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Archive 2020 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

morris
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

First my latest attempt:

https://www.morrisaltman.com/img/s/v-10/p3892626646-6.jpg

There is a feeder squirrel baffle that the feeder hangs from. A rope going through a pulley allows me to lower the feeder to fill it. The pulley is suspended by a rope hung between a tree and my garage. The squirrels would gout out on the rope and shake it causing the feed to drop to the ground and then they would eat. I added the tray feeder below the feeder to catch the feed. When I added the tray feeder no bird would go near the feeder for a week and then the House Finches started to eat and everyone else has followed except for House Sparrows can't figure out how to land on the feeder. This setup has worked for two months now so I'm expecting Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel to figure it out soon and then Morris iterates again.

And now, ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Enjoy!

Morris

May 31, 2020 at 09:41 AM

dclark
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Terrific video! Thanks for posting it.
Got to admire those squirrels.

Dave

May 31, 2020 at 10:39 AM

surfnron
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Good video Morris. I have a number of feeders out and have been successful in keeping the squirrels away from the ones on posts in the yard, but a raccoon managed to raid the one on a pole attached to the deck. It was big enough to bend the metal rod the feeder hung from.

Ron

May 31, 2020 at 04:01 PM

morris
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

dclark wrote:
Terrific video! Thanks for posting it.
Got to admire those squirrels.

Dave

Glad you enjoyed it Dave. Yes they are very smart and also determined.

---------------------------------------------

surfnron wrote:
Good video Morris. I have a number of feeders out and have been successful in keeping the squirrels away from the ones on posts in the yard, but a raccoon managed to raid the one on a pole attached to the deck. It was big enough to bend the metal rod the feeder hung from.

Ron

It is enjoyable Ron. Have you tried electrifying the pole?

Morris

May 31, 2020 at 04:30 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

It does not take any great engineering to make a squirrel-proof bird feeder.

Just hang the feeder between two poles/trees with 18 gauge wire. Just make sure feeder is high enough above ground and far enough from either support that the squirrel can't jump that distance.

A squirrel can't (any that I know of) make its way along a wire of that small of a gauge. Neither can a raccoon.

As you can see from the chart below, 18 gauge galvanized wire can support 75 lbs. You can usually pick up similar wire from your local dollar store for a buck or two.

May 31, 2020 at 04:37 PM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Very entertaining video, for sure and I couldn't believe it, I watched the entire clip without skipping

. Thank you, Morris!

Joshua

May 31, 2020 at 04:42 PM

surfnron
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

morris wrote:
It is enjoyable Ron. Have you tried electrifying the pole?

Morris

I did think about it, but I was afraid birds would get hurt or scared away if I did that ~ Ron

May 31, 2020 at 05:02 PM

morris
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Imagemaster wrote:
It does not take any great engineering to make a squirrel-proof bird feeder.

Just hang the feeder between two poles/trees with 18 gauge wire. Just make sure feeder is high enough above ground and far enough from either support that the squirrel can't jump that distance.

A squirrel can't (any that I know of) make its way along a wire of that small of a gauge. Neither can a raccoon.

As you can see from the chart below, 18 gauge galvanized wire can support 75 lbs. You can usually pick up similar wire from your local dollar store for a buck or two.

NYC squirrels regularly slide along lines like this. The weight of the bird feeder creates a depression in the line so it's a fun slide for them. My setup started very much like what you are describing about 10 years ago. To get a line without a depression one needs hundreds of Lbs of tension and thus a thicker line. What is your next defence Tony? It is quite a fun challenge.

Morris

May 31, 2020 at 08:27 PM

egd5
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

For several years now my system has kept all but one squirrel from getting to it. But he died of lead poisoning and no others have had success.
Stick a piece of 5" or 6" PVC pipe in the ground to where you can have at least 6' above ground. Cut a slot in it so you can mount a board (2x4 works well) to hang the feeder off of. The key is nothing must be close enough to the feeder that the squirrel can jump from (middle of the yard-no trees close). A squirrel can't jump that high straight up and the PVC is too slick to climb, especially after you wax it with car wax.

May 31, 2020 at 08:44 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

morris wrote:
NYC squirrels regularly slide along lines like this. The weight of the bird feeder creates a depression in the line so it's a fun slide for them. My setup started very much like what you are describing about 10 years ago. To get a line without a depression one needs hundreds of Lbs of tension and thus a thicker line. What is your next defence Tony? It is quite a fun challenge.

