This entry has absolutely nothing to do with Cozy Mystery books, but it’s been a while since my last “rant and rave”. It has to do with squirrels, specifically those in my back yard!
I have to say, since Sprite has been gone, I have been exhibiting “bird-lady” symptoms. I am the first to admit it. (Yes, “bird-lady” as in the “Feed the Birds” bird-lady in the Mary Poppins movie!)
Actually, I’m not quite that bad>>> yet. But I have become a little obsessed with my back yard birds. I started with just one (standing) bird bath, and progressed to one “main” birdbath, two bird baths that hang, and two squirrel-proof bird feeders. On top of that, I was known to throw raw peanuts out for the Blue Jays – as in several times a day! >>> What did I tell you? I was truly exhibiting some “bird-lady” symptoms!
All that, however, has become a thing of the past. I know I have written about the time a squirrel ate his/her way into our attic. Of course, that meant fixing the roof with both a roof repair company AND an air conditioning company that had to reattach some of the pipes that lead outside. That squirrel fiasco did not come cheap!
Unfortunately, the seeds the birds discarded to the ground (as well as the peanuts meant for the Blue Jays) were being enjoyed by our back yard squirrels. I was OK with this, as long as it was limited to just our back yard squirrels. But the word got out!
Last week, my husband noticed that our back yard squirrels had grown in number. We currently had seven squirrels coming over to our house for their daily calorie consumption. This may not seem like a lot of squirrels to those of you who live on wooded lots, but we live in a rather overpopulated subdivision, where you might see two or three squirrels frolicking outside on your drive home.
As much as it saddened me, I had to take down both of my feeders and one of my birdbaths. We have gone to just one platform-type bird feeder (from which the birds don’t discard any seeds to the ground), one hanging bird bath, and our “main” bird bath that can be used by the squirrels – since we are experiencing water restrictions again. (Fortunately, now that we have our squirrel bafflers, I haven’t had to mess with the hummingbird feeders.)
We’ll see how all of this squirrel precaution plays out. Hopefully they will learn to forage for food. Yesterday my husband saw one of the squirrels dig out a peanut (meant for Blue Jay consumption ONLY), and I’m sure they have acorns buried all over the yard, since we have four large oaks.
Now that we’ve made it more difficult for the squirrels to lounge around in our yard, we’re hoping they “move on” and don’t take to gnawing on our house again!
Susan says
I put my finch feeder off of my deck this spring and after awhile the squirrels were lining up on my deck to jump on it from the rail and hang off in an acrobatic fashion. I finally took the finch feeder down and put my squirrel buster feeder up which I usually use only in the winter. It will close if a squirrel lands on it. The squirrels have gone away and the finches still visit. I have a few more red winged blackbirds but I’d rather them than the squirrels.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, our old bird feeders worked very well as squirrel buster feeders, but the birds kept tossing/dropping seed down to the ground, which our squirrels loved. We now have a squirrel buster on the pole that has the platform feeder on it, and the squirrels keep circling around trying to find a way up. Actually this afternoon, one of them jumped all the way up, so we had to move the feeder even higher. Those squirrels are incredibly adept jumpers!
I’m going to go look up red winged blackbirds. I wonder if they are anything like our grackles.
Susan, I just looked red winged blackbirds up, and as pesky as they might be, they’re a lot prettier to look at than our ugly grackles.
Susan says
The red winged blackbirds are prettier than grackles by a long shot. I saw some grackles last year but they haven’t found my feeder yet. Today I watched a squirrel jump over to the feeder, slide down and fall off. I got such a kick out of it. I think they are finally getting discouraged which is fine with me.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, be glad the grackles haven’t found you yet. They are mean, meaner, and meanest!
Donnee says
Does this bring back memories, not only did we have squirrels but also raccoons eating from our feeders. My husband solved not only our problem, but many of our customers problems also. He designed a Telescoping feeding pole that looks great in your yard, but also keeps the squirrels off your feeders. Also, for those of you who have problems with seeds dropping from your feeders, try the various seed hoops, they come in several sizes from 16″-30″ diameter and keep all the seed inside the hoop.
One other comment, if your seed has Milo and Millet in it, it will be shoved out by the birds, only ground feeders eat it, so that is where your birds are putting it. Try upgrading your feed to say just sunflowers or sunflowers and safflower. Your birds will all love it, even finches, and nothing will go on the ground. You can check out the above products on our website, or if you are in N.W. Indiana stop by our store.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donnee, thank you for the information about the seed hoops. We were feeding our song birds black sunflower seeds, which were the ones the squirrels enjoyed off of the ground. We then went to Nyjer seed, which the squirrels continued to enjoy. For now, we’re just going to miss our birds for a while. I’ll certainly keep the seed hoops in mind when I next decide to try putting our feeders back out. Thanks!
linda says
Danna, A few years ago my hubby and I, a long with my older sister and her hubby went to tour President Hays’ mansion in Freemont, Ohio. The tour of the house and grounds was really interesting and very beautiful until we took a stroll though a grove of trees. As we walked through the trees many, many squirrels came out to greet us. There had to be over a hundred squirrels there. We supposed these squirrels had been fed by previous people and these guys wanted us to feed them, too.
