SQUIRREL FEEDER

[J T]

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

- =A0Dale Carnegie

[dusty]

[e-mail] (J T) wrote in news:16168-41E7F974-493@storefull-

3158.bay.webtv.net:

YEIKS! You mean people actually feed TREE RATS?

[Duane Bozarth]

They're like deer...a few are cute, but it's easy to get too much of a good thing. And, those who like to feed/watch birds are particularly adverse to feeding squirrels. Google (or just page through) some of the home repair/building ng's a little and you'll see enough horror stories to make you at least begin to see... :)

[Paul Kierstead]

Never understood the dislike for em. I feed them in my back yard; they are friendly, cute and add some life round the place. They can be little demanding, but all in all, pretty decent critters. Better'n skunks in any case.

PK

[mark]

Besides, they're good eatin!

[Glenna Rose]

Like you, at one time, I thought they were "cute" critters to have around. However, that was before they destroyed several bird feeders which were not cheap. It was also before they started chewing anything plastic they could find in the yard. While I can understand why they would chew the plastic containers that contained bird seed, what earthly reason would they have for chewing on the top of the children's playhouse? There is no food there, never was, so there is no food smell as in the storage jugs.

My neighbor has borrowed my squirrel traps twice because they have managed to get into her attic. Can you hear "wire sheathing?" Yes, they will chew electrical wires, also. While one particular squirrel will only chew through once, it has the potential of burning down someone's home.

They spread disease and are very flea-laden. I had no idea what a tremendous flea carrier they are until I started trapping them. It was merely by chance that I put a large, heavy-weight, plastic bag around the trap before I put it into my car trunk. By the time, I reached the wildlife preserve to release the critter near water and a food source, the plastic bag was crawling with fleas on the inside, at least dozens, perhaps hundreds. It was quite eye-opening as to how much of a danger these animals could be in a residential area.

When there is a high population and a chance of rabies in the area, there is the risk of bites to those who are foolish enough to encourage them to reside in their yards.

There are some of us who are sick and tired of constantly digging up little walnut and filbert trees.

While I don't mind a few around, when I see a dozen in my yard on the ground at once, it's time to start re-locating them.

Forget bird feeders with them around. For the most part, there is no way of keeping the squirrels out of the feeders. For those who want to feed the birds, I suggest the method I have found successful. I have a gazebo bird feeder which is fastened to the top of a 6-foot length of 4-inch pvc pipe. I've chosen black (sewer pipe) because black blends in better with the landscape and is not as visually distracting. Because of changing my mind all the time, I have used two 6-ft metal fence posts driven in the ground side by side (two for stability) and set the pipe around the posts to hold it upright. The feeder is fastened to the pipe via a toilet flange. The flange is bolted to the bottom of the bird feeder instead of its intended floor beneath a toilet base. Secured this way, the feeder will now set nicely over the pipe. Do not fasten the flange to the pipe to allow easy removal for cleaning of the feeder. (Flange and pipe must, of course, match in diameter.)

This arrangement for the bird feeder has worked well through severe winter storms so is stable. It is relative easy to move if relocation is desired.

Do not, of course, place this under a tree or near bushes where the squirrels can jump to the feeder; it's amazing how far those pests can jump! They are not able to climb the slick PVC surface regardless of how much they try. The six-foot high level also prevents most cats from reaching the birds that visit the feeder. Ground feeders, of course, are at risk.

Nope, squirrels are *not* welcome in my yard. They have done hundreds of dollars worth of damage. Anyone who thinks they are great to have around can have *all* of mine! Just come get them. And I haven't even gone into the single squirrel that destroyed at least 75 lugs of apricots last summer before they had a chance to get ripe; I really hope that squirrel got hit by a car since then. Because I live in town, a 22-bullet was not an option. A smart squirrel would have figured out after the first hundred or so apricots that they are *not* walnuts. No, he didn't eat the pits, either green or after they started to ripen. He actually would

*throw* them to the ground after taking only one bite. My oldest granddaughter was hit on the head with one; she was five feet from the nearest overhead branch. We rarely have the weather for a good apricot crop in our area so we were all looking forward to a good harvest. The bounty on the tree, at $12 a lug which was the selling price around here, would have produced many hundreds of dollars of fruit to sell at farmers' market, so this went beyond destroying feeders, storage containers, and children's toys.

