Making a bird feeder pole super slick - advice please

[Sam Murdoch]

This has been a completely squirrel proof bird feeder for many years (though as you can see from the T Day appropriate photo below - not Turkey proof :))

275858

This summer, after relocating about a dozen gray squirrels far off my property, 2 or 3 new grays have moved in. Apparently they were developed from a better gene pool. One of these guys learned how to perfectly balance him/her self, with the hind feet on the pole and the fore feet between the perch and the feed tray, in order to feed contentedly, if not in complete comfort. It finally occurred to be that I needed to make the galvanized pole more slippery. Tried vaseline and/or lithium but that was messy for me and for the squirrels too and did not have the desired result - the rest of the family has learned the same balancing act.

I found a chrome finished tube that nicely sleeved over the galvanized pipe. Up from 1/2" pipe to 3/4" pipe but with a much smoother finish. I have used some Mothers car wax to make the chrome tube even slicker and that has promise. The gray tried a few times this morning but had to give up. Something was wrong but he wasn't patient enough to try to figure it out in the pouring rain.

MY QUESTION - can anyone recommend the very slickest of waxes or treatments I can apply to this pole? Maximum slick please - weatherproof if possible but I'm willing to reapply weekly if it works. Thank you for any ideas.

PS - Don't suggest a 22 caliber or the like. :rolleyes: I won't put out food and then kill a creature just because it wants to eat. That's just wrong!

PPS - I have raised the pole so that the feeder is out of reach of the turkeys. That was an easy fix :D.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Sam,

On the Discovery Channel IIRC a few years ago, there was 1 hour program about a study done in England to try to determine how intelligent squirrels were and what their analytic abilities were. It amounted to 3 very tall poles and platforms on each pole with different complex mazes on them with the 3rd pole/platform having a final maze and food. IIRC, access to the third platform required completing the mazes on the previous platforms and so on. Within a short period of time the squirrels figured out how to complete the mazes in the proper order to gain access to the food.


Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5SsejF8WiE

Good luck!

[Sam Murdoch]

Very funny - I have lots of stories and photos of all my ACME devices over the years too. I actually get a kick out of them out smarting me and eventually they always do - except for the platform feeder mounted above an 18" diameter mooring ball. That one is utterly fool proof except to bears (which is not an issue in our back yard). As for the one shown above, this one has been an invincible challenge for at least 4 years. Just recently have these very few smart squirrels figured out a system. Now they are teaching it to the neighbors and the next generation. I think the slick pole will do the trick if I can only make it slippery enough.

Won't stop the raccoons though. The very successful raccoon baffle needed to come down because the new gene pool squirrels were using it as a brace. Took that away and then they figured how to wrap their little toes around the pole. And so it goes…

Hellllllllp!

[Larry Edgerton]

Sam

I watched a pair of squirrels on one job work the system the fellow had come up with. He had put a coffee can on fishing line attached to a slender steel pole. The squirrels tried for days to get to the feed, could climb out on the pole but not down the fishing line without falling off. About the third day I happen to be watching and a squirrel climbed up the pole, hand over handed the can up almost to him, and just let it drop. When it bounced much of the seed bounced out of the can and he and his buddys enjoyed the feast.

I like squirrels more than birds, so it does not bother me. Except red squirrels of course, I have a war going on with them at my new place. I will win.

Larry

[Mel Fulks]

Sam ,try Waterlox . Yes ,when it dries it won't be as slick ....but it will be sticky and smelly ,then just smelly ! When I was single and wanted to break up with a girlfriend I used it for aftershave lotion.

[Larry Edgerton]

Oh ya, got sidetracked. I was going to suggest a exhaust stack from a semi. Smooth, slippery, and a large enough diameter that they could not grip from both sides.

Larry

[David Weaver]

We literally used axle grease when I was young, but you have to keep reapplying it.

I don't feed birds now, but my dad has gone to using wide diameter PVC pipe.

[Kev Williams]

Have you tried waxed paper? (Didn't any of you sit on waxed paper on the slippery slide in elementary school? After a few trips the slide would be slick as ice!)

Another option would be to change out the galvanized pole for an HDPE pole...

[Sam Murdoch]

Yikes you guys :D. No to Waterlox or axle grease :confused:. Though I'm certain either of these on my face would be useful towards a future goal of becoming a hermit.

Never in my life have had access to an exhaust stack from a semi - so that's not a good option.

HDPE would be laughed at by the squirrels as they dug their little talons in and besides the chrome finished sleeve will work well enough if I can get it more slippery.

