this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2024
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Every boomer with a bird feeder hates squirrels. I don't understand.

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[–] [email protected] 88 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Squirrels eat the bird food meant for the birds and are extremely hard to stop

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They make a bird feeder called ‘Squirrel Buster’ which is fairly squirrel proof. I still put out food for them though, squirrels gotta eat too.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (5 children)

This. I found the squirrels to leave the bird feeders and the garden alone if you leave them a danegeld of raw peanuts and maybe strap an ear of corn to the tree.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I buy in shell peanuts for wildlife and the squirrels love them. They bury them all round the property which is fun to watch. On Nextdoor I occasionally find posts from people trying to figure out where all these peanut shells are coming from in my neighborhood.

[–] specialseaweed 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

My neighbor does this and I hate them. I have peanut shells all over my property. I can’t walk barefoot because there’s so fucking many shells.

They’re in my drains. They’re in my flower and veggie beds. Birds pick them up and take them to my roof and try to crack them at 6am and wake us up.

I HATE HATE HATE my peanut throwing neighbors.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You sometimes have to be careful with corn… I picked up some cheap bird food with corn in it, the squirrels got into it and buried kernels all around the yard. My wife just about went crazy yanking corn sprouts out of our and the neighbors yard! 😄

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Free corn tho

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

🎵 Oh strap an ear of corn, to the old oak tree... 🎵

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (21 children)

Why are the squirrels second class citizens to the birds? Is there a bird food shortage?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 months ago

No, it's just a bird feeder not a squirrel feeder. At least until the squirrels manage to change the signage, which they probably could if they tried hard enough.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Squirrels can clean out a feeder pretty quickly. Not as fast as deer can, but much faster than the birds.

So it's a pain in the ass to go fill it back up, and it costs money. A person gets a bird feeder because they want to watch birds. There are cheaper ways to feed squirrels, if you like squirrels.

Both squirrels and birds can build nests in your home. Squirrels can chew their way into your attic, then you risk them chewing through wires. Birds nest in your dryer vent or bathroom vent. A nest in the dryer vent is a fire hazard. And they can introduce bird mites into your home. It's like having a bed bug infestation except you can't see them, their bites are hella itchy, and at least they can be dealt with by multiple rounds of thorough vacuuming. Ask me how I know.

I used to love to keep a bird feeder and watch the bird party on a snowy day. But I wasn't out to feed the deer, and the mite problem erased any lingering feelings about feeding birds.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Birds are super good for the environment, take a quick google!

Squirrels on the other hand, are an invasive species in much of the world.

In my home province squirrels make it pretty hard for some of our local trees etc.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Squirrels in my area don't share. And will do whatever they can to get to the feeder, even if that means breaking shit. I currently use a seed that has some spillage and that's kept the squirrels satisfied. I don't mind them, but they end up making it sl I won't get any birds.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

The squirells empty the bird feeders much faster than the birds would so the boomer then has to refill it sooner. Rinse and repeat until they constantly talk about the squirrels.
My parents bought my grandfather a slingshot for his squirrel problem/hatred and the dude took off part of his own thumbnail and had to go to an urgent care.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago

My grandpa took issue with the seagulls harassing everything else in his backyard, so he bought a slingshot and shot them with grapes "They don't get hurt by a squishy grape, they get scared and the pigeons are happy about the grapes"

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago

I admit I laughed at the end.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I'm in my 30s and now also hate squirrels because of this very reason. They will empty an entire bird feeder in a single afternoon and the shit's expensive. We like to keep it stocked so our cats have some excitement to watch out the window.

Also, a bird built a nest in the tree right next to the feeder and squirrels came and ate through the bottom of the nest so they could eat the baby birds which was pretty horrific to discover.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Since people already answered the question, here's some unrequested tip:

If you want mammals to avoid bird feed, mix some of the hottest chili powder and/or pepper seeds that you find into the feed. The birds won't care, they don't get pepper burned, but squirrels (and you) do.

Picture related:

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I've got my eye on you....

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago

Not a boomer, don't care for squirrels. They're attic-hiding, wire-eating bastards. What the fuzzy-tailed rats don't eat out if the bird feeder, they knock on the ground. I planted 12 cannabis seeds. Each time one sprouted it would disappear the next day with a tiny asshole paw-shaped scoop left in the dirt.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago (7 children)

We don't? Boomer with bird feeder who loves squirrels.

