Cheep Birdseed help please???

bordercars

mgardner wrote: »

Every living thing has the right to live, read eat, why would you want to discrimate against the cute squirrel. Curry powder, chilli powder etc would not be a pleasant experience for it

I agree. but all the food i put out gets ate by squirels, i dont want to feed them, so are you suggesting i stop putting the food out. the birds aint getting so why should i bother. + the damage they do to trees, shrubs etc, they even chewed the gas line on my bar b que.

youve convinced me to stop feeding the birds, which in turn will stop the squirells . job done.

brixham

Have you tried a separate squirrel feeder ?

I have one well away from the bird feeders with special squirrel food in and they seem to prefer to stick to that and leave the bird food alone.

They are quite fun to watch when two of them want to eat at the same time !

bordercars

my last post was toungue in cheek to a previous reply. i love watching the squirels, the chillie powder idea actually came from a wildlife program. it does them no harm but they dont like it leaving it free for the birds. i reckon most people watching nature wouldnt harm but do get fed up with certain creatures antics.

lka200

Squirrels are classed as tree rats around here...vermin...although i seem to like them. They are so determined to get to food that the only thing i know of is to splash out on a squirrel proof bird feeder/hanger.
i dont feed the birds myself as i have chickens and DEFRA have advised not to do so due to bird flu..although they help themselves to the seeds my darling hens dont eat

hethmar

Oblivion wrote: »

We have a squirrel, or Tree Rat as I prefer to call them, problem here. We also back onto woodland, and typically get 4 to 5 regulars coming to raid the bird feeder which I have on a pole outside the kitchen window.

I frequently carry out a cull in the woods with my air rifle fitted with a telescopic sight, and for a couple of weeks all is quiet, but then a new lot discover the area is unoccupied and move in :mad: .

Even the stronger feeders with metal fittings get chewed through in a matter of months. My neighbour had a tree rat nesting in his loft once. A power cable ran across the loft to serve an outside light that was on a timer. One day the lights fused and we went up to investigate. This tree rat had eaten away all the plastic covering from the cable along a 1 metre stretch, leaving the three wires totally bare but not touching each other. Seems they love this plastic outer coating.

This vermin got his come-uppance when he chose to have his next 'meal' just as the timer switched on ... Bzzzzzt ... one char-grilled tree rat! :rotfl: . It was very fortunate that my neighbour didn't have a serious fire. As to the damage they do to the trees, just don't get me started!

I have a new cunning plan to try out in the new year. I'm going to run a power cable out of the kitchen window and adapt a couple of wooden clothes pegs so that I can clip a live contact to one perch and a neutral contact to another perch and just lie in wait in the kitchen until a tree rat mounts the feeder. Throw the switch and ...... frying tonight!

Dave.

I do HOPE you are joking:mad: