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These Last Longer at Squirrel Feeders
Except of course with raccoons – then nothing edible left outdoors will last!
Rocky and masked friends partake in a buffet of deer corn on a cold night, on a warm night, a rainy night… doesn’t matter. Once discovered, if there’s food they will come.
Since we moved from this place, there’s only a couple of corn cob squirrel feeders in the yard. The bungee cord is probably the most entertaining too, there’s a bell on it, so you know when the squirrels are jumping. This is a great feature should you ever need a few laughs 🙂
Using something called squirrel logs on these feeders is ideal if you’re not too keen on putting corn cobs out daily. The logs are actually compressed corn, and each is equal to about twelve ears of regular corn cobs. There’s even two flavors to satisfy your furry friends!
The logs usually last one week to 10 days, depending on activity. Smearing some peanut butter on them during frigid weather provides a killer treat that helps squirrels stay warm. But back to Rocky and friends… the logs are gone the next morning! For a while, we thought our crafty critters were just stealing them, until we discovered their larger, more destructive cousins were wolfing them down in one sitting!In the scheme of things, maybe the coons aren’t so bad, they’re certainly preferable to bears! Several recent stories about bears raiding bird feeders is scary stuff! Guess there comes a time when it’s beneficial to both humans and nature to cease feeding everything wild… at least for a little while?
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Easiest Squirrel Feeders Ever!
In honor of a belated Squirrel Appreciation Day, which was actually January 21st (yes the critters do have a day named for them) we wanted to show the absolute easiest feeder ever. You needn’t buy anything, as this item’s usually a staple in your pantry.Peanut butter… because they love it! And with this crazy frigid weather, the high fat & protein gives them extra calories to stay warm. Calories=Energy. So what do ya do with the peanut butter? Slap it on a tree trunk! Just smear some on a tree and the entertainment is free. Why are there no squirrels in the picture then? It’s been so cold overnight, we’re not even seeing them venture out bed until noon!
We’ll use peanut butter on other squirrel feeders during freezing weather too. Smeared on corn cobs, or long-lasting corn logs (compressed corn), it’s simple to do for a special treat.
And squirrels aren’t the only ones who love the gooey stuff! Woodpeckers, nuthatches and the warbler shown here seem to like peanut butter too, in freezing weather anyway. Is it safe for birds? Absolutely, because it’s one of the base ingredients in many suet recipes.The black iron thing in the picture is really a wall-mounted plant tray that was on the front porch – but our plants kept falling off – so it became a feeder. If you wanted to add some other goodies for really cheap, take a plastic plant saucer and tack it to the tree trunk. Heck, you could even offer seed, or water in this fashion! The pale yellow glob is suet, which everybody loves, and it’s simple to make yourself. Some fast and easy recipes are on our site under birding resources.
But say you wanted to go all out, and offer a deluxe squirrel feeder for furry friends?
Look no further than the Munch Box Combo. It offers variety in a handcrafted, quality feeder that’s made in the USA.And why were we late with Squirrel Appreciation Day? Because it was also Penguin Awareness Day 🙂
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Others partaking in squirrel feeders and more!
Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota… no, actually in any suburban yard you’ll find other furry guests searching for good eats!Placing squirrel feeders or any wildlife feeder for that matter does have it’s ups & downs. There’s also quite a bit of controversy over attracting and feeding wildlife in residential areas. But you wouldn’t think feeding a few squirrels would be any big deal, right? Right… it’s not, except when larger critters start invading those feeders-and your other ones too.
Even the long-lasting corn logs used on the bungee squirrel feeder are disappearing! Now these are compressed corn, and equal to about twelve ears of regular corn cobs. They usually last at least a few weeks… but whole logs are disappearing. You can bet that’s not the work of hungry squirrels!
Since it’s a busy time for hummingbirds with their migration south, extra hanging feeders have been placed on the deck to accommodate the crowds – we’re up to seven of them now! Still being warm in GA, the nectar needs changing every few days, but we don’t mind in the least because the tiny sprites are so mesmerizing to watch. What we do mind however, is having to take those feeders in at night!
In all the years of offering nectar, nobody’s ever bothered the feeders, except maybe a few ants or bees from time to time. Well, somebody’s being a real pain in the butt this year, as broken feeders and sticky nectar all over the deck have been discovered twice last week. We’ve heard of folks having to bring in seed feeders at night due to bears, but we’ve never encountered a problem with nectar feeders before. Taking them all inside at night, then getting them back out early in the morning as hummingbirds are screaming for their food is a real pain! Just add it to the list of what we crazy folks are known to do for our birds!
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