Friends

08 July 2011

Baffling the Squirrel!

Squirrels will be the death of me. If this doesn’t work I’m declaring war ... this being the latest idea for baffling squirrels which is probably why it’s called a Squirrel Baffle.
There are two bird feeders in the garden, both designed to defeat Sammy Squirrel. Admittedly he can’t get inside the cage but he’s a determined little chap so he soon found a way to get at the seed. It’s simple when you think about it. All he has to do is hang down from the branch, grab the frame, and rock. That way he shakes out the seed so he can eat it on the ground, along with the pigeons. Perhaps a little rock music would make the whole thing more interesting.

Pigeons are another of my pet irritations. It’s not so much them pinching all the bird seed I object to, but the mess they make in the garden and walkway. I used to hang the feeders near the house but the stinking mess on the patio and paths got too much. It took a water hose and much scrubbing of brickwork and slabs to remove the muck. I swear pigeons are the dirtiest birds on the planet.

There’s nothing they can’t get into. Pigeons and squirrels are adept at solving all problems when it comes to food. The most amazing is the way they contort their bodies to retrieve bird food from the small bucket that hangs inside an ornamental wishing well and from my lovely stone house where access is limited to four smallish holes.
Pigeons wedge themselves on the surrounding narrow water trough then stick their heads through the holes. They looked so funny I used to laugh but it’s no longer very amusing. As a result of all this we now can no longer put food in them. Okay, so let's see if they can master this one!

15 comments:

  1. Oh how I can totally relate to this. I thought the squirrels were very cute until they started eating the lawn furniture. With the addition of Tank the squirrel attacks have drastically decreased so he is earning his keep.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mean solution? Don't feed anything! lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my, you have my sympathy Val, I did battle with squirrels at our last house and here it is Jackdaws and huge squadrons of starlings in the winter. I have to protect an additional area so the smaller birds get a look in.
    And no, I never did thwart the squirrels, just made it a bit harder for them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Shifey. You've given me food for thought.... we had no problem with squirrels or pigeons when we had a dog. Perhaps I can use this as a reason to get another dog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Couldn't do that, Jinksey, the birds are struggling enough to survive without me helping them.

    Oooh, Kath, I've lost all the starlings... now I know where they all went to... grins. I suppose making it harder for the rodent is what I'm doing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I so agree with you about pigeons!

    Have you ever noticed how Starlings all seem to disappear for hours then all return at the same time?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pearl, I haven't seen a starling in the garden for a long, long time. There's plenty in the supermarket car park though ;O)

    ReplyDelete
  8. oy poor squirrels...i rather like them you know...sorry your having such the time...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Pigeons ARE the dirtiest :) Ok so lets wait and watch whether this works for you Val.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hear ya - Squirrels and Doves are just as bad in our yard. I find neither species cute nor amusing. As for your question: When I unchecked the "Blogger in Draft" option, the phrase and the check box disappeared altogether, so guess I can't "re-check" it even if I wanted to, which I don't. But believe me, you wouldn't want to check it anyway! LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Too funny, Valerie!

    A blogging friend of mine had one of those Squirrel Baffles in her yard and she said the same thing. The squirrels got the food anyway!

    "Pigeons are another of my pet irritations."

    OMG...mine too! Not only do they steal all the food from the little sparrows, but they make the parks filthy with their mess!

    " Pigeons and squirrels are adept at solving all problems when it comes to food."

    Aren't they 'magicians' at getting food?

    Have a super Saturday, dear lady!

    X

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like squirrels but not eating my garden furniture and I so agree about the pigeons, they are so dirty. Hope you are enjoying your weekend.....:-)Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  13. Squirrels are very smart animals. I saw a show once on, I don't know, maybe National Geographic, where they set up a whole obstacle course for the squirrel to figure out to get to the bird feeder, and by golly, he did! It was amazing to watch! I don't mind the squirrels eating, if they didn't make such pigs of themselves!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bernie, I didn't know they ate furniture but I did notice that part of the wooden bird table had been chewed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Val, looks like you really need to go into battle!! Hope something works for you.

    My kids get upset when pigeons are aggressive with us at the zoo. Even though I have NY kids, we are not equipped to handle those under foot pigeon attacks.

    ReplyDelete

If you're new to A Mixed Bag you might find something to interest you, a bit of mirth, a story or two, or some pictures. I'm so pleased you popped in, do leave a comment if you have time.