you have a bird feeder outside of your home, you have almost certainly done battle with persistent squirrels that see your bird feeder as an endless supply of food, even though it is not meant for them. This can be terribly frustrating since so many of the bird feeders that claim to be squirrel-proof turn out to be easily accessed by the crafty little creatures. I know, because I have been through a number of bird feeders and approaches that failed to live up to their squirrel protection claims. Finally fed up, I decided to do some research to see if there are actually any bird feeders in existence that can outwit squirrels. I finally found one!

When I found a bird feeder that actually prevents squirrels from eating the bird food inside, I was like “Wow! Why didn’t someone think of this idea sooner?” The Squirrel Buster Classic Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder uses a natural force that even squirrels cannot overcome, that being gravity. The exterior is a wire cage that is hung by a sturdy spring. When a heavy squirrel grabs onto the wire cage, gravity pulls it down and covers the lower area of the feeder where the bird food is accessible. Brilliant!

I can attest to the fact that it has been effectively preventing squirrels from gaining access to bird food in this bird feeder. It was rather amusing to watch them try to access the food. When I first hung up the feeder, squirrels showed up looking for an easy meal, as they were so accustomed to doing. They spent a great amount of time climbing on the bird feeder only to see its cage drop and block their access to bird food. The were perplex and appeared to try their best to overcome the obstacle in front of them. The squirrels eventually gave up, as they determined that their efforts were futile. After all these years of battling squirrels, success!

That’s not to say that this bird feeder has been 100% effective for all people in all situations. I have read reviews where people stated that crafty squirrels figured out a way to prop themselves between a pole or another object close to the bird feeder, so they can access the bird food without latching onto the wire cage. However, this seems to be a problem that humans can solve by figuring out a way to hang the feeder in a location in which squirrels cannot gain access to it in this manner.

I use a six-foot-high thin metal plant hanging pole to hang the bird feeder and installed it away from any man-made objects or trees that could allow a squirrel to avoid engaging the wire cage on the exterior of the bird feeder. That was all it took to finally let the birds eat in peace and let squirrels be squirrels and spend time collecting acorns to eat and store for the long winter ahead.

If you want to see a funny example of how persistent squirrels are regarding getting food from a bird feeder, watch this humorous video of a squirrel that refuses to let go of a bird feeder designed to spin as a deterrent to squirrels. This is not a bad idea to keep squirrels off a bird feeder; however, squirrels are very stubborn and determined and will put up with a lot to try to get to bird food. This approach is overly-complicated and requires batteries. A feeder that simply uses a spring and gravity to keep squirrels from getting to bird food is a better option.