Outwitting Houdini

I always say that keeping Grey Squirrels off your bird food is a battle of wits, and a battle which you will sometimes lose. Over many years I have tried all sorts of ways of ensuring that I'm not just pouring an endless supply of expensive sunflower hearts and peanuts into squirrel bellies.

I often use 'guardian cages', the ones that slip over the top of a feeder, allowing birds in through the wire mesh gaps but not the chunky rodents. However, these feeders have their weaknesses. I can't fill them to the top as the Squirrels reach down through the gaps in the wire and scoop out the food; I have to put circular blocks of wood in the bottom of the feeder as Squirrels can reach in through the larger holes at the bottom of most guardian cages.

And then this week, what looks like an adult Squirrel has managed, Houdini-esque, to actually climb into the guardian cage. It is a contortionist manoeuvre it has gone on to perfect.

Time for action; time for my wallet to bite the bullet. Bring on the Squirrel Buster Plus!

It's expensive at about £60 but, of all the things I've tried over the years, this is the very best that I have found. The smaller version I find rusts badly but this big version is fantastic.

Here's a Squirrel trying to get at the food ports, but its weight as it hangs off the perches closes the entry holes. Frantic gnawing hasn't made a dent in the feeder and the mechanism keeps working perfectly after two years of being out in rain, wind, frost...

So now I have two - and I think my purchase will pay for itself quickly from the food saved. Let's see how the birds love the new spangly magic seedhead that has appeared in my Cornus kousa this morning!

PS This blog is about sharing my experiences, not trying to sell anything (you can tell why I'm not a salesman!). But if you did want to take my advice on this one, I'd be foolish not to point you in the direction of it in the RSPB online shop.