OT: Squirrels and bird seed?

[nospambob]

Cayenne pepper has been suggested as a deterrent to keep squirrels away from seed meant for birds. We just watched some squirrels eat some then "wipe" their chin on the deck apparently to get the pepper off. It seems to deter most but some just ignore it and feed. Maybe they'll regret it later, hope so. Have read that birds aren't offended by it but we haven't had a chance to find out anything about that due to the squirrels being in the way. A male Cardinal visited for a short time prior to sprinkling the cayenne on the seeds. I seem to recall a suggestion of putting both in a container and shaking to coat the seeds with pepper as a squirrel deterrent. Any confirmation or comments?

[trader4]

I placed my bird feeder on a 4" diameter PVC pipe place in the ground. I used a hose clamp to secure one of those plant hanger arms to the end of it and hung the feeder from that. No more problems. But this will only work as long as there is nothing nearby they can jump from to get to the feeder.

[Joseph Meehan]

I understand it can be bad for some birds.

[Dick Adams]

I use habenero pepper. It wards off squirrels, rabbits, and deer.

Dick

[none]

On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 07:41:55 -0400, nospambob broke out their crayolas and scribbled:

If you have a privacy fence and they continue to to raid your feeder consider trapping, dressing and freezing them. Every once in a while cook up a bunch of squirrels. Recipes can be found on the 'Net. Properly preraired, they taste as good as the neighbors cat. ;-) There are a large variety of preparation methods. ;-)

I couldn't resist. An ornery Saturday morning.

[KLS]

Such a shame to have to waste such a delicious ingredient on these pests, but one must do what one must do. Love, love, love habanero (great taste! Better than jalapeno!).

[m Ransley]

Cayenne pepper affects any animal and birds, if you dont think its torture put a teaspoon on your lunch.. Think twice.

[John‰]                      Â]

[J. Clarke]

Now what leads you to believe that it affects birds?

You might find to be of interest.

Further, don't assume that all animals perceive tasted the same way humans do. If they did then vultures would have a real problem.

[Joseph Meehan]

Your reference does not appear to reference it, but as I understand it the pepper can damage the bird's eyes. It can also cause damage to other animal's eyes. I suppose you could test this out by trying some in your own eyes, but I would not recommend it.

[Jim Yanik]

KLS wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Why not just throw some seeds -on the ground- for the squirrel?,and then the birds can eat upstairs in peace.

[J. Clarke]

I suspect that it would take a lot more than one or two grains to do that.

Been there, done that, no lasting harm.

You see, some people actually _like_ hot peppers.

[J. Clarke]

Because squirrels don't cooperate.

[m Ransley]

Squirrel proofing a feeder is easy, many products are sold for that.

[John‰]                      Â]

So how exactly do birds get hot pepper in their eyes?

Do they rub their eyes in the peppers or pick up the peppers with their feet and then rub their eyes with their feet? How exactly do they do it?

Simple biology says that mammals are the only creatures dumb enough to eat with their hands/paws and then rub their eyes.

All species of genus Capsicum originated in Southern Bolivia and Brazil and migrated to Central and North America via migratory bird poop. A very hot pepper called the "chile pequin" or "tepin" at 30,000-40,000 Scoville units is AKA the "bird pepper" because birds eat them like candy. They then deposit the seeds along fence rows and propogate the species. It is difficult to get the seeds to germinate in your garden or planter box unless you soak the seeds in a dilute solution of muriatic acid to simulate the trip through a bird's digestive system.

Birds can eat the hottest of peppers because they just don't taste the heat. ...and they don't rub their eyes...

[Joseph Meehan]

The idea is to use Cayenne pepper powder. The powder is mixed in with the food and can become airborne as they feed.

[HeyBub]

Squirrels are "game" animals. You have to have a hunting license and it has to be the season (usually in the fall). Further, "trapping" is usually not considered to be viable hunting method.

Violations of any of the above could result in a big fine, imprisonment, and loss of consortium.

With a slingshot made of surgical tubing, and a suitable trigger, you can relocate individual squirrels into the next county.

[J. Clarke]

And they don't get pepper oil in their eyes when they eat the fruit?

[rosebud]

I used cayenne to try to dissuade squirrels at my bird feeder. It had no effect...or if it did, it wasn't to get the squirrels away from the feeder.

Bonnie

[Tvfarmer]

I have bought some of the peper seed before but it gets expensive. I bought squirrel proof feeders one just works on weight but the other one a "yankie flipper" is awsome- a little expensive but it is fun to see the squirrel fly. It has been up for a year now and is still holding a charge. see link and movie of feeder