The objective is not to keep them from climbing the pole - they can jump right to the perch no problem - but rather to keep them from having a secure place to rest their hind feet as they try to balance without tripping the bar. If they can't rest their hind feet they end up hanging all their weight off their front feet and that makes eating impossible.

Waxpaper though hmm, that has merit. Simple to reapply and yes quite effective on slides and sled runners.

I thought for sure someone would come on with - here try this "brand X" - nothing more slippery on this great earth. Oh well - wax paper and/or Mothers car wax for now. Still waiting for a "great" solution :). The squirrels, meanwhile, remain slowed down but undaunted.

Thanks for the ideas though :rolleyes:.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Sam
I made a rat guard out of sheet metal, like they use on ship mooring lines. has worked great for years. Tom

[Lee Schierer]

Mix some cayenne pepper with the bird seed, it won't affect the birds, but the squirrels won't like it. They will soon learn that the feed isn't for them.

[Larry Edgerton]

A glass roof that extends out far enough that the squirrels can not go under the edge but the birds can fly under to get the feed. That way you are not just keeping them out but teasing them at the same time.

Larry

[randall rosenthal]

i made a baffle out of aluminum flashing. works great. the key is its not rigid. they grab at
it and it bends. they fall off.

[Scott Shepherd]

Crisco works really well. Just slather it on the pole and sit back and watch. They'll jump up grab it, hang on tight and slide down the pole. They are quite smart, they will only try it a couple of times before they stop trying. It's cheap, it's easy, and it'll wear/wash off over time.

Make sure you are drinking a drink when you watch it the first time. It will make you spit it out in laughter, it's very funny, and it's not hurtful to the little fellas.

[Lee Reep]

I think you will find that trying to wax or oil a pole is an effort in futitlity. Our squirrels could eventually shinny up slick Shepherds Hook to get to a feeder, which basically is a 1/2" diameter metal rod. My current solution is a redwood 4X4 post used as the birdfeeder pole, and I found a squirrel baffle that fits the pole. I found it at Wild Birds Unlimited. It is basically a 6" diameter metal pipe, about 18" long, with a slight texture on the outside (it looks kind of like a black stovepipe). It has flanges to screw to the post, and has a square opening at the top that fits snugly to the post. In two years I've never had a squirrel get to the feeders. But I wouldn't doubt that some day they'll figure out a technique. My previous baffle was an 18" pizza pan with a square hole. In one week the squirrels learned to climb to the base of the pizza pan, and jump to the edge of it, hanging on with front paws. It was a simple gymnastic move to get onto the top of the pan and up to the feeders.

Their latest trick is to run at an angle to climb the wall by our kitchen window, and leap to the globe bird feeder that is about 8 feet off the ground, and about a foot out from the wall. They used to just hang on long enough to realized they could not get into it, and drop off. Now they hang on the bottom, and shake the globe. The seed comes out of the tube feeder inside the globe, rolls along the bottom of the feeder, and into their open mouths.

I've learned to embrace them, and I feed them as well as the birds. Trying to fight them is just a losing proposition, and a way to drive yourself crazy. :)

[Dave Richards]

When I was a kid my dad built a feeder to put up in the backyard. To keep the squirrels off, he put white grease on the pole. The squirrels ate the grease of the pole and were back to the feast. We built a huge round metal tray (a shallow, inverted cone) and put that on the pole. That kept the squirrels off until they discovered they could jump from the overhead telephone line and land in the tray. Much bigger target than the roof of the feeder. So after moving the feeder away from the telephone line we had a squirrel proof feeder. There was a side benefit to the tray. The blue jays would get up on the feeder and scatter the seeds to get at the sunflower seeds. In the spring we'd have millet and who knows what coming up in the yard. The tray caught most of that and the little birds were happy enough to eat down there.

[fred marcuson]

had a shepherds hook with a bird oh it , got tired of the tree rats invading it .
Vaseline on it took care of it :)

[Bill Gugel]

Mix vaseline with cayenne pepper and apply to pole. They don't like sticky paws,or the pepper.

[Greg Peterson]

If I understand the matter correctly, the pole directly under the feeder is an integral foothold, without which the squirrels would not be able to feed. Eliminating the foothold is the key. Correct?

What if you were to place a funnel shaped guard under the platform that would cover the upright support to a point below which their feet can gain a purchase?

Or, a PVC tube that just barely stays suspended by a spring. Once they place a foot on it, it drops just enough to leave them hanging. It doesn't have to drop far, just enough to prevent them from getting an initial foothold.

