Originally Posted by
bearisgray
A friend of ours put a metal Slinky on the post that holds the bird feeder. No squirrels!
The Slinky acts like a 'jacket' around the post. Must be something about the coils that the squirrels don't like.
We tried it too - no squirrels.
I kind of miss watching the little critters climbing - don't miss DH and DS yelling at the squirrels, though.
The Slinky I purchased from our local Walgreens for $3.99 plus tax is a worthwhile investment when applied to the pole to deter squirrels, chipmunks, and even our neighborhood racoon. We thought we had tried everything under the sun to deter those creatures from getting to the caged suet cakes for the woodpeckers.
DH mounted a spare metal flagpole bracket to the railing on the deck. He then attached the cage to the far end of the pole with floral wire. We clamped the opened Slinky to the pole by using two extra large office binder clips(one each at the base and 3/5's way up the pole. Wahoo! We arrived back home tonight to witness success for five consecutive days. Thank you for the marvelous tip :-)