Do Hummingbirds ignore capsacins?

Factual Questions
1

Okay - background:

My parents take a good deal of enjoyment from providing several bird feeders in their backyard. For the most part they take rodent encroachments philosophically. Unless the chipmunks start lying in the feeding trough of the bird feeder they’ll allow the squirrels and chipmunks to get some feed, too.

However, one squirrel in the neighborhood is abusing this charity.

In addition to a traditional seed bird feeder my parents also have a hummingbird feeder for the summer months.

This spring some smart-assed squirrel found the thing, and pulled off the beeguards to get a hit of sugar water.

Since this time my parents haven’t been able to keep the hummingbird feeder filled because the EXPLITIVE DELETED squirrel is looking for its sugar water. (And we know it’s the squirrel and not the hummingbirds because: 1 - the water level is going down too fast; 2 - the beeguards end up all over the back yard.)

The mean, and nasty, idea I had was to coat the nipples of the feeder, under the beeguard, with Tabasco [sup]TM[/sup] and thus booby trap the squirrel. I’d imagine one hot mouth like that should be enough to learn it. However, this idea is only one if it’s true that hummingbirds don’t react to capsacins like mammals do, but like many of the seed-eating birds.

I’m hoping that one of you smart Dopers will be able to tell me and my parents one way or the other if this is something we could do to the smart assed squirrel.

Thanks again.

2

All birds, including hummingbirds, are pretty much immune to capsaicin.

See my (very first) Staff Report: Are birds immune to hot pepper, enabling them to eat vast amounts and spread the seeds?

3

I didn’t know that was you, that’s one of my favorite columns!

4

Another route would be to provide squirrel feeders.

And I will second the kudos, Colibri. I have had the misfortune to “kiss” a parrot that was recently chowing on habeneros. Aye carumba!!

5

Gotta love a column that can use the phrase “tiny bungholes” in context, despite the intrusive Don Ho song now stuck in my head.

6

Don’t know if the squirrel is smart assed, but try this trick and its ass will smart.

7

Colibri, thanks for the info and the link. I thought that birds were safe from such - but I wanted a specific assurance for hummingbirds. 'Cause now I have to convince my parents, who can be hard sells. This helps a lot.

We have those. They’re called messy, jealous birds who toss the seed all over the place from the bird feeder. :smiley:

If the squirrel would leave enough sugar water for anyone/anything else I don’t think that there would be any complaints. However - as it is the utility of the feeder for its intended ‘prey’ is nil, because the squirrel has been sucking down the sugar water so fast.