12 Easy Ways to Keep Pesky Squirrels Out of Your Bird Feeders for Good

Squirrels are known for feasting on bird seed and, because to their ability to reach high places and jump daring distances, it often seems that no bird feeder is off limits. Not only do they eat all of the nutritious food you’ve put out for your feathered friends, but they make a giant mess in the process, too, scattering seeds everywhere.

Fortunately, there are more than a few natural ways to deter squirrels from your bird feeder, leaving food for the birds. Here are 12 ways you can keep squirrels out of bird feeders.

Use a Baffle on Your Bird Feeder

A baffle is a cone-shaped top, often made of metal, that goes on top of your bird feeder. This piece of metal can go above a hanging feeder, and it creates an unsteady, smooth surface that a squirrel will not be able to hang onto.

Without anything to grip, the squirrels will slide right off and, hopefully, learn that this feeder isn’t open for business.

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Try Safflower Seeds 

While, eventually, squirrels will eat just about anything, there are some seeds that are less appealing to them than others.

Safflower seeds, which are from a striking annual plant, are usually not the first choice of squirrels. They may leave your feeder alone if you use safflower seeds in it, but the birds will still enjoy them.

Make a Cinnamon Spray

There are certain scents that are totally unappealing to a squirrel, and one of those is cinnamon. If you make a spray of water with cinnamon, cayenne, or peppermint, you’ll have a seemingly magic potion to stave off the squirrels.

Spray it around your bird feeder regularly, and take care to re-spray anytime it rains.

Pick Up after the Birds

While squirrels have a strong sense of smell, it’s not typically the aroma of bird seed that draws them in. A squirrel could be running along when they see a few seeds scattered about. They look up, and there it is—the bird feeder.

If you regularly sweep up around where the bird feeder is, you could prevent the squirrels from ever knowing it’s there.

Put Your Feeder up High

We’ve all seen squirrels pull impressive stunts, jumping from one tree to the next with seemingly minimal effort. But they’re not birds, they can’t fly, and they don’t necessarily like to jump daring distances regularly.

Typically, if your feeder is higher than five feet and farther than seven feet from a tree, you might be safe from curious squirrels looking to jump for their food.

Feed the Squirrels

The squirrels raiding your bird feeder probably aren’t starving, but it doesn’t hurt to give them their own stash of food to distract them.

Put a feeder on the ground and fill it with peanuts or dried corn—two of their favorite foods. The hope is the squirrel will be distracted and well fed, so it won’t need to worry about your birds’ mealtime anymore.

Get a Squirrel-Proof Feeder

Sometimes it’s as simple as getting a bird feeder that the squirrels can’t get into. Squirrel-proof bird feeders have openings that squirrels cannot reach into and, in some cases, they’re activated by a bird landing on them.

Create an Obstacle Course

Put two poles at least seven feet apart, then string the bird feeder on wire between the poles. On either side of it, string empty soda bottles. When the squirrels try to tightrope walk their way to the feeder, they’ll find they’re unable to stay balanced on the smooth bottles, but it’ll be a cakewalk for any bird.

Put a Slinky on the Pole

While this may seem silly when you’re at the toy store buying a slinky for the first time in decades, it’s actually a great way to create an inexpensive barrier to squirrel entry.

Put a slinky just below your bird feeder so that squirrels will hit it right before they get to the feeder. The slinky will slide back down the pole, giving the squirrel a nice elevator ride to the ground.

Hang Strong Soap Near the Feeder

You may see a shower in the morning with a minty soap as refreshing, but a squirrel can’t stand that strong, fresh scent. Hang a bar of soap in a sock near the feeder in the hopes that the fragrance will keep squirrels far away.

Use the Scent of Animal Urine

If a squirrel smells the urine of one of its predators, it’s going to stay far away. You can buy coyote urine at home improvement stores or online, and spray it on your bird feeder pole to repel squirrels. You will have to re-spray weekly and after every rain.

Build the Feeder Pole From Copper or PVC

Watching a squirrel shimmy up a metal or wood pole shows you that they’ve done this before. Squirrels are skilled in making their way to high places, but if you choose a pole made from copper or PVC rather than metal or wood, you’re creating an unfriendly environment for the squirrels, which is exactly what you want to keep them away.