Squirrel shield

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:08 pm

Now that we have the squirrel box built I have another squirrel question.

I built a cone to go around the pole that holds up my bird feeder. The pole is a 3/4" steel rod bent into a hook with a small hook bent into the end to hold the bird feeder.

I had a circular plastic disk on it but the sun took it's toll on the plastic and squirrel mastered getting around it.

So I went to HD and got a sheet of aluminum 20" wide flashing. I cut out a 20x20 piece and then cut out a circle with a 10" diameter. I drilled a hole in the center and sliced the circle for the center out to the edge. I then put it on the pole and pop riveted the slice which caused the whole thing to cone a little.

Looked good and i was happy the squirrel was shut off from the feeder, life was good.

However today the wind is blowing the thing is banging around almost sounds like the artifical thunder from radio days. I probably should have used galvanized steel or something a little stiffer but the aluminum seemed like a great idea at the time.

Also the thing is real shiney and I figure the neighbors are going to start giving me grief over it's looks.

Ideas how I can salvage my investment in aluminum flashing I have about 9 feet of it left.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:30 pm

Ed in Tampa wrote:Now that we have the squirrel box built I have another squirrel question.

I built a cone to go around the pole that holds up my bird feeder. The pole is a 3/4" steel rod bent into a hook with a small hook bent into the end to hold the bird feeder.

I had a circular plastic disk on it but the sun took it's toll on the plastic and squirrel mastered getting around it.

So I went to HD and got a sheet of aluminum 20" wide flashing. I cut out a 20x20 piece and then cut out a circle with a 10" diameter. I drilled a hole in the center and sliced the circle for the center out to the edge. I then put it on the pole and pop riveted the slice which caused the whole thing to cone a little.

Looked good and i was happy the squirrel was shut off from the feeder, life was good.

However today the wind is blowing the thing is banging around almost sounds like the artifical thunder from radio days. I probably should have used galvanized steel or something a little stiffer but the aluminum seemed like a great idea at the time.

Also the thing is real shiney and I figure the neighbors are going to start giving me grief over it's looks.

Ideas how I can salvage my investment in aluminum flashing I have about 9 feet of it left.

Yeah, I got a good idea. Trash the aluminum shield and let the squirrels eat without having to outfox you.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:10 am

dusty wrote:Yeah, I got a good idea. Trash the aluminum shield and let the squirrels eat without having to outfox you.

Dusty

Dusty you are bad, you know squirrels are one of my buttons.

If you didn't let me say I wage constant war with the little buggers.

With that in mind your idea has a few problems.

Problem number one squirrels only want sunflower seeds to they toss all the other seed out of the feeder until they get to the sunflower seed. I can go broke trying to keep the feeder full with the squirrels around.

Problem number two. Squirrels are nothing more than fuzzy tail rats and they like to live close to their food. If I don't stop the squirrels my attic would be full of them in a week. Once they get into your house you are sitting on a time bomb. Then love to gnaw on electric wires. They will have litters and usually have a one or two that die. So you can look forward to their body fluids staining the ceilings. They also love to eat through heating and cooling duct work just to see what is in there.

One last problem any wild anything can be diseased, samonella, rabies, various worms and other things that we that don't live among the wild don't have antibodies for.

I have a "one with nature" neighbor that loved the cute little squirrels, however her whole family is now dealing with what those cute little squirrels have brought into their lives. Trust me nobody wants all the grief those cute little squirrels have brought to them. Now when ever her husband sees one of these "cute little squirrels" he becomes an absolute .... Well let me just say it isn't pretty.

I think to solve my problem I'm going to put more "cone" into my shield (by overlapping the seam more). I tried to keep shield as wide as possible but more cone will give it less area to be effected by the wind, more rigidity, and hopefully tone down the thunder sounds.

dlbristol · Post by **dlbristol** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:41 am

Can you eat them? I saw a really quiet .77 cal air rifle in Guide Gear catalogue. We have JAys here that do much of the same thing your critters do, but We have to deal with them, because they are part of a larger groupe of protected birds. They do leave in the summer however.

Culprit · Post by **Culprit** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:48 pm

dlbristol wrote:Can you eat them?

Absolutely! I like them in a crock pot with potatos, carrots and onions, others like to fry them.

anmius · Post by **anmius** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 4:32 pm

Squirrel meat is one of the principal ingredients in Brunswick Stew which was supposedly enjoyed by George Washington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick_stew

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:21 pm

OR-- You can cook up some for dog food!

dforeman · Post by **dforeman** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:46 am

Squirrels can be a real pain in the a## in certain situations. Been there done that.

As for shooting them, just be wary of local ordinances. A lot of times in suburban areas it is illegal to discharge firearms. Suburban areas are usually where I've noticed that they tend to become a problem/nuisance.

As for Rabies, squirrels are not a high risk for transmission. A lot of people doctors and medical folks will say otherwise and treat squirrel bit victims for rabies anyway. That is due mainly as a precautionary measure based on general medical practices/standards. But, the reality is that squirrel bits (and a few other select mammals) have a very low risk of transmitting the rabie vector. However, you definitely do not want to rule out infections due to squirrel bits. Their mouths are not the cleanest places.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:21 am

I have eaten my share of squirrels but they were all shot out of hickory nut trees up north. I don't want to eat any squirrel that lived in this hot weather, with all the bugs and worms and dined on lead from stand pipe flashing.

There are many ways to eliminate them but you have to be so darn careful these days or you will find yourself in trouble. Most people think of them as harmless cute little critters that you can train to come up to your back door and feed. What they don't know is how destructive those fuzzy tailed rats can be.

Right now all I want is to keep them out of my bird feeders. I need ideas on how to use this aluminum flashing I have. Thanks

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:34 am

Having experienced rabies shots after being bitten by a feral kitten that got away after the bite, I can only repeat what the doctor said at the emergency room. If the kitten didn't have rabies, then you'll be fine with a tetanus shot. If the kitten had rabies and you DON'T take the rabies shots, you'll DIE!

While I was going through the series of rabies shots, a woman also was getting the shots. She was working in the garden and was bitten by a mole.