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Feeding birds remains a popular pastime, with many gardeners topping up bird feeders all throughout the year.
But it’s not just the birds that love the food. Squirrels will also want to raid the bird feeder and often break them in the process.
Bird feeders designed to keep out squirrels either enclose the feed tube in a cage, with bars spaced to allow small birds in and keep squirrels out, or they use springs to close off access to the food when something the weight of a squirrel lands on the feeder, yet allow the lighter birds to feed.
We tested 12 squirrel-proof bird feeders – find out the results in the table below.
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Bird feeder | Bird appeal | Squirrel proof | Ease of refilling | Ease of cleaning | Overall ease of use | Overall score |
90% | ||||||
Long-standing Best Buy This feeder relies on a spring mechanism that’s triggered shut when a squirrel tries to feed from one of the openings. It’s been a Best Buy since 2008, and it’s still the pick of the bunch. It’s a sturdy bird feeder that was popular with birds and received around 300 visits from five species, including many types of finch, as well as various tits, robins, house sparrows and nuthatches. The feeder was easy to set up and clean, but a bit fiddly to fill. There are a range of sizes to choose from – the Classic holds 989g of seeds. Find out which bird feeder we're talking about: log in now or join Which? | ||||||
Bird feeder | Bird appeal | Squirrel proof | Ease of refilling | Ease of cleaning | Overall ease of use | Overall score |
65% | ||||||
Robust and easy to fill This has a very robust and spacious cage design with a tube to hold the feed. More than 400 bird visits were recorded, and four species were observed – mostly tits, but also robins. This feeder is easy to set up and fill. No squirrels were observed attacking this feeder during the test, so we can’t be 100% sure it’s squirrel-proof. However, the cage is made from very strong wire that makes it unlikely that any squirrel could have squeezed through to gnaw at the central tube to access the bird food. It holds 549g of seeds. Find out which bird feeder we're talking about: log in now or join Which? | ||||||
Table notes: The more stars the better. Our prices are based on purchase prices in summer 2020 from garden centres or online from major suppliers and may vary, depending on the retailer. Score based on effectiveness against squirrels (50%), bird appeal (30%) and ease of use (20%). |
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Product name | What we found | Price | Where to buy |
This simple plastic dome can be installed over or under a feeder or feeding station, creating a slippery obstacle that squirrels can’t get past. It’s easy to fit and simple to wipe clean. The clear dome doesn’t discourage the birds like small-caged feeders can. But it will only deter mammals; birds such as magpies and jackdaws will still be able to raid your feeder. | £25 | ||
This battery-powered gadget works by attaching to the top of the bird feeder and spinning around whenever something heavy lands on it. This has the benefit of spinning off any raiders, such as large birds – for example magpies, jackdaws and rooks – and other pests, including rats. It will fit most hanging feeders. | £18 |
The grey squirrel was introduced into the UK from North America in the 19th century and it displaced the smaller native red squirrel, which is now only found in a few isolated areas.
The natural diet of a grey squirrel consists of nuts, seeds and fruits, although they also eat bird eggs. They are at home in parks, woods, and gardens with trees and shrubs.
Raiding bird tables for food has become common behaviour. Their antics can be amusing as they’re very agile and determined, but they can get through vast quantities of seed and scare off garden birds, sometimes damaging the feeders too.
Red squirrels are a protected species and it’s estimated that there are only 140,000 left in Britain, with just 15,000 left in England.
Grey squirrels have a population of more than 2.5 million. They are sometimes controlled in commercial forestry and to keep them out of areas where red squirrels still thrive.
It’s legal to control grey squirrels at home, but it’s best done by a pest-control company. It’s illegal to release trapped squirrels.
If you want to keep the squirrels in your garden fed but don't want to be overrun with weeds, here's our best no-grow bird seed.
Although squirrels are the wiliest, most persistent bird-food thieves, large birds, rats, mice and even deer will take food if they can reach it. The easiest way to prevent deer from taking bird seed is to place the feeder out of their reach, as they’re unlikely to rear up to access the food.
Rats move quickly and are excellent climbers, so preventing them from taking food is very difficult. The best recourse is to only use hanging feeders, positioning them away from overhanging branches, fences or walls. Catch any seeds that drop from the feeders by placing a bucket underneath, then dispose of this at the end of each day so there’s no food left overnight to attract them.
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We selected 12 different bird feeders designed for holding seed that also claimed to keep out squirrels.
We also tested them for:
See what other gardening wildlife products we test.