My sister and I both agree that a rat is a rat, and we felt these squirrels were just another variety of rats and we wanted no part of these squirrels. We both froze on the spot! People maintaining the house and the grounds had to come out and chase the squirrels away so that we could leave! I don’t think I will go visit that house again any time soon!
There are things that you can put around the pole that your bird feeder hangs on. Example, some sort of wire, or something slippery. But a lot of squirrels are very smart and they can figure out how to get around that stuff. I am surprised your Blue Jays didn’t take care of the squirrels. Blue Jays can be very mean, too
I would suppose those squirrels looked at the bird food and thought “Wow, Look what someone put out here for all of us!!”
I had squirrels in an old maple tree. A neighborhood cat would sit on my picnic table and taunt the squirrels. We could hear the squirrels chirping (or whatever sounds squirrels make) at the cat but the cat just sat there and waited for the squirrels. It was funny.
One time I hung corn cobs out on tree limbs thinking the squirrels would eat the corn off the cobs and leave the bird seed alone. But, on no!! The squirrels had to have both!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Yikes, Linda! “a rat is a rat” Until my daughter came back from school for the summer, and started calling “my” squirrels and “my birds” VERMIN, I didn’t think of it that way. Also, there’s a huge difference in one squirrel, to three squirrels, to SEVEN! That was it for me!!!
That’s a shame about President Hays’ mansion. You know, I saw where the “beloved” pigeons of Venice have become such a problem that they actually trap and kill them. There’s something to be said about feeding any wild creature, and making their jobs so easy that they soon become an over-population problem.
Laura says
This is why I only put out bird baths. I want to attract the birds to my yard, so they will eat the insects. I enjoy watching the birds, but I am a firm believer in them foraging for their own natural food.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I am beginning to think we might have to go back to that, Laura. These pesky squirrels are really getting on my nerves!
Lexie says
I consider squirrels vermin. A few years ago my Mom was bitten by our cat trying to get him out of a tree, his mouth had squirrel plaque from previously catching a squirrel (good kitty). The plaque gave Mom bubonic plaque and she almost lost her arm and hand. The doctors assured us that most squirrels are dangerous to humans, they carry leptosporosis, distemper, bubonic plaque and many dangerous diseases. This is why I rodent proof my entire house and upper eaves against squirrels. I watch them every afternoon by the dozens swoop in after 4 pm and begin to steal my neighbors fruit and terrorize the neighborhood cats. They are just rats in a different form. They are dangerous and mean. Everyone should not keep bird feeders any longer and protect their homes from these vermin .
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Wow, Lexie, what terrible luck for your Mom to catch that from your cat. That must have been a very scary time for all of you…
Susan says
Oh, boy. I’m a bird lady, too, I guess. I feed crows. First there were two and now there are six – the two having produced progeny and honored us by bringing the kidlets by for meals. We also have two gray squirrels, one red squirrel and two rabbits. But we have 4 acres so what can we expect. Only one birdbath. The crows eat from the ground. Nice to know I’m not alone!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I’m sure you won’t be surprised when that “six” turns into twelve. (I certainly didn’t expect our squirrels to procreate quite this quickly!)
(Four acres sounds wonderful!!!)
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
Danna, you are hilarious. I enjoyed your story!! Sorry about the squirrels. They can be a problem. I hope you have it solved. The birds love you!
BTW, you will likely have peanut plants coming up next year. They grow pretty well in Texas with water. They look a bit like a blue bonnet plant, only they produce small yellow flowers. :>)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Maria, I have noticed the squirrels pulling shafts of newly growing plants. I wonder if those are peanut plants in the making.
Regina says
Danna, I got a chuckle about your squirrels for a different reason as I know they can be pests. Recently my daughter from CO was visiting us . As we were eating on the porch, my husband and I were very excited about the 3 rabbits gamboling about our backyard. She looked at us with scorn and said if you had to live with all the rabbits we have in our yard in CO, you would not think they were so cute. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. On another note I have been reading a great non fiction book called “Shooting Victoria”. I thought it was a mystery story but it tells of the 8 assasination attempts on Queen Victoria in conjunction with events in Great Britain at the time of each. Very informative but interesting.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, thanks for telling us about “Shooting Victoria”. Your daughter sounds like my mother. She gets pretty frustrated with the rabbits. I, on the other hand, always think it’s fun to see them hip-hopping around on her yard (when I visit).
