If you ever put up a birdfeeder, you might find that soon enough you are getting more than just birds. Squirrels are very good at finding sources of food, and they can easily maneuver onto most bird feeders to get their fill of seed. But believe it or not, there are ways to keep squirrels out of your feeders and ways to only provide food for the birds.
New York is home to several different species of squirrels. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is probably the one you are most familiar with. This gray-colored squirrel with a bushy tail is common in woods, suburbia and cities. If you are seeing black squirrels, they are not a separate species, but a dark colored morph of the Gray Squirrel. The Red Squirrel is often found around evergreen trees, where they like to eat the seeds from pinecones. They are small but feisty and will chase after the larger gray squirrels. Chipmunks are also in the squirrel family and are common sights in backyards where they will build elaborate tunnel systems to live, breed, and store food. Even the woodchuck, or groundhog, is in the squirrel family. Although they can climb trees, you are most likely to see them on the ground grazing on grasses, dandelions, and other plants. There is another type of squirrel that is quite commonin upstate New York, but you may have never seen any because they are most active at night. New York is home to two species of Flying Squirrels. These squirrels get their name from the flaps of skin that stretch from their forelimbs to their hindlimbs which allow them to glide among the treetops. If you have a bird feeder going empty throughout the night, they may be the culprits.
If you already have feeders and squirrels are getting to them, look at your feeder pole setup. It is possible to “squirrel proof” your setup using what’s called a baffle. Baffles are usually made of metal and can be added to a pole to keep squirrels from climbing up the pole and getting to the feeders. Squirrels can jump about five feet straight up, seven feet across, and nine feet diagonally or down from a high object, so sometimes positioning a pole out of reach of a squirrel can be a challenge. The baffle should be mounted to the pole so it’s at least four feet off the ground or the squirrel can jump over it. If the pole is close to a deck, house, or tree, squirrels can sometimes launch themselves on to the top of the pole in a way that avoids the baffle. If possible, set up your feeding station pole at least seven feet away from any tree or structure and not under any trees for best results. When putting a baffle on the pole isn’t possible, try a slinky (the Slinky brand produces a version, but there are others). These are exactly what they sound like, large springs that attach to a pole. When the squirrel tries to climb the pole, its weight causes the slinky to descend, bringing the squirrel to the ground. There are also hanging baffles that feeders can be hung from to keep squirrels out if they are climbing down something to get to the feeder.
Another way to keep squirrels out is with a squirrel-proof bird feeder. There are many on the market, but some are far better than others. Most squirrel-proof feeders are weight sensitive, so the weight of the squirrel drops down a cage or door which makes it inaccessible to the squirrel. Birds have hollow bones and very light feathers, so they don’t weigh nearly as much as squirrels and they can easily feed from these feeders without causing them to close. There are quite a few styles of squirrel-proof feeders—those for sunflower seed, peanuts, suet, nyjer, and more. There are also birdfeeders with cages around them, which keep the squirrels out, but also keep out large birds like Cardinals, therefore usually only allowing for small birds like Chickadees to fit inside to feed.
Seed can make a difference when trying to keep squirrels out of feeders, too. Squirrels tend to avoid the nyjer seed that goes into finch feeders, so it is possible to hang a finch feeder from anywhere, even a tree, and still have it be squirrel-proof. Another option is to feed safflower seed. Safflower is popular because squirrels don’t like it, and neither do blackbirds like Grackles that are known to raid feeders, especially this time of the year when they are hungry from migration.
If all else fails, you can always feed the birds seed that has been treated with a coating of hot pepper seasoning. Squirrels do not eat seed that is spicy, and the same goes for deer. Birds don’t have as many taste buds as mammals do and they either don’t taste or don’t mind the hot pepper on the seed. There are hot sauces that can be purchased to coat the seed you already use and there is seed on the market that comes pre-treated, making it simple to pour into a feeder.
Although it can take some trial and error, it is very possible to feed the birds without having most of the food going to squirrels. If you decide you do want to give the squirrels a little something, there are also feeders and food targeted just for them.
Liz Magnanti is co-owner of the Bird House in Brighton.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Upstate Gardeners’ Journal.
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