There is no such thing as a bird feeder and I am going to upset you when I tell you why. If you do not want to be my friend after this, I understand.

The feeding of birds is a multimillion dollar industry fueled by innovation. Thousands of hours a year are wasted trying to design a feeding device that allows only the birds to be fed from it. Sadly, EVERY SINGLE DESIGN fails spectacularly

If you go onto Amazon at the time of writing this and type in “squirrel proof bird feeder” you will be served over 1,000 different products created in a vain attempt to prevent anything other than birds being fed.

On each of these products you read unhappy reviews from disappointed consumers who tell tales of “intelligent squirrels” and “acrobatics worthy of the cirque du soleil stage”. These consumers are not in the minority.

My own father tried for years to find feeders that kept the squirrels away. Eventually he gave in and gave up.

So we can establish the first supporting argument to our claim. “Bird” feeders do not exist because NONE are designed to solely feed the birds. So, since that is established, let us talk about the food we put in those inadequate devices.

If you go down the “birding” aisle of any big box hardware store, there are bags on bags of different mixes of seeds, nuts, and berries. There are various colorful packages of suet food (a bird seed and animal fat “cake”). All of these items are food items that other wildlife are attracted to. In fact, some bags and packaging even state they are a “critter mix” or “wildlife blend” designed to feed animals in addition to the birds.

*editors note - we carry many of these products on our truck to use as bait to capture non bird nuisance wildlife because they are SO effective.

So our second supporting argument is that there is no seed or suet mix that is not also attractive to mice, squirrels, rats, opossums, raccoons, skunks, etc. So the feeder is not a “bird” feeder, it is a WILDLIFE feeder.

Now, some of you may be saying, “But Ryan, I put additives in the bird seed (such as red pepper flakes and capsaicin) to deter wildlife from feeding out of the feeders.” Here is where that falls apart - birds do not go to finishing school to learn proper meal time etiquette. Watch the next time the cardinal, jay, or finches show up at your feeding stations. They fling seed left and right, scattering it haphazardly all over the ground below. Once it hits the ground the red pepper flakes are often separated and flitter away in the wind leaving only the heavier seeds, nuts, and berries behind. And if you use a powder deterrent, any sort of ground moisture, rain, or snow will dilute and wash away the deterrent materials leaving behind freshly washed seeds. 

So, establishing all of that, we are confident stating there is no such thing as a “bird” feeder, they are just cleverly marketed “wildlife” feeders.

Now, if you have not left me yet, this next section will likely do the trick.

You do not need to be feeding wild birds on your property and are causing more issues than you can imagine by doing so. I won’t copy and paste the whole article, just a link ( https://www.fws.gov/refuges/features/to-feed-or-not-to-feed-wild-birds.html) but the US Fish and Wildlife Service gives great arguments as why feeding wild birds is not a good practice. It helps the spread of avian disease, it creates food dependence, and it contributes to higher bird death rates due to predation from feral cats and window strikes.

So, now that you all hate me, I will say this: You are not going to take down and throw away your wildlife feeders. I never thought you would. But please think about keeping them 25-30 feet from the structure of your home. Put them on the back fence line, or have a nice “bird garden” with a “bird” bath (that is a whole nother post), some feeders, and some wildflowers in the back corner of your lot. 

Otherwise plan on calling us come spring because of birds in your vents, waste accumulation on your siding, or deterioration of the shingles on the peak of the roof of your home from the birds compulsive pecking habits.

And if you call us for squirrel, mouse, raccoon, or skunk problems, know that we are going to tell you the wildlife feeders were the start of your problem - - - And we will not be wrong.

Till next time… see ya folks.