I am at my wits end with the
squirrels in my garden. I spend good money buying bird seed – FOR THE BIRDS –
and squirrels scoff the lot. Well, no more. I get too worked up over it so I
have decided to save my money and spend it on something else. What that
something else is will no doubt come to me as time goes by.
Last year I bought a new bird table
and loved it. The roof on the old one was partially wrecked by the squirrel but
the table itself was still in use. The other day I noticed that the roof had
virtually disappeared. The panels were lying on the ground, well gnawed by said
squirrel. That same day I noticed the gnawing was taking place on the new bird
table. That did it! Either I kill the squirrels or I stop using the bird
tables.
I still have a lot of bird seed and
nuts waiting to be doled out so, rather than throw it away, I have decided to
sprinkle it on a bed of weeds at the back of the garden and when disposed of I
will stop feeding them altogether. I’m afraid my sanity needs to be considered
more than the birds.
Nothing works. Many things have
been tried by experts – and failed. There is nothing one can do about the
squirrels. I feel sad for me and the birds, though. Thank goodness there is
plenty of natural food around for my feathered friends - I just hope they get on okay when winter
arrives.
That's a real problem you have there. I wish I knew the answer.
ReplyDeleteTreey, I have pondered on the problem for many years and tried most things. In the end it comes down to money, I can't keep on feeding squirrels who scoff everything in minutes.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you have such destructive squirrels. There is no answer, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteWould rat poison work? Squirrels are a pain in the butt I agree, they get into our loft and chew through the wires. I put rat poison up there and it works well. I'm not a fan of killing animals but when they cause damage etc. what else can you do?
ReplyDeleteTHis battle has been going on forever and the squirrels have not lost yet.
ReplyDeleteWe couldn't stop them either and in fact they invited raccoons to come in and eat too.
ReplyDeleteSharon, you are right, although I kept trying.
ReplyDeleteJoe, it's more a case of not harming other animals.... like my cat. That's why I wouldn't resort to poison. I thought about buying a trap but it's illegal to do anything other than shoot them - and I'm not forking out for a gun!
ReplyDeleteJanet, are raccoons as destructive as squirrels?
ReplyDeleteDon't leave any food for a couple of weeks. They might go somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteOver fifty some years my hunting dogs &/or German Shepard's have kept our property squirrel free...:)
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, Valerie I don't know what to say because as you know, I love squirrels so much however, I've not had to deal with them in the way you have. I know they can be destructive because I've heard that from MANY people.
ReplyDeleteCould you just skip using the bird tables and just toss the food out onto the grass or weeds and let the birds and squirrels fight it out? I mean, I watch that all the time in the park I sit. People feed both the birds and squirrels everyday, and sometimes the birds get the food, other times it's the squirrels.
I do hope you can work this out - for both the birds AND the squirrels.
Have a lovely weekend, dear friend!
X to you and Charlie
Squirrels are notorious for this, my Dad has a yard full of destroyed bird feeders and extremely well fed squirrels, he has tried different things but the squirrels catch on really quickly.
ReplyDeleteHi Jimmy, it seems there is no answer to the squirrel problem, except non-feeding. Fortunately I am surrounded by trees and shrubs so the birds get a fair amount of food. I wonder if they miss me?!
ReplyDeleteHi Ron. I tried feeding on the lawn itself but the squirrels not only beat the birds to the food but they also dug holds in the lawn. You should see the mess it makes when it does the latter. Thing is, bird food costs money and it bothers me when I find I'm forking out for brds and the squirrel eats the lot. It doesn't matter what I put out the squirrel gets there first. Cute little b......s aren't they?
ReplyDeleteTB, you are right; when we had dogs we never had squirrels and not many birds either. Sadly I can't have another dog.
ReplyDeleteTreey, I think the only answer is the action I've taken. I overheard a neighbour having a moan about the squirrels... I'll wait for the bomb to fall!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the answer will come to you. Have faith.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, they can be voracious little beggars. Feel for you as I know how much you enjoy the birds. I stopped feeding them in the summer months and even bought squirrel-proof bird feeders but if there's a will, there's a way. We found that even if so much as a seed fell in the cracks, they gnawed at the wood of our deck to get to it.
ReplyDeleteDenise, I can't remember the amount of squirrel-proof feeders we bought, to no avail. The squirrel will always find a way. There is one, made and sold in America that spins the squirrel off as soon as he lands on the feeder. From memory it was very expensive.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hear you about the squirrels! I gave up too, a few years back. Now I just have a hummingbird feeder. Even that, I had to hang from a roof line over my deck so that the raccoons couldn't get to it. I do love the hummers. Very easy to feed, no mess, and no squirrels!
ReplyDeleteI feed birds too and so far only have a couple of squirrels that come around.They're fun to watch but quite destructive. As long as they don't invite friends, I'll keep feeding.
ReplyDeleteCarole, I wish we had hummingbirds. I would be in my element watching those. It's a relief to know someone else gave up on the squirrels.
ReplyDeletekden, believe me squirrels can multiply. l, then 2, then half a dozen. Do let me know if this happens where you live.
ReplyDeleteWell, I suppose you could call the pest control. They really are a menace! Good luck....
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than a 22 for removing your squirrel problem.... but you have to wait until hunting season...and then you have to wait until your neighbors are not around. ( if in city limits) Nothing tastes better than squirrel... or rabbit, or pheasant or grouse... Ah but my hunting days are far behind me now.
ReplyDeleteThe squirrels in our area destroyed one of my hummingbird feeders, our creeping vine flower ( they use it to climb up to the bird feeder.... only to destroy the fragile vine! Grrr. I had to remove the feeder just to save the vine I have been nursing. Last year the cat helped keep them away somewhat... but he would catch the birds! And the squirrels STILL found a way into the feeder. I'm telling you...22 short and wait for the neighbors to leave. Eat the evidence for Sunday wild game dinner...
Jenny, I have given up feeding the birds ... that should do the trick.
ReplyDeleteGreat Ethan Allen, there are strict regulations here about killing squirrels.... shooting is the only humane way. I don't fancy that.
ReplyDeleteValerie, I really feel badly for the birds and for you as well because you can't enjoy feeding them because of those darned squirrels. Thankfully, we never seemed to have very many in VA and never at the feeders. Maybe the ones in your area just like the neighborhood better?
ReplyDeleteWe have the same problem. We quit putting seed out for the birds because of the squirrels. We did purchase a trap and that worked great, except we had to deal with the 'bodies'. A friend has the same trap and he takes trap and squirrels down the road a few miles and releases them. I made the mistake of putting seed out again the other day and voila! Squirrels were right back in our yard.
ReplyDelete