Squirrel baffle

bouicca21

This is probably the wrong place for this question but couldn’t think of anywhere more appropriate.

i have a bird feeding station with a baffle underneath to stop the squirrels climbing up it (doesn’t stop the one who uses it as a stepping stone to the feeders but that’s another story).  It’s covered  in bird poop.  Do people wash baffles or do they just accept the mess?

oh and by the way if anyone has any ideas for a parakeet baffle, share them!  I’ve more than doubled the number of parakeets in the garden since putting up the feeders.

madjackslam

This is probably the wrong answer to this question, but I feel like I need (a) a rook baffle - there's a gang of 8 who come and pretty much demolish the feeder; and (b) a woodpigeon baffle - similar, but with the added problem of "oh, while we're here, we'll eat everything else in sight". I mean, do we really need nature?  

Misslayed

We have invested in squirrel/rat/large bird proof feeders from Homgar. Not cheap - around £28 each, but we're sure we've recouped the cost easily because of the amount of seed we're not buying. They have spring loaded perches, so if a rat/squirrel/large bird lands on one, the portal to the food is closed. Simple but effective. We do have a couple of separate traditional style feeders for our collared doves!

bouicca21

Oh, the wood pigeons aren’t a problem.  They just sit under the feeding station and hoover up whatever gets kicked onto the ground. Ditto the  crows.

And I do have supposedly squirrel proof feeders.  The parakeets and squirrels haven’t read the instructions, so they ignore the perches, cling to the side of the feeders and put their heads in.  I put a cage over one of the squirrel proof feeders and that seems to have some deterrent effect on the parakeets (but not stopped them), though I notice the little birds prefer not to use it if any of the others are vacant.

twopenny

I'd give it a wash in summer and leave it in winter..........unless it gives better purchase for the squirrels to hang on to.

For your entertainment, Baffling Squirrels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX3GwhvnmJo

I so want to grease the pole

I've got a bird house with roof that stops most but still put the fat block in a cage and the cage is wired closed and wired to the roof struts to deter squirrels and gulls.