Keep Squirrels Away From Bird Feeders In Milwaukee

Once you start feeding the birds in your backyard, it can be exciting to see what kinds of wildlife come to the feeders. Unfortunately, feeding the birds often brings more than just winged animals to your garden. Your bird feeders are open invitations to other outdoor creatures, especially squirrels. Keep squirrels out of your bird feeders to avoid needing squirrel removal in Milwaukee.

Hang Bird Feeders Away From Trees

Place your bird feeders in places that are more difficult for squirrels to reach. Squirrels have a lot of determination to reach food sources. When your feeders are placed near trees, the squirrels can use the branches to reach the feeders. You may need to get creative and use baffles on your bird feeder. Baffles are cone-shaped deterrents that cause the squirrel to slide off when they jump on the bird feeder.

Add a Squirrel Feeder to Your Yard

You may never be able to completely keep squirrels out of your bird feeders, so why not just give them a snack? Squirrels enjoy dry corn, sunflower seeds and peanuts, unsalted, of course. Having their own feeder may help deter them from eating all your bird feed.  

Use Bird Seed That Squirrels Don’t Like

Safflower seeds and nyjer seeds are just two types of bird feed that squirrels aren’t attracted to. Goldfinches enjoy nyjer seed. Chickadees, grosbeaks, blue jays and woodpeckers like safflower seeds. White proso millet isn’t popular with squirrels, but doves and sparrows like it. You may get a different variety of birds when you switch up the food in the feeders, too. Try to avoid sunflower seeds, as squirrels really like this food.

Two Other Squirrel Deterrents

You should also keep the ground cleaned up around your feeders. Birds can be messy. This mess can attract other critters. Spending a few minutes cleaning up each day can help reduce some of these problems.

Is Wildlife Taking Over Your Yard?

Feeding the birds can bring hours of enjoyment, but you should be aware of making your yard a food source for wildlife. Birdseed can bring more wildlife than you anticipated. Some types of wildlife, even birds, can be overwhelming. If you get a flock of grackles, not only can they eat a lot of food in a short time, but they can also be aggressive to your other birds. Birds can make their nests under your eaves and cause a mess pretty quickly. Bird droppings are nasty and spread germs. Deer, rabbits and skunks may also be drawn to your bird feeders. Although you probably won’t have to worry about deer making a nest under your deck, you don’t want skunks, squirrels or raccoons to build their home next to yours. When do squirrels have babies? Squirrels can have two litters each year, once in the spring and again at the end of summer. Most mammals have strong mothering instincts. When a squirrel is protecting her young, she can get more aggressive, making it more dangerous to have squirrels in your yard. If you are dealing with wildlife in your backyard, don’t try to trap it yourself. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control offers squirrel removal in Milwaukee using humane methods that are safe for your family and pets. Contact us to get rid of pests in your home, both inside and outside. We take all precautions and help you prevent future infestations through remediation.