Or a smooth glass tube that can easily spin.

[ray hampton]

I've learned to embrace them, and I feed them as well as the birds. Trying to fight them is just a losing proposition, and a way to drive yourself crazy. :)



I agree , why not feed both birds and squirrels and do not forget to feed the hawks when they visit

[Sam Murdoch]

If I understand the matter correctly, the pole directly under the feeder is an integral foothold, without which the squirrels would not be able to feed. Eliminating the foothold is the key. Correct?

What if you were to place a funnel shaped guard under the platform that would cover the upright support to a point below which their feet can gain a purchase?

Or, a PVC tube that just barely stays suspended by a spring. Once they place a foot on it, it drops just enough to leave them hanging. It doesn't have to drop far, just enough to prevent them from getting an initial foothold.

Or a smooth glass tube that can easily spin.


Yes - Greg, you've got the picture and all your solutions should do the trick. Good feedback.

I do embrace these guys too as part of the feeder family, but they have plenty of feeding options around the yard so will not starve even if this one becomes off limits. Meanwhile, I think we all enjoy the sport. Just that it's time for me to win one game :).

[Curt Harms]

and feed the little critters. To use SWMBO's own phrase, she ain't wrapped too tight.:)

[Dave Kirby]

Ultra-High powered air pellet rifle with scope will always be my choice. They still can't figure out how to get past that.

[Kevin Bourque]

Ultra-High powered air pellet rifle with scope will always be my choice. They still can't figure out how to get past that.

+1

On the menu at my feeder: sunflower seeds and hot lead.
There's a line to get in, but few repeat customers.

But if thats too extreme, why not use spray silicone for the pole.

[Chuck Darney]

The OP already discounted the "lead" solution. I guess you could get a different kind of feeder. One like thios won't hurt the squirrels but it sure is fun to watch!

http://www.drollyankees.com/hproducts/squirrel-proof-feeders-and-accessories/yankee-flipper-yf.html

[Jeff Erbele]

As far as a repellant, no wild life that I know of will touch Tabasco Sauce. The thing is rain or water otherwise will dilute it or wash it away eventually. I have an industrial size bottle I bought at Sam's Club or Costco that I sprinkle on our rock mulch where racoons have a nightly route through the neighborhood on their garbage can raid or lunch route otherwise. Most of the neighbors have their garbage can lids bungee'd but they search for those that forgot or any other opportunity. This year I thought they finally packed up and moved on, but after the frost they were back. I figured out what was keeping them out of our yard. I had a patch of volunteer dill that took over smack in the middle of their route. As long as it was fresh, growing and aromatic it worked perfectly. The first hard frost changed that.

Slippery - spray silicone is the first thing that came to mind. And yes as a kids we saved our little wax paper squares from the lunch room where pastries or cake was served on, cleaned off the crumbs and frosting, sat on them and rode them down the slide. We had it slick as can be.

Instead of slippery, I have two ideas, neither of which I have refined:

The Diving Board - something springy, flexible where the object never stands still enough to support their weight or get a firm foot hold. Anti bird spikes or anti roosting spikes come to mind. Or get some scrap steel banding tape, used on shipping pallets. Cut it in strips maybe a foot long. Put 1" in a vise and bend the longer tail to a 90 degree angle. Get a hose clamp that fits around pole and install it loosely. Stick the short legs of the banding between the clamp and the pole. This probably is going to require several hands. Tighten the hose clamp. You will need a lot of L-shaped banding to prevent their claws from reaching the hose clamp.

The Tread Mill - for this you need something that spins like a hamster wheel, but you need 360 coverage around the pole. I haven't figured out a fool proof way how to build and mount such a device yet. The best I came up with was first ball bearings, but even with inexpensive ones, the whole project could be costly, plus their cross section is rectangular and for the application one needs a wedge shape. That's impossible, to have a rotating bearing wide on one side and narrow on the inside. It would have to be a variable width as it spins.
That caused me to think of just the balls, but those are too hard to drill by any method in an average shop. A machine shop with an EDM - Electrical Discharge Machine could do it precisely but again the cost is prohibitive.
Ah ha, Beads are inexpensive and just the ticket. Big beads from a craft supply store or online. They need a circular axle. A heavy wire or a small rod, bent in a circle. You need to find something of the desired diameter to bend it around, or cut/turn a form from wood.
The part I have not solved fully is a way to mount the circular axle to the pole. I would braze more of the same wire as legs supporting the axle and clamp those to the pole with a hose clamp. Not everyone has the tools or skills to do that. Further there would be a gap in the spinners where the support legs are. All the smart little pests need is a toe hold. Spokes, nails or dowels on the spinners (beads) would help prevent them from finding those potential toe holds.