I don't think it's age related.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Non-boomer here, I hate squirrels.

If you try to grow your own vegetables, you too will come to hate squirrels. I promise. Ageism need not apply to squirrel hate or vegetable enthusiasm.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

It doesn't matter your age, put up a bird feeder and you'll soon hate squirrels. You spend $40 on a bag of seed and they'll scoop out all the stuff that they don't want to get to the stuff they do want. Seed on the ground attracts animals you don't want like rodents or Canadian geese that shit all over. I found it easier to pay the squirrels off like the mafia. Buy a bag of corn or cheap peanuts and sprinkle some around to appease the bastards. It sucks but it's worth it in the long run.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not a boomer and I don't hate squirrels but one day I walked out onto the porch to have my morning coffee and a smoke and the fattest fuckin squirrel I've ever seen in my life was sitting there at eye level in the bird feeder staring back at me too satiated (or smug, I couldn't tell) to move after having eaten all the feed for several days straight. I was refilling it daily which is unusual but I never thought I'd meet the culprit in this way.

It's a thing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Did you nod at each other, in silent acknowledgment?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Basically. If I remember it right I just had my smoke and went inside and later when it had waddled back to whence it came, I hung the feeder in a different place. The squirrel was well fattened for winter. The birds not so much.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Not a boomer, but squirrels are pretty much just tree rats that make loud noises, could be the cause.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (9 children)

I disagree with the premise. Not every boomer hates squirrels. Not even every boomer with a bird feeder.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Not a boomer but the little bastards chewed through the propane line on my grill so now I throw rocks at em when I see them. They're formally vermin in my eyes.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

I don't hate them, but since grey ground squirrels are a primary vector for Bubonic plague in the southwest US, I prefer to keep them distanced.

Also don't have a bird feeder, planted natives to provide food and habitat.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

They destroy whatever they can. They chew cables, rip siding and nest in insulation. Make wherever they can smell of piss. If you try to grew anything edible they eat the sprouting fruit, nuts, and leaves then start eating the bark and kill the tree.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I bought a squirrel proof bird feeder pole thing

https://jcswildlife.com/products/squirrel-stopper-deluxe-squirrel-proof-bird-feeder-pole-system-with-baffle

It works great, now I'm happy to watch the squirrels run around not eating my birds' seed.

Only downside so far is some wasps built a nest inside and stung me. But they're dead now.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I'm imagining that last line said with a thousand yard stare.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Put chili peppers in your bird feed. Birds aren't affected by the capsicum like mammals are.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They're destructive and difficult to deter. If squirrel hate is more common among Boomers, it's probably because they've lived long enough to find this out firsthand.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Every since one of them tore out half the insulation from my car hood and stuffed it in every corner of the engine compartment, I've had it out for them. Furry little obsessive compulsive weirdos.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

My momma is 62 and loves her squirrels as well as her birds

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not a boomer, but as a Brit - the grey squirrel is an invasive species which has pretty much driven out the native red squirrel from most of the country. They also cause damage to trees through bark stripping.

[–] JadenSmith 6 points 2 months ago

I've known this for a while, however I do not wish harm to grey squirrels. This is their war, I don't even know the first thing about squirrel warfare, although I do hope the red squirrels find an alliance to support their freedoms.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

My dad is a boomer and back when I was in high school he had a pet squirrel. It would sit on his shoulder while he worked. Eat walnuts out of his shirt pocket.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Gen-Xer here, and I used to hate those furry-tailed rats. In one of my old apartments, one lived in the eaves of my building near my window and used to wake me up chewing on shit all the time. I've worked 2nd and 3rd shift jobs most of my adult life, and have found it hard enough to get other humans to respect my sleep time, let alone some rabid rodents that everyone else thinks are cute. I'm pretty much indifferent to them now, not being a property owner, but I can definitely understand why people hate them.

There used to be a clip on Fu Kung (remember that?) where a dude set up a trap on his back porch with a basket and some bungie cords, and when the squirrel took the bait, the guy cut the tether and flings the unsuspecting little bugger like 30 or 40 yards.

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