# Best $10 squirrel repellent ever! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087 "2019-04-05T13:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/21 "2019-04-05T18:43:16Z")
I considered doing the same thing as the OP, but settled for a slingshot and paint pellets instead. I’ve also discovered that if a squirrel starts building a nest in one of the trees, it works pretty well to knock the nest out of the tree, thus encouraging them to go elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/22 "2019-04-05T18:51:09Z")
[Spinning bird feeder.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHu-UJaK0Q) (:46) [Manufacturer’s video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Ut-BA6WW4) (11:11) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/23 "2019-04-05T19:06:49Z")
Squirrels eating at your bird feeder? Solution: change the name to a squirrel feeder. Now it’s the birds that are the interlopers. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/24 "2019-04-05T19:27:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We tried spending $$$ on squirrel proof bird feeders, but eventually the damn raccoons destroyed those expensive feeders. We finally gave up and just feed birds and squirrels, although that means going through 50 pounds of sunflower a week. Be thankful for just raccoons. A cousin has to bring her feeders in every night or they get trashed by a black bear… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/25 "2019-04-05T19:51:11Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Be thankful for just raccoons. A cousin has to bring her feeders in every night or they get trashed by a black bear… We had a black bear mess with the feeders right in front of our house last year. After my gf took some pictures I went outside onto our porch (8-10 feet from the bear) and yelled at it. It [del]ran[/del] sauntered off. We kept the feeders inside for a few days, then put them back out. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/26 "2019-04-05T23:24:26Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I have them defeated and frustrated for over a year, no squirrels where harmed in the process. > > On/around the pole I have a slinky (secured at the top, and stretched/deformed a bit on the top to extend most of the coils about 1 foot below the bottom of the feeder) > > The squirrels climb up, hit the slinky and most of them go straight down and give up. For those determined squirrels who manage to cling on through the slinky and grip the pole (using a lot of energy) they also run onto a ‘cone’ that was cut from the top of a 5 gal water bottle which is also placed over the pole (and the slinky passed though the hole). This cone is tied with a short rope around the top of it to the top of the pole. It is hung about a foot below the bottom of the feeder. > > When the squirrel gets into the cone, I can see it’s struggling to hold on and doesn’t know how to proceed. Grip fails and down it goes. I saw once the little guy try to grip the cone on the top but just managed to fall as he reached. I can’t deny that sounds like an entirely successful contraption, I’m just not sure I want it in my backyard! 😃 > [@Quartz](#): > > Not really: if they’ve associated the pain with you, they’ll hit the feeder as soon as you’re not there. I don’t think they do. I’m several feet in the house. What they HAVE done is associate the sound of me cocking the pistol and they started bailing when I did. So then I had to re-cock it as soon as I took a shot so I could ding them without them getting twitchy. > [@silenus](#): > > Not unlike the way I keep the cats off the bookcases and mantel, except I use a Nerf gun to avoid the “pellets all over the floor” problem. Discourages the animals, improves your concentration…win, win. > > Do you paint a rodent silhouette under the window each time? 😃 😃 I started with Nerf, but even my (umm…kids) most accurate one wasn’t quite accurate enough and was too slow…they’d usually twitch out of the way first. And I’d have the opposite problem…Nerf darts all over the yard! I got biodegradable pellets, so eventually they’ll [del]end up in the stomach of a fish[/del] revert back to the earth. I’m not much of an artist, but I might start scratching hashmarks in the grip. 🆒 > [@Musicat](#): > > Squirrels eating at your bird feeder? Solution: change the name to a squirrel feeder. Now it’s the birds that are the interlopers. Yeah, it’s not that I hate the squirrels…though they are actually pretty filthy little rodents…it’s just that they can empty the feeder in a couple hours. Plus the birds don’t show up when the squirrels are there. I might put out a corn feeder by the back fence for the little bastards. I was doing some reading about feeders today and I guess what I really should be doing is putting out a couple feeders with different stuff in 'em. And finally, really cool to have a [Northern Flicker](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id) show up today. I guess they eat bugs and stuff, so he didn’t eat anything. I need to refill my suet baskets, they might go for that. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/27 "2019-04-06T02:03:29Z")