Barbara Thompson says
I’ve had a feeder on my deck for years that is not totally squirrel proof but at least lets me enjoy my birds. It has one of those platforms that go down when they sit on it that cuts off the seed access. They can still hang down from the top and get one at a time but they cannot clean it out.
They are pesky things and will certainly move in and take over an area without cats or dogs to keep them in check.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Barbara, I’ll bet your sweet puppy, Colin, keeps those pesky squirrels in line!
Ann says
I’ve had to stop feeding the birds. There is something(s) that has been leaving evidence on my patio and I’m guessing it’s either rats or squirrels. I hated to put anything poisonous out because of my dogs, so I cleaned out all the bird feeders and left a used litter box out. That seems to have discouraged them. I’ve heard that once they smell a cat they disappear pretty quickly.
Ann
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Yuck, Ann! I don’t blame you for not feeding birds any more!!! I’ll have to think about putting a litter box outside. We have a few “roaming” cats in the neighborhood – despite a law against letting cats wander outside. Of course, I don’t want to have to start cleaning a litter box for feral cats!
marja says
I guess I’m going to need a squirrel-proof bird feeder. The other day I put about 4 cups of birdseed in my feeder and by the next day it was reduced by 1/3 by three neighborhood squirrels.
I went out to throw peanuts by the squirrels’ tree and then went to fill the bird feeder with seed. A squirrel sat on the window sill above mine [my apartment house is fronted with brick] and barked and barked and barked, as if saying, “MY food! MINE I TELL YOU!!!”
Pesky things don’t take a hint, despite the generous allotment of peanuts they still pester the bird feeder. Rats! [In both senses of the word]
Funny thing. I have two cats who love to sit at the window and watch the birds. They “stalk” them, crouching low, ears cupped forward, slowly advancing toward the window. Occasionally they will spring at the birds and bang the window with two paws, which, sadly, scares the birds off for a bit.
Alas, when the squirrels appear my cats don’t blink an eye. A good bang! on the window would serve to scare them off … but only for a minute. I wore myself out one afternoon whacking the window with the NY Times magazine!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, those squirrels are pigs! And, they discourage the birds from coming to feed – when they monopolize the food/feeders. I see you are trying the peanut route >>> all it did for me is to increase the squirrels. The Blue Jays would caw outside to let me know they wanted peanuts, but at the end, when I would throw the peanuts out, the squirrels would run and get them first.
It sounds like both your cats are experiencing identity crises!
Lee says
I am clearly in the minority. I put out food for the squirrels with the birds getting the left overs. I use to put out dried corn cobs which the squirrels became adapt at carrying off to the entertainment of our neighbors. We had to go to compressed corn and peanut butter when we saw corn plants growing out of our neighbor’s gutters.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lee, I’ve had such bad luck with squirrels damaging our roof that seeing seven in our yard stopped me from enjoying their antics.
susie calkins says
your reference to the bird-lady reminded me that there are “Do not feed the birds” signs all around St. Paul’s now (which is where she used to sit, or at least she sat on the Hollywood set that was supposed to look like St. Paul’s). That just seems so wrong! 🙂 “Feed the birds…tuppence a bag.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susie, I agree that it “just seems so wrong!” >>> however they must have been inundated with pigeons. Tourists to San Antonio enjoy sitting outside, on the River Walk, while they eat their meals. Yikes! The last thing I want is pigeons flying over my food!
Myra Duffy says
We have very few squirrels here and in our garden only one grey squirrel. There’s a real problem about red squirrels which are rapidly being ousted by the grey variety in Scotland as a whole. The only increasing species we seem to have are magpies!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Myra, I just looked up magpies, and see that they are very intelligent animals. (Perhaps that’s the reason they are increasing in number.)
Myra Duffy says
Most unfortunately they chase all the little birds so we have a dearth of sparrows etc. They are as much of a pest here as squirrels are in other parts of the world.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Myra, it has been reported that our Grackles are taking over more and more areas here in the USA. They must be your Magpies equivalent in the bird family. They are mean birds, and whenever they are around, they monopolize whatever they want.
Annie S. says
When I was living in Largo, FL, the apartment had a screened porch which my male cat, Baby, loved. I have moved since but I remember every single day in the afternoon at the same time, this squirrel would come and go up and down the palm tree close to the porch. Baby would jump up and down and make noises and the squirrel would go up and down and answer back. I am not kidding! My neighbors didn’t believe me until they saw it. Squirrels are very intelligent animals.
