Squirrel-proof camera feeders

This page exists because the search does, and the honest answer is not the one the query expects. If you want a feeder that genuinely defeats squirrels by mechanism, you want a squirrel-proof seed feeder and no camera. If you want the camera, read on — the problem is solvable, just not by the feeder.

Why the mechanism cannot be built in

A Squirrel Buster works by letting the weight of an animal close a shroud over the feeding ports. It is a moving part that depends on the whole feeder being free to hang and shift. A camera feeder is the opposite object: a rigid housing that must stay still and aimed, with a battery, a lens and a solar panel on it. Bolting a weight-activated shroud to that would either block the camera or stop the mechanism working.

So the makers do the sensible thing and do not claim it. What they do publish is a weather rating, which tells you something useful about how the housing survives being sat on and chewed: Birdbuddy rates the Pro at IP67 and Kiwibit rates its feeder at IP65. Neither figure is about squirrels, but a well-sealed housing tolerates the abuse better than a poorly sealed one.

The picks

The setup that actually works

1. Mount on a pole, never on a tree or a fence. A hanging feeder in a tree is a feeder a squirrel walks to. This is the single change that fixes most cases.
2. Fit a baffle below the feeder. A dome or cylinder on the pole, positioned so the squirrel cannot get a grip above it. The baffle is the component doing the work; a pole without one is just a hook on a stick.
3. Set the pole clear of launch points. Squirrels jump a long way horizontally and drop further vertically. Keep the pole away from fences, sheds, low branches and the roof line.
4. Keep it near cover but not under it. Cardinals want shrubs within about ten feet, so do not strand the pole in open lawn — but the cover must not be something a squirrel can launch from.
5. Clear the ground underneath. Spilled seed under the feeder is what brings squirrels into the area in the first place. A tray or a regular sweep removes the invitation.

What about the squirrel footage?

Worth knowing before you spend money solving this: a camera feeder turns squirrel raids into video, and a good many owners end up enjoying that more than they expected. If the seed cost is tolerable and the squirrels are not driving the birds off entirely, the cheapest fix is to decide it is a feature. The birds return between raids, and the identification features carry on working.

The case for fixing it properly is seed cost and hopper emptying, not the footage. A squirrel can empty a 3.8 cup hopper in a sitting, and a feeder that is always empty records nothing at all.

What does not work

• Greasing the pole. It is bad for the animal's coat and it wears off in a week.
• Cayenne pepper in the seed. Birds cannot taste capsaicin and squirrels can, so the logic is sound — but the powder blows into birds' eyes and onto the camera lens, and it is a poor idea on a feeder you also have to keep clean.
• Buying a more expensive camera feeder. Nothing in the price ladder addresses this. The $240 model is exactly as accessible to a squirrel as the $180 one.
• A weight-activated seed feeder plus a camera pointed at it. Tempting, but the identification features on these feeders depend on the bird landing in the frame the maker designed. Aimed at a third-party feeder, the results are poor.