Morris

I don’t need a defence. Your setup was not exactly identical to my specs, was it?

Try building one exactly the same as my specs, then post a video showing one of your NYC squirrels sliding along the line. And you don’t need hundreds of pounds tension on an 18 gauge wire over that distance to not have enough slope for a squirrel to slide down.

Post your video on YouTube as well so more people can see it.

And you can make it even less possible for a squirrel (even New York ones) to navigate a thin wire by running the wire through loose pieces of plastic that will rotate when the squirrel climbs onto one. You can also use very strong fishing line that squirrels find harder to hold onto than wire.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/how-to/a6816/how-to-build-a-squirrel-proof-bird-feeder/

https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/feeding-birds/squirrel-proof-bird-feeders/

Edited on Jun 01, 2020 at 12:52 AM · View previous versions

May 31, 2020 at 10:23 PM

Bobg657
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Very fun video Morris!

May 31, 2020 at 10:28 PM

morris
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Imagemaster wrote:
I don’t need a defence. Your setup was not exactly identical to my specs, was it?

Try building one exactly the same as my specs, then post a video showing one of your NYC squirrels sliding along the line. And you don’t need hundreds of pounds tension on an 18 gauge wire over that distance to not have enough slope for a squirrel to slide down.

Post your video on YouTube as well so more people can see it.

And you can make it even less possible for a squirrel (even New York ones) to navigate a thin wire by running...Show more →

I'm sorry Tony, I'm not going backwards. I don't think it has anything to do with NYC squirrels, they are all smart. They will find a way if there is one. They will slide down a thin cable, or rope. Been there and done that. Build you setup and watch what happens. It will work for a while and then they will figure it out. Now replacing the cable with fishing line is an interesting idea. As what I have is working I'm leaving it alone for now. Go ahead and try it with fishing line and see what happens. Baffles do help and that's why I have one on top. I've seen them get past baffles hanging and swing by there tail. Add a second one and it will slow them more.

Morris

Edited on Jun 01, 2020 at 06:50 AM · View previous versions

Jun 01, 2020 at 06:42 AM

morris
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

egd5 wrote:
For several years now my system has kept all but one squirrel from getting to it. But he died of lead poisoning and no others have had success.
Stick a piece of 5" or 6" PVC pipe in the ground to where you can have at least 6' above ground. Cut a slot in it so you can mount a board (2x4 works well) to hang the feeder off of. The key is nothing must be close enough to the feeder that the squirrel can jump from (middle of the yard-no trees close). A squirrel can't jump that high straight up...Show more →

I would expect this to work. How did the one that got up there do it?

Morris

Jun 01, 2020 at 06:44 AM

morris
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Bobg657 wrote:
Very fun video Morris!

Glad you enjoyed it Bob

Morris

Jun 01, 2020 at 06:50 AM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

morris wrote:
They will find a way if there is one.

You got it. If there is not a way, they give up.

Build you setup and watch what happens. It will work for a while and then they will figure it out.

You didn't get it. I have already built the setup I described and they never figured it out. They were unable to hang on to the slightly sloping thin wire. Simple as that.

Jun 01, 2020 at 09:04 AM

mogul
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

I just accept them...they scatter seeds for the ground feeding birds & entertain me with their dexterity.

Jun 01, 2020 at 11:21 AM

morris
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

Imagemaster wrote:
You got it. If there is not a way, they give up.

You didn't get it. I have already built the setup I described and they never figured it out. They were unable to hang on to the slightly sloping thin wire. Simple as that.

Glad it worked for you Tony

Morris

Jun 01, 2020 at 12:08 PM

morris
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

mogul wrote:
I just accept them...they scatter seeds for the ground feeding birds & entertain me with their dexterity.

They were cleaning my feeder out in about 2 hours so not what I want.

Morris

Jun 01, 2020 at 12:09 PM

Dragonfire
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

My wife's fountain is 38" tall

Jun 01, 2020 at 12:09 PM

egd5
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · ex-NASA engineer tried to build a squirrel proof feeder

morris wrote:
I would expect this to work. How did the one that got up there do it?

Morris

I have no idea. It was sitting there filling its belly when I popped it. No others have made it, but it has been funny watching one try occasionally.

Jun 02, 2020 at 08:06 AM

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