Julia says
I have four young cats, all of whom go outside (at least during daylight hours when I’m home). As a result, I almost never see squirrels in my yard. Or chipmunks. Or rabbits. Or moles. Or field mice. Or snakes. They are currently working on the bug problem, but that may be too much for even their determined efforts.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julia, I’m still laughing at your comment…
linda says
Danna, I like seeing the squirrels outside playing. I like seeing the rabbits run back and forth. I love watching the birds but it is also funny watching the cats teasing these other critters. My little dogs don’t want any of these other critters in their yard! This is their yard and all these other critters had better stay out!!
I had made a special vow to all of these outside critters, they stay where they belong, outside, away from me and we will both be happy. For some reason these critters don’t think they have to pay any attention to my vows!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda, your little puppies sound like they are as determined as Julia’s four young cats!
Merry says
Danna – To me squirrels are just rats with bushy tails. My bird feeders are squirrel proof, but the squirrels still come for the dropped seed. We have had up to seven squirrels in the yard at one time. What they don’t eat they plant. I have neighbors who feed nuts to the squirrels and I have to keep pulling up walnut seedlings. They also plant nuts in my flower pots on the patio, digging out my plants in the process. I have used a have-a-hart trap to relocate some of them to a park a few miles away.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Merry, it sounds like your squirrel proof bird feeders were doing exactly what mine were doing. My squirrels could always be found right under the feeder. Now that we have a platform feeder with a super long squirrel baffler on the pole it hangs from, we are slowly getting rid of some of the squirrels. The birds don’t drop as many seeds as they used to. Also, I changed from the mixed bird seed to only black sunflower seeds. The tiny seeds in the mix would scatter everywhere when the birds were at our old hanging feeders.
I would be very unhappy to see squirrels digging out plants I had planted. I guess this San Antonio heat keeping me from enjoying garden work is finally a positive!
marion says
Oh, Danna, you make me laugh in sympathy. I feed the birds too and the creatures’ sense of logic and mine generally do not meet. I have a suet feeder hanging from the eave of my back porch and you have not LIVED until you have seen squirrels very gently try to ease themselves down from the roof to feed from it. Talk about a squirrel baffle! It swings back and forth and that seems to frighten them. So far as I know, none of them have succceeded. I keep a pan of about three quarters cracked corn and one quarter seed on the ground and that seems to keep the squirrels, pigeons, and black birds happy while the small birds eat from the hanging tube feeders full of seed and the suet feeders. They all seem satisfied, I can live with it and usually it’s not too expensive. I get the seed and corn in the biggest sacks I can handle from Tractor Supply and the suet cakes as well. No more expensive than the grocery store and often cheaper. ‘My’ animals seem to ignore any water I put out. I started feeding them all after my big dog died. No point up until then because he barked at everything that landed on the porch. My little dog seems unaware of them although he thinks it’s very exciting when I put the food out.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marion, I wish we could pick and choose which little animals we had visit at our feeders. It sounds like you are doing a good job of keeping the animals that you want. I have seen those tube feeders, but am pretty sure my squirrels would find a way to destroy them.
I’ll bet your little dog thinks it’s exciting to see his human going through all of that (as Winnie the Pooh would say) “bother”.
marion says
Hi, Danna. The squirrels don’t seem to show much interest in my tube feeders. I don’t know if they tried them and are afraid of them like the suet feeders or if they are accustomed to finding the seed and corn on the ground and just disregard the feeders. The tube feeders also discourage the bigger birds because the perches are so small. Not that a few smart alecks (or idiots) haven’t tried it! They never persist though. I’m glad to provide the dog with some excitement since we lost our big dog pal Max. I think Rum also has an idea that he is mama’s hero and she needs him along to get any job done! Sometime when you’re in San Marcos, I’d be happy to show you my bird feeding set-up such as it is. Just give me a holler. Love to meet you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Will try to, Marion!.
Harold says
Here is the deal. Yesterday I saw right in front of my eyes two grey squirrels climb into my three tier bird feeder. The bigger one moved quickly across the bottom tier and actually bite a blue jay sitting there. This blue jay has been at our feeder for months and fed along with the little birds (black caps, tit-mouse, nut hatches, etc) with no problem. I would not have believed it unless I actually saw it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Harold, I have seen some aggressive squirrels, but I have never seen that!
Donna R says
We put out birdseed in our front and back 4+ acre yard 10 miles outside a small MS town. We use baffles on tall poles which keep squirrels out of feeders but they eat under it from birds knocking seed down. They tip over bird baths. Eat our plants and flowers. They tare up our new window screens, grounding wires on electric poles causing appliance damage, chew wires in our vehicles and lawn equipment, eat lead air pipes on our roof, chew up our roof tiles. They’re worse than rats. We started to shoot them as traps don’t work. Really hated to do that. So far none in attic which is sealed up tight. One got in our dryer vent and died. That was stinky before we noticed it. Using sharp plastic clear mats on window sills now to keep them off so hopeful no new chewed window screens.