Defeating a squirrel

November 12, 2014 • 2:54 pm

Is it a sin to find this funny?

The Rock Squirrel [Spermophilus variegatus] has been raiding our bird feeder, carrying away pounds of seed. Nancy figured a quick solution. I don’t know which is funnier, the squirrel or Nancy’s narration.

h/t: pyers ~

 

40 thoughts on “Defeating a squirrel”

  1. I don’t think its too terribly evil. Probably not the best thing in the world for him to lick his fur clean of the stuff afterwards, but shouldn’t be too bad — and will likely be that much more of a deterrent in the future.

    …of course I do notice some corn that’s going to be a perfect squirrel snack before too long, so he may well get the last laugh….

    b&

        1. Y’know, I’m going to have to find an American, some strong straps and restraints, and experiment – vivisect – him/her/it with Barleycup. Just see what sort of response it gets. Not only is it “not-coffee”, but it’s instant not-coffee. That should get the old flames roaring and pitchforks sharpened.

          1. Only the Brits, who favor liquids that are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea would even think to invent an instant not-coffee.

            (I type this as I drink an absolutely heavenly amber oolong from Wyui Mountain in Fujian, a small rural area that grows the best teas I have ever drunk.)

            b&

          2. [Checks jar]
            Made in Poland.
            There are a lot of “ersatz” things like that going around in Europe. Blame the War. Rationing isn’t so far away. My parents still occasionally take a chicory-based coffee substitute, because that’s what they grew up with, and “proper” coffee doesn’t taste right.
            To be honest, if I want to make “proper” coffee, it’s out with a billy-can, the ready-ground and a spoon. We don’t need no steenking percolators or filter papers or nowt like that. Because that’s how I learned to make coffee.

          3. There’s a lot to be said for re-creating childhood (or other early) culinary memories…but, if you want to enjoy “world-class” (by the gods, I hate that term) coffee a single cup at a time with a minimal investment of money and skill, get yourself an Aeropress, a burr grinder, and find a non-Starbucks roaster who doesn’t burn the beans.

            Follow the instructions that come with the Aeropress and you’ll get an excellent cup of coffee…but even that can be significantly improved upon by following the method used by one of the winners of the competitions held to brew the best cup of Aeropress coffee (if you can believe such events exist).

            I’m currently playing around with an inverted method. Rather than the way the guy does it in that video, I wet the grounds, wait 42 seconds, fill the chamber, wait another 42 seconds, use two filters rather than a single one, and press as hard and fast as I can. (Water temperature is also important; 80°C / 175°F is about ideal.) I’m still experimenting, of course…and, with a week or so between experiments, it may well be a long road to perfection….

            b&

    1. Cute. I find myself projecting into the minds of both the elephant and the lions, trying to imagine their thinking process. What instincts and drives are at work. The elephant seems to know two important survival skills: Go to water, and reverse the chase. Very effective.
      I also found myself inspecting the minds of the photographers. They were identifying with the pachyderm, for sure (value judgement. Not scientific). Where are the rest of the elephants? He’s not smart to turn and attack. If the elephant had the mind of a photographer, would she have better success in the long run?

  4. Actually, I was rooting for the squirrel and waiting to be amazed by some ingenious solution that, alas, never came. But it was funny nonetheless.

    1. I know, the squirrel is probably suffering from low self esteem because he thinks he suddenly put on a ton of weight & that’s why he can’t get up the pole anymore.

    1. My wife and I used to use it to improve our sex life – we would smear it on the bedroom door handle to stop the kids getting in.

  8. Taken in Utah or the Sedona Arizona area? I wonder b/c of the beautiful red sandstone formations in the background.

  9. I did this to a feeder once when the squirrels were breaking the feeders. It doesn’t work for long. Now they just don’t bother going up there anyway since there is lots of stuff on the ground for them.

  10. We had a similar problem with Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) raiding our complex of bird feeders. The feeders all hang from the top of a wrought iron post much like the one in the video.

    I removed the feeders etc. from the top of the post, lowered a 5′ section of 4″ PVC drain pipe over the post. Our squirrels can’t get a good grip on the pipe, slide down it.

    After several years of hard work by our very persistent squirrels the pipe has enough scratches for them to be able to climb it. And then my wife washes it, waxes it, and our squirrels go back to being frustrated. For the most part they’ve stopped trying, just scavenge seeds that the birds drop.

    1. That’s a GREAT idea! I’m thinking maybe three-inch round metal downspout pipe; they wouldn’t be able to scratch that.

  16. I have a feeder much like this and have never been bothered by squirrels. You see, I have a simple trick, which anyone can do. It takes nothing but a little ingenuity and imagination; you don’t even need Vaseline.

    Consider it a squirrel feeder. Ta da! Sometimes, the birds visit it, too. But that’s okay — they never eat that much. There’s always plenty left for the squirrels. Assuming you keep buying the feed.

    Cute little guys, those squirrels. I love their puffy little cheeks.

  17. The disabled man I work for also has a “shepard’s-crook” type post for his bird feeder, and I’ve been involved in a year-long battle with one particularly persistent squirrel (squirrels are like people in prison: they have all the time in the world to try to make mischief): I tried this method using cooking oil (non-toxic; although the inventor of Vaseline swore that eating it was good for you and ate several tablespoons of it a day) but the squirrel soon learned that if he just slid down the post enough times he could wear it off, and I wasn’t there every day to replace it.

  20. My cat Max *loves* eating Vaseline. I
    keep a jar in the bathroom cabinet and every time I open the cabinet for any purpose Max leaps up onto the sink to beg for a bite. Even my Vet can’t believe it.

Comments are closed.