I can see where this becomes an obsession to solve like a puzzle or a game one must win :)

[Sam Murdoch]

Yes, this is very much like Wile E. Coyote trying to outsmart the Road Runner.

276235 I think I am having more fun than he is. I have had some great success at squirrel and raccoon abatement as regards to my bird feeders. I'll post a few photos later. This particular one is a challenge because the pole is about 3 feet too close to the railing. If I raise it any higher though I will need a sky hook to add feed.

My next plan is to add an inverted stainless bowl 6" or 7" with a round bottom to the underside of the feeder. This will slip over the smooth pipe and I will wax/silicone/wax paper rub, the whole assembly. I'm pretty confident that will work. However, this set up will not stop the raccoons. Those guys will climb and destroy come spring. Too bad, this next gen gray squirrel has complicated what up until recently has been very effective.

As for adding spice - cayenne or other peppers - to the seed mix. I have tried that with limited success. Takes quite a dose of pepper to dissuade the local squirrels. I keep 70 lbs or so of my "special" bird seed mix on hand. Adding enough pepper and dispersing it evenly compromises my health too :D. Even doing this in small batches is more work and another expense that I don't care to incur.

I will stick to the slick theory for now. And as others have suggested I may be replacing this feeder in the spring - or very reluctantly removing it from the circuit :(. Meanwhile, with your help I play...

As to those of you in the "just shoot them" camp - sorry guys are you 12 years old? Besides which you then need to stand by an open window or door (and not very close - cause the grays know you are there) and wait for the shot. Might be fine in summer but not much of a winter activity. I almost wrote winter "sport" but that just encourages you guys to think you are doing something worth while.

[Prashun Patel]

Lithium grease.

[ray hampton]

Lithium grease.



OR , you could take a lesson from the Geese Chasers and buy a hawk or other decoy that will scared the birds , squirrels

[Gary Chester]

How about this...

http://s275.photobucket.com/user/teh_thorntonzor/media/squirreltrap.gif.html

[ray hampton]

How about this...

http://s275.photobucket.com/user/teh_thorntonzor/media/squirreltrap.gif.html

instant flying squirrel,
why not trap them and move them to a different town
box trap

[ed malcom]

wife got a big kick out me/ the squirrels/ and hummingbird feeders I finallygot the idea of using some of her old covers over the burners on the stove. Use the largest diameter ones you can find and drill a small hole in the middle. Get two of the hangers used to hang stuff from the ceiling and shorten the connector so they are tight together. I covered the top with axle grease and hung everything from a tree with 14 gauge wire. With the feeder right under the lid they cant hang on because of the grease. At one time we had about 50 hummingbirds and the whole bunch dive bombed a squirrel like a bunch of bees.

[Kevin Bourque]

Yes, this is very much like Wile E. Coyote trying to outsmart the Road Runner.

276235
As to those of you in the "just shoot them" camp - sorry guys are you 12 years old? Besides which you then need to stand by an open window or door (and not very close - cause the grays know you are there) and wait for the shot. Might be fine in summer but not much of a winter activity. I almost wrote winter "sport" but that just encourages you guys to think you are doing something worth while.

I guess you don't live on a working cattle farm like I do. Groundhogs, black vultures, moles, and squirrels get shot on sight! Otherwise they destroy everything we're trying to grow or raise. We don't mess around with traps that rarely work. We blast 'em!!!

PS. We have a Federal permit to blast black vultures as they are a protected species.

[Sam Murdoch]

I guess you don't live on a working cattle farm like I do. Groundhogs, black vultures, moles, and squirrels get shot on sight! Otherwise they destroy everything we're trying to grow or raise. We don't mess around with traps that rarely work. We blast 'em!!!

PS. We have a Federal permit to blast black vultures as they are a protected species.

No I don't live on a farm and I don't begrudge you guys trying to protect your crops. My response above was to those who suggest that if my bird feeders attract unwanted critters I should shoot those animals I don't care to feed. All this in a residential setting and a feeding environment of my making!

Obviously their comments were not at all helpful or relevant to my thread. If I really don't want squirrels or raccoons at the feeders it is my responsibility to take them (the feeders) down or to make them inaccessible - not to destroy the animals who are simply looking to get to the food that I have made available.

