Raccoon/squirrel/ bird feeder

Dog.

Well, how and to what is the birdhouse mounted?

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Dog….........or Dogs

whats cheaper….........dog food or squirrell food?..........and which is less work?

cat…......or cats….............whats cheaper?........the squirrell or the cat

which one is ultimatly less work?

I voted for a 177 cal

-- Central northish Ontario

sorry…........I missed the fact that its a coon and in that case

a 22

-- Central northish Ontario

To a wooden post!
He doesn’t actually climb (yet), just take position at the bottom and feeds of the seeds on the ground!And keeps the birds away!!!
And the dogs, well the lab goes after it, but the raccoon comes right back!

Mind you, the squirrel is not around as much! :-)

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

I had a pet coon as a kid in Ontario.
You can’t keep a coon away from anythng.
That being said they are none too fussy on cayene pepper and that dosent bother the birds a bit.
I’d try this first. – Tabasco sauce for instance.

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

and if you are lucky and it is just one raccoon you could try a live trap and transport him to a new vicinity (someone else’s birdfeeder) ha.

We had a pet raccoon as well – his name was Charlie. Our cat raised him when he was little (fed him with her litter)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Nice story!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

I have several cats and i have only ever seen squirrels twice in 7 years and they didn,t stay long.
I also had a pet raccoon , pet duck and pet canadian goose.

-- John in Cranbrook , http://www.extremebirdhouse.com http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

You probably wont believe me but I have at least 2 red squirrel nests at at times on my lot.
I built separate feeders for each of them about 100 feet apart and the come there every day summer or winter and get their food and a bit of water.

I have been doing this for 10 years and now on my 10 th batch of squirrels because as soon as they raise their litters the adults move out and leave the dreys and feeders to their young.
They have never touched my bird feeders since it started doing this.
And.. the feeders are right in the center of the two squirrel feeders.

bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

Bob,
What a lovely idea! I love the feeder! And the pictures! :-)

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Eklectic,
I have since close down the front and back entrance to keep our resident hawk out.
She’s a bit of a mouser so I see her circling and sometimes sitting on the fence.
The reds are pretty smart.
Occasionally the Bluejays will try to get in and swipe a peanut or two.

Seems what once everybody is fed there is not too much friction out there vs birds and critters.

It’s fun to watch them and everyone that visits enjoys the backyard.

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

We have red squirrels, black ones and grey ones. As a rule they stay outin the bush.

We aslo have racoons and I use a live trap and then release them in another county. I watched a coon, as did my bride and friends at a camp fire…......coon opened the cooler, grabbed a can of Pepsi, cracked the lid and downed the whole thing…....dropped the can…...belched and strode down the lane.

They are one of the leading causes in the drop of populations of song birds. .........(next to people). Coons having very few if any natural predators have quickly learned how to adapt to city and rural living. Any song bird who nests close to the ground…....coons and cats eat them.

I would trap it with a live trap…..inexpensive, easy and no harm done

-- Central northish Ontario

Isn’t there some kind of a conservation thing going on between Canada and the U.S. with raccoons?
I can’t remember the details but I think genetics was the concern.
They were concerened with Raccoon rabies comming up and desemating the raccoon population and genetics here.

Now the Ginko kicks in.

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

“if you can’t fight them.. join them!” Go with the flow and welcome nature .. nice idea.

Canada /US re: raccoons, from what I’m aware of, it’s focusing on a strain of rabies that they are trying to stop at the border.
I know there were putting out feeders with rabies vaccine in it or something like that…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

What a great idea Bob … one I think most of would never have thought of …”a squirrel feeder”. Loved the second photo.

Here in the states there are restrictions in some areas that won’t allow us to feed the squirrels and they will prosecute if they find you are.

My experience at our old house was I was throwing out stale bread in the mornings to feed our little guys. Well guess that wasn’t good enough, cuz the buggers chewed through ALL of my big, heavy-duty plastic trash cans. Had to start storing them in the garage. The squirrels got really aggressive; so needless to say, I quit feeding them. Here, at our new home we also have really mean, black squirels that are B-O-L-D.

Any ideas to keep them from digging in my flower pots/planters?? Never had squirrels bother anything on my porch before we moved here. Would the Cayene Pepper idea work with squirrels??

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Hi Grandma T.
I understand your dilemma with your rodents.
The grays and blacks are particularly aggressive and not the same temperament as the reds.
If you want to raise a couple of kits you might see a different attitude but I wouldn’t make a bet.

Capsicum is the active ingredient in most store bought animal deterrent sprays etc.
It is derived from the Hot pepper family so save yourself some money and use pepper flakes or chili oil etc and mix it with seeds or similar. You can wipe it on things they chew too but it need repeating as it oxidizes quickly.
The birds don’t taste the hot pepper oil so it dosen’t bother them.

Reds and chipmunks are special.

This is a pic of the boss with her first encounter with one of my reds.

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

Thanks for the advice, I’ll be sure to give that a try … that above photo blows me away; whatever you are doing is wonderful for them to be that docile. Awesome …

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b