Perhaps that helps you understand why at least one person dislikes them. Skunks? Personally, I'd rather have skunks because that would mean the possums aren't so prolific. Possums have ousted the skunks in our area as they compete for habitat, and skunks are not so aggressive and tend to stay more away from people though an encounter is much more memorable and a reason to have a lot of tomatoes around.

Glenna disliking squirrels more than any other creature

[Paul Kierstead]

I think yours might be a little more agressive then ours which can be a pest occasionally but not exceedingly so. Well, except for the bird feeder thing. The squirrels and birds share food in my yard and I do not try to "house" any birds, nor do I try to feed certain kinds of birds; I just kinda leave it as a free for all. It is interesting to watch sometimes. The Jay's will run off the squirrels for the good bits of food, like peanuts. The chickadee's hang around the edges of the zone waiting for the squirrels to get into a fight and then hop in and swipe some of the food. Doves sort of hang out, eat some of the food that has been dropped off. CHipmunks also steal out from under the squirrels, especially when they are fighting. And there are others too...all in all, a good show and great cat TV.

PK

[ranck]

I've had pretty good luck with my two bird feeders by putting up a metal baffle so they can't climb up the post, and of course keeping them far enough away from jumping off points. The platform feeder that is mounted on a 4X4 post was squirrel free for a couple of years, but a bigger nusiance showed up. My wife came almost face-to-face with a racoon sitting in that feeder one day. The baffle hadn't stopped him, but cladding the post for a couple of feet under the baffle with aluminum flashing seems to have worked. I also enlarged the baffle at the same time. The smaller feeder is on a

1/2 inch galvanized pipe, which squirrles can climb (I found out) but the tilting baffle on there has been working well for a couple of years now. The squirrels can have what the birds knock out onto the ground, and the cats keep them from getting overconfident, though I did watch one taunting a cat as they faced each other on the top rail of the wooden privacy fence.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

[Pat Barber]

[Lu Powell]

[J T]

Mon, Jan 17, 2005, 4:38pm [e-mail] (Lu=A0Powell) exclaims: Nuke the squirrels!

Hardly. You roll them in flour, fry them, and make gravy.

JOAT Charity ain't giving people what you wants to give, it's giving people what they need to get.

- Albert

[dusty]

"mark" wrote in news:P6cGd.10411$S11.8725@bgtnsc04- news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Evidently you never had the numbers that run in packs. Chew holes in your roof make nests in your attic, raid your trash cans by cutting holes in the lids, striping fruit trees just to eat the seeds and not the fruit, digging your the entire vegetable garden you just planted, or all the flowering bulbs you plant in the fall. As far as good eating I don't think I would want to try after they've raided every trash can in the area including the one behind the fast food place and quicky mart.

Come to think of it now maybe we are feeding them in a round about way.

[Steven and Gail Peterson]

I have one of the squirrel-proof feeders with a spring-loaded feeding platform that can be set to close when a (heavy) squirrel gets on it. It is quite effective, and it can be comical watching squirrels try to get around it. However, chipmunks weigh about the same as cardinals, for instance. So the spring can't be set to keep chipmunks out, and they are much more of a problem than squirrels. They will keep coming, removing seeds, and taking them away to bury them, until the feeder is empty. A baffle is about the only way.

Steve

[Bill Stock]

Damn squirrels have conquered my baffle. They climb the pole under the baffle, hang on to the pole with their back feet, grab the edge of the baffle with their front feet and climb on top. Then they can hop from the top of the baffle to the feeder. I already had to raise the pole to stop them jumping from the ground, so perhaps a bigger baffle.

The Rock Doves are a bigger PITA than the squirrels in any event.

[CWNoah]

Just be sure you place it so that there's nothing downrange when you shoot the little buggers! ;^)

Regards, Charlie Noah

Subject: SQUIRREL FEEDER From: [e-mail] (J T) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:55:16 -0500

is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

- =A0Dale Carnegie