I like the slinky idea. Maybe I just want to buy one, not sure. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/28 "2019-04-06T14:36:02Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I can’t deny that sounds like an entirely successful contraption, I’m just not sure I want it in my backyard! 😃 > > I don’t think they do. I’m several feet in the house. What they HAVE done is associate the sound of me cocking the pistol and they started bailing when I did. So then I had to re-cock it as soon as I took a shot so I could ding them without them getting twitchy. > > 😃 I started with Nerf, but even my (umm…kids) most accurate one wasn’t quite accurate enough and was too slow…they’d usually twitch out of the way first. And I’d have the opposite problem…Nerf darts all over the yard! I got biodegradable pellets, so eventually they’ll [del]end up in the stomach of a fish[/del] revert back to the earth. > > I’m not much of an artist, but I might start scratching hashmarks in the grip. 🆒 > > Yeah, it’s not that I hate the squirrels…though they are actually pretty filthy little rodents…it’s just that they can empty the feeder in a couple hours. Plus the birds don’t show up when the squirrels are there. > > I might put out a corn feeder by the back fence for the little bastards. I was doing some reading about feeders today and I guess what I really should be doing is putting out a couple feeders with different stuff in 'em. > > And finally, really cool to have a [Northern Flicker](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/id) show up today. I guess they eat bugs and stuff, so he didn’t eat anything. I need to refill my suet baskets, they might go for that. Flickers definitely enjoy suet (which is generally attractive to bug-eating birds). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/29 "2019-04-06T15:48:03Z")
Birds like hot, spicy things. Mammals do not. There are any number of hot sauce concoctions suitable for application to birdseed. Just check Amazon or mix some up yourself. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/30 "2019-04-06T16:50:49Z")
Wife would mix a lot of salt with peanut butter. Rodents have lousy kidneys compared with dogs and birds and they would die. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/31 "2019-04-06T19:16:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Ah, the All American solution to everything–shoot it! Nonsense, American ingenuity has progressed far beyond shooting varmints. [Behold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNltR4iCRCA&frags=pl%2Cwn), [the squirrel catapult](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adlH1WtyCcU&frags=pl%2Cwn). ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/32 "2019-04-06T19:27:35Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I like the slinky idea. Maybe I just want to buy one, not sure. Here is a youtube on the slinky (not mine) . [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjhBKDzKcE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjhBKDzKcE) Though I have found that they can sometimes (rarely) defeat it and a cone is also needed in combo with the slinky. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/33 "2019-04-06T19:30:19Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Birds like hot, spicy things. Mammals do not. There are any number of hot sauce concoctions suitable for application to birdseed. Just check Amazon or mix some up yourself. They sell seeds that are so treated. Also it’s not that birds like hot spicy things, it’s that they are unaffected by them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/34 "2019-04-06T20:00:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But, yeah, Grease the pole. I love it when you talk like that! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/35 "2019-04-07T04:43:51Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I like the slinky idea. Maybe I just want to buy one, not sure. [Before you do…](https://theoatmeal.com/comics/slinky) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/36 "2019-04-07T15:59:07Z")
If you get a Slinky, be sure to get the smallest one that will fit around the pole. This is how it’s supposed to work: [Squirrel vs. Slinky - YouTube](https://youtu.be/8QjhBKDzKcE) This is what can happen if you get a Slinky that’s too big: [Amazing Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder Spectacularly Fails - YouTube](https://youtu.be/EDHDX2rDL2Q) ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/37 "2019-04-07T16:16:55Z")
Cayenne pepper in the bird seed helps. Birds can’t taste capsaicin, so they don’t know it’s there, but tree rats don’t like it all. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/38 "2019-04-07T21:44:08Z")
> [@Dobbs](#): > > Cayenne pepper in the bird seed helps. Birds can’t taste capsaicin, so they don’t know it’s there, but tree rats don’t like it all. Got an industrial-size can of cayenne pepper today…will deploy that with the next feeding. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/39 "2019-04-07T22:57:54Z")
HAh! Squirrels are nothing. Wait until you have white tail deer eating at your feeder!Unfortunately, I live in town near a forest but I have enough neighbors that might have objected to me using my recurve to deal with it (and a full freezer). On the other hand it was a crappy winter and anything that helps the animals isn’t all bad, I suppose. Also, **Beck** , blue jays aren’t evil they’re corvids and therefore smart. It isn’t so much they’re teasing the squirrels but making fun of them for being bushy tailed rats. My friend has trained them to look into her kitchen window and tap politely for treats. They don’t do it if they see no one there. That was two years ago and the parents taught the kids to do it, which is pretty cool, I think. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087/40 "2019-04-08T14:01:20Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Spinning bird feeder.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHu-UJaK0Q) (:46) I shouldn’t be laughing so hard at this, but I am. Love the final dizzy squirrel on the ground! :D:D [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-10-squirrel-repellent-ever/832087.md?page=3)