Racoons

[Dave in VA]

Woke up this morning to the destruction of my bird feeders. Even the S hooks from the tree limbs are AWOL!

Guess I will wait a few days before getting it all put back together. Cold and raining, so it'll just have to wait.

Anyone with a suggestion for keeping this from happening again, other than stop feeding the birds, please chime in!

[Arkansas Granny]

1. There are a number of baffles available for pole or hanging feeders.

I use one on my bird feeder pole and I've been very satisfied with it.

[Dave in VA]

3. Thanks

I have one that has a pole baffle (stove pipe type) that was not disturbed. But the two I had hanging from the tree had the half dome type over them. Everything, the S hooks, the chain, the baffles, and the feeders are all on the ground. Maybe I'll have to stop hanging them from the trees.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Arkansas Granny]

11. Raccoons are clever, determined and destructive. Good luck.

[ret5hd]

2. You're pronouncing it wrong: it's "raycuns":

[Dave in VA]

4. Now that's funny!

I think the audio in my house was kind of close to this this morning.

[Ferrets are Cool]

16. ...

[cab67]

5. cayenne pepper

Depending on what you're using for feed, a small amount of hot pepper - cayenne usually works fine - mixed in will deter most mammals. Birds aren't sensitive to capsaicin, which is what makes hot pepper hot. Sprinkling some on the ground might also help.

One can buy bird seed blends with hot pepper or capsaicin. Suet cakes, too - though these are also somewhat more brittle, and icterids really REALLY love them, so they tend not to last very long during the spring.

I've seen that chipmunks are somewhat more willing to try out hot food, so I've upgraded to ground habanero on a couple of my sunflower seed feeders.

[Dave in VA]

7. Thanks

My neighbor used to use the cayenne pepper in his feeders and it seemed to work for a while. After a few weeks he told me he stopped using it because the squirrels were knocking on the window ordering margaritas!

I may give it a try when I get things going again.

[Walleye]

8. Same here. The first day the squirrels didn't like it. The second day, drinks with little umbrellas

[Siwsan]

6. I have mine hanging on limbs just strong enough to support the, and use squirrel baffels

And by squirrel baffle, I mean the clear plastic coverings that come on store bought, round cakes. Also switched to bird feeders with metal perches so no more squirrel gnawing. So far, it's worked really well.

The few raccoons I've seen, so far, are MASSIVE so there's no way the branches could support their weight.

[Dave in VA]

12. Thanks

Yeah, I have mine on pretty substantial limbs. For the resulting mess to have occurred it was something much larger than squirrels. Eliminating the possibility of a whole "posse" of them coordinating!

[cab67]

9. of course, there's also this -

[Dave in VA]

13. Funny!

[Frustratedlady]

10. Somewhere out there, I have 5 new feeders of various types that the raccoons took with them.

I tried everything, then wrapped the chain and hooks with strips of Press and Seal food wrap as tightly as I could...round and round and round until it was so tight that the coons couldn't unwrap it. That lasted even through rains until I finally had to replace it. They especially loved the peanut feeders. On some feeders, I used the electrical ties to close the "doors" so they couldn't get into the feeder. You have to replace the ties when you refill, but they aren't too expensive...cheaper than feeders.

The food wrap sticks together so they can't find an end to unwrap it. It has to be several layers deep. I haven't lost a feeder since I started using that method. (Kitchen cook's method.)

[Dave in VA]

14. May have to give this a try!

I was in a tractor supply store a few years ago to purchase my first half dome baffle. There was an older gentleman in the isle looking a feeders and he looked at me and said, "squirrels, heh?" He then told me to get a empty two liter soda bottle and cut the bottom out. Run the chain through the bottle and place to bottle on top of the baffle. I have used this method ever since and the squirrels are unable to successfully get to the feeders 99% of the time.

This is the first time that this has occurred where everything is down from the tree and the small suet feeder is AWOL.

Again, thanks for the suggestion!

[keithbvadu2]

15. Hot sauce - stirred, not shaken - in the seeds

[Donkees]

17. I take the feeders in for the night.