We enjoy seeing wild birds in our backyard, my latest sighting to add to our "collection" was a male Indigo Bunting.  However, I have had a squirrel problem-- that I only recently solved.

I don't mind the squirrels eating fallen birdseed, but I don't like them being pigs and getting all of the seed (the seed costs money and I want birds, not squirrels).  There were times that I would fill the feeder and the seed would be dumped on the ground the next day.

We have a squirrel-proof feeder (HA!) suspended from a tree. They hang upside down from it and eat like maniacs.  This went on for over a year . . . until I had enough.

I went and purchased a squirrel baffle.  It baffled them for about an hour, but one of them finally beat it.

Next, I bought a two foot long 1/2 inch copper polished pipe for over the wire-- defeated.

I greased the pipe with cooking spray. One of these little monkeys jumps onto the feeder, but it is getting better-- I am not refilling the feeder twice a week anymore, but I still have a problem.

Time for squirrel re-education!  I pulled out the wrist rocket (slingshot) and began the re-education program.  I opted for the slingshot because I needed some hits but mostly near misses (I now put the shot within a one foot box around the squirrel and have scored about 10 butt shots and no kills) for the program to work.  With an air rifle and scope, almost every shot would be a kill shot and I am not looking for that result.

Finally, success! A little more than a week later, the squirrels react to the creak of the storm door opening like Pavlov's dogs and scatter.  I re-grease the pole every 2-3 days.  They still get some fallen seeds, but the feeder is still with seed a for the whole week and we have more birds on the feeder as opposed to squirrels.

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