Found a simple trick to keep squirrels off my feeder last month

I put a 4-foot PVC pipe over the feeder pole and greased it with cooking oil, and not a single squirrel has climbed up since. Has anyone else tried a DIY solution like this that actually worked for bird feeding?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewgonzalez10d ago

@derek_perez thought the same thing til I tried it, now I'm a believer.

derek_perez10d ago

Wait, cooking oil? You just poured cooking oil on a PVC pipe and left it out there? I have to say I'm a little surprised that worked without turning into a greasy mess or attracting ants or something. Did it stay slick after a rain or did you have to reapply it every few days? I've been using a baffle on mine but the squirrels just jump over it from a nearby tree branch.

wells.olivia9d ago

3 years of squirrel warfare taught me that if you want to outsmart a squirrel, you have to be dumber than one - which is a surprisingly low bar. @drewgonzalez gets it, I've had to reapply after heavy rain but it's still less work than refilling a feeder for a squirrel buffet. My pipe is currently supporting a healthy ecosystem of cooking oil and regret, but hey, zero squirrels.