Feeders are one of the best ways to attract different birds to your yard or balcony. Various feeders are available online and in the local stores to choose from. You might have noticed that, sometimes apart from birds, squirrels or other mammals can get over the feeders for some treat. So in this article, let us look at whether squirrels eat from the suet feeders or not.
Can squirrels get into suet feeders?
A suet feeder is a unique type of feeder having a metal cage structure in which suet bricks are added. Many of you might be unaware of suet, so let me tell you. Suet is basically a raw hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the kidneys and loins. This suet is mixed with various other ingredients like the seeds, dry fruits, nuts, etc, which the birds and the mammals love.
So, if you want to attract squirrels along with the different birds, then this is one of the most suitable feeder to choose from. The suet feeders are also available in various designs like cage suet feeders, tail prop suet feeders, cylindrical suet feeders, suet ball feeders, etc. Choose the one that you think would be most attractive for the birds and mammals and enjoy watching them in your yard.
But, if you want to attract only birds, then you can buy suet feeders that are squirrel-proof. These feeders have a double layer of cage. The inner cage holds the suet food mixed with the seeds loved by the birds, and the outer cage has a bit wider space between the rods of the cage so only the birds can enter from it and have their treat.
Now, you might wonder why the squirrels enter the bird feeders or what attracts them to these suet feeders. So, here are some of the reasons for the same.
Love High-Fat food
Squirrels like food that contains high fat and high proteins in them. And as suet feeders contain suet which contains high fats, squirrels are attracted to it and come to your feeder to satisfy their hunger.
Love nuts, seeds and dry fruits
The suet is usually mixed with various seeds, dry fruits, and nuts that the squirrels like to eat. Hence due to this, you can often find them near your suet feeder.
They are lazy
Squirrels usually find their favorite food readily available in the feeders, and they don’t have to wander to different places in search of food. So, to ease their task, they come to your feeders for a treat.
Doesn’t have to open the shells
We all know that squirrels like nuts more than other food items. And these suet feeders have small kernels like almonds, peanuts, walnuts etc., readily available, so the squirrels don’t have to open the hard shells. Therefore to eat these delicious nuts without any effort, these squirrels come to your yards.
Doesn’t have to fight for food
When squirrels wander searching for food, they sometimes have to fight with other squirrels there to grab the food and satisfy their hunger. So this is not the scenario when eating from the feeder, as they don’t have to fight there for the food.
Get the food at the same location
The squirrels know that the feeders are set up at the same place every day, and so they don’t have to go around to find food in new places.
How to keep the squirrels away from the suet feeders?
Squirrels are the uninvited guests that you can always see near your feeders. They come there to eat the readily available favorite food from the feeder, which you have kept for the birds. Most of you might not like these uninvited guests and only want to feed the birds.
So in such a scenario, here are a few tips that would be helpful to you to keep the squirrels away.
Food that squirrels don’t like
To keep the squirrels away, the first thing you can do is not to add their favorite food in the feeder. They mostly like nuts, fruits, corn, and sunflower seeds. So, apart from these, you can add food that they don’t like, but the birds like, such as safflower seeds, white proso millet, and nyjer seeds.
Keep feeders away from the tree
Squirrels are amazing climbers, so if you place your feeder near the tree, they are more likely to access the feeder easily. So try hanging the feeder in a place where the squirrels cannot climb.
Hang squirrel-proof feeder
One of the best ways to keep the feeder away is hanging a squirrel-proof feeder. Due to their protective design, these feeders will only provide food to the birds and won’t allow the squirrels to feed from it. The squirrel-proof feeders are available in various designs, so you have plenty of options to choose.
Install a baffle
If you already have a feeder installed on the pole, you can buy a baffle and place it on top instead of putting it elsewhere. So, when the squirrel jumps on the baffle to get to the feeder, its slips down due to its slippery texture. Hence, the baffles prevent the squirrel from eating the seeds of other food items from the feeder that are kept for the birds.
Conclusion
Squirrels are always the uninvited guests that you will find in your yard. Being a lazy animal, feeders are the constant food source for them as they don’t have to search for food in different places, and they get it every day in the same place. As the feeders are mostly filled with the food items that the squirrels like they tend to get to it to satisfy their hunger. But, if you don’t like them near your feeder, then kindly try the above ways that will help you get rid of them. If you know any other way of preventing squirrels from coming to your feeder, do share it with the other readers in the comment section below.