[Gordon Eyre]

Use a slick tape and wrap the pole from the bottom up.

[Kevin Bourque]

I think the ultimate answer to the OP's question is that probably nothing will really work to keep squirrels from "workin' the feeder pole".

Those varmints can jump up amazingly high from a standing start, so baffles need to be probably 6+ feet off the ground to have any effectiveness, which means the feeder will be 8+ feet off the ground. Thats pretty high up for a feeder. Hanging them by wire from a tree branch is problematic too for the same reasons. The feeder has to be about 6-8 feet off the ground and the same distance away from the trunk or any close branches to keep them from jumping onto it.

I do ,however, have a foolproof method of eradicating tree rats that doesn't involve guns or poisons. If you want to know how just ask me...

[ray hampton]

I think the ultimate answer to the OP's question is that probably nothing will really work to keep squirrels from "workin' the feeder pole".

Those varmints can jump up amazingly high from a standing start, so baffles need to be probably 6+ feet off the ground to have any effectiveness, which means the feeder will be 8+ feet off the ground. Thats pretty high up for a feeder. Hanging them by wire from a tree branch is problematic too for the same reasons. The feeder has to be about 6-8 feet off the ground and the same distance away from the trunk or any close branches to keep them from jumping onto it.

I do ,however, have a foolproof method of eradicating tree rats that doesn't involve guns or poisons. If you want to know how just ask me...


I got a foolproof method too, I invite them to supper

[Kevin Bourque]

I got a foolproof method too, I invite them to supper

The Last Supper.:D My version comes complete with a nice long bath afterwards.

[ray hampton]

The Last Supper.:D My version comes complete with a nice long bath afterwards.

WHOM are the long bath for ? you or the squirrels ? do you alway take a bath after eating ?

[Sam Murdoch]

I think the ultimate answer to the OP's question is that probably nothing will really work to keep squirrels from "workin' the feeder pole".

Those varmints can jump up amazingly high from a standing start, so baffles need to be probably 6+ feet off the ground to have any effectiveness, which means the feeder will be 8+ feet off the ground. Thats pretty high up for a feeder. Hanging them by wire from a tree branch is problematic too for the same reasons. The feeder has to be about 6-8 feet off the ground and the same distance away from the trunk or any close branches to keep them from jumping onto it.

I do ,however, have a foolproof method of eradicating tree rats that doesn't involve guns or poisons. If you want to know how just ask me...

This pretty much sums it up. The one feeder I've set up that is in fact varmint proof is this one -

276693

The platform is 61.5" off the ground. It is no less than 10' away from any tree. I have seen the locals do an 8' horizontal jump from a tree trunk to another feeder. I have removed any branches hanging directly above. Even though the nearest branch is about 18' feet up when a piece of it used to overhang the feeder squirrels would drop down onto the roof. Sometimes they had enough presence of mind left to actually enjoy eating - it's a pretty hard landing :D.

The real key to success here is the 18" diameter mooring ball. The squirrels will run as fast as they can - jump up - and hit the underside of the ball causing them to do a loop de loop. Great fun to watch. They can't land on top because it's too slick and round. The raccoons can't defeat this because they can't get their fat selves over and around the ball. Going on 5 years now with no winners, except me. :cool:

[ray hampton]

This pretty much sums it up. The one feeder I've set up that is in fact varmint proof is this one -

276693

The platform is 61.5" off the ground. It is no less than 10' away from any tree. I have seen the locals do an 8' horizontal jump from a tree trunk to another feeder. I have removed any branches hanging directly above. Even though the nearest branch is about 18' feet up when a piece of it used to overhang the feeder squirrels would drop down onto the roof. Sometimes they had enough presence of mind left to actually enjoy eating - it's a pretty hard landing :D.

The real key to success here is the 18" diameter mooring ball. The squirrels will run as fast as they can - jump up - and hit the underside of the ball causing them to do a loop de loop. Great fun to watch. They can't land on top because it's too slick and round. The raccoons can't defeat this because they can't get their fat selves over and around the ball. Going on 5 years now with no winners, except me. :cool:

the coons GOT a big cousin and the cousin will winner if he/she find the feeder
the cousin name is a bear

[Sam Murdoch]

the coons GOT a big cousin and the cousin will winner if he/she find the feeder
the cousin name is a bear

:D - Yeah you are right about that but so far no bears sighted on the peninsula in anyone's memory that I know of so I think I'm safe for the time being.
Might be a 100 years event.