The bane of every bird lover is a squirrel. Put out a feeder, and a squirrel, rather than birds, invites himself to dinner. A baffle on the feeder pole works well, but not if there is overhead cover nearby – like a limb or a roof or anything a squirrel can use to pounce down on the food.
We discovered one method, however, that absolutely keeps squirrels at bay and that is a bag of Wild Delight Sizzle N’ Heat Bird Seed. In addition to an assortment of quality seeds, this blend contains both chili peppers and a strong irritant that doesn’t affect birds, but keeps squirrels away, and it really works.
As I wrote in an earlier column, we had a feeder just outside our den window so our pet parakeet could watch and talk to the visiting birds. Then an industrious squirrel found a way to jump down on the feeder and quickly ate its contents. When we put the pepper-infused seed in the feeder, the squirrel said, “No thanks. I’ll pass.”
The only problem is that a 5-pound bag of this stuff costs $15. Mr. Cheapskate here tried an experiment. I mixed half of the Sizzle N’ Heat seed with half of the less expensive seed we had been using, and it works like a charm.
So, fellow bird lovers, buy the Sizzle N’ Heat along with your usually bird seed and say “Adious” to Br’er Squirrel.