Creative Ways To Use Repurposed Items To Keep Squirrels Out Of Bird Feeders

Picture this: You've got your bird feeders set up perfectly and have carefully selected the right kind of food to entice a variety of feathered friends — but then, the squirrels find them. Birdseed is one of the most common things that attract squirrels to yards and gardens. These voracious, intelligent creatures can decimate the contents of a bird feeder in no time, leaving the birds out of luck. And, depending on the types of feeders you have, squirrels may even damage the feeders, breaking them with their heavier body weight or gnawing at openings to get to the goodies within. 

The good news is there are ways to keep squirrels away from your bird buffet, even if you don't want to buy squirrel-proof feeders. You can use everyday items repurposed from around your home and garden to make it very difficult for bushy-tailed visitors to carry out their birdseed raids. More importantly, these squirrel-proof bird feeder DIY ideas won't scare birds away, and won't hurt the squirrels, either. They're all low-cost solutions, don't require a ton of time or effort, and it's likely that you already have what you need somewhere in your home or garage.

If your bird feeder is hanging from a shepherd's hook, this is the tip for you. Squirrels are incredibly nimble, and climbing up metal poles is easy for them due to their strong legs, hyper-flexible ankles, and sharp claws. But a Slinky can thwart them for good. Slip the Slinky over the pole of the shepherd's hook, securing one end to the curved hook part at the top. When the squirrels try to climb it, the Slinky will bounce up and down, and they won't have a good enough grip to reach the bird feeders. You can get steel Slinkys on Amazon for under $4, or grab the 6-inch Bedwina Coil Toy for pole-mounted feeders. 

If you want to be extra sure any determined squirrels won't be able to reach your bird feeders, you can take the Slinky idea a step further. Secure a thin plastic plate around the Slinky by slicing the plate about halfway through, sliding the Slinky into the slit, then securing the plate closed with weatherproof tape. Even if the squirrels are able to climb the Slinky, the plate blocks their path, and they'll be too unsteady from the bouncing to maneuver around it.

Using baffles is one of the simplest ways to keep squirrels away from your bird feeders. You can use an inexpensive plastic bowl to create a baffle. This works well with shepherd hook feeders (which are one of the best places to put a suet hanger in your yard for birds), since all you need to do is drill a hole the correct diameter through the bottom of the bowl, then slip it over the pole and secure it with adhesive or duct tape. The squirrels can't reach up around the bowl to climb over it and will eventually give up and go look for an easier meal elsewhere. 

Maybe you have your feeders on a wooden post (if not, here's how to successfully install a bird feeder pole in your yard) or hanging from the branch of a young tree. If that's the case, this is a great tip for keeping squirrels away from them. Get an approximately 2-foot-long section of galvanized stovepipe or other wide metal pipe, available at home and hardware stores. Crimp the top of the pipe to secure it a few feet off the ground around the post or tree trunk. The squirrels can't easily get around this baffle since it's hard for them to grip the smooth, wide surface.

This is another smart baffle option if you have bird feeders hanging from a metal pole or shepherd's hook. Slice the bottom off of a 2-liter soda bottle, cut long slits along the length, and slide the pole through the opening of the bottle. The plastic is too flimsy for the squirrel to grip, so they can't climb over it. A tip here is to leave as much of the soda bottle intact as possible; the taller the bottle is, the harder it will be for the squirrels to get over it.

If you're a gardener, you probably have plenty of plastic nursery pots cluttering your garden shed. Put them to use as squirrel baffles! This easy tip will work whether you have your feeders on a metal pole, shepherd's hook, or wooden post. Just pick a nursery pot that will fit around the pole; the gallon-sized pots that many perennials are sold in are a great option. The pot should be big enough that the squirrel can't just reach over it, grab on, and climb up. In this video, the creator used a binder clip to stop it sliding down the pole, but you could also use zip-ties or wrapped twine. 

If your bird feeders are set up in a way that these other tips won't work (such as if your feeders are near trees, fences, or structures, making it easy for squirrels to jump to them), this will likely be your best option. It's also the most straightforward solution — just add an unexpected ingredient to your feeders: cayenne pepper. Mix some cayenne pepper into your birdseed before filling the feeders. While birds can't taste cayenne, it'll be too potent for the squirrels and they'll find a less-spicy buffet to plunder. Other natural ingredients that can keep pests out of your bird feeder include cinnamon and black pepper.