[Sailohio]

The Wife and I have had squirrels climbing all over our bird cage and even chewing holes in it. I bought a plastic owl from Home Depot. It has a round hole with plug on the bottom to put sand inside to keep it in place. However, I hope to be able to mount it on top of my bird cage frame for maximum effect. Has anyone done this successfully before and would you share your methods with me.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by Sailohio

The Wife and I have had squirrels climbing all over our bird cage and even chewing holes in it. I bought a plastic owl from Home Depot. It has a round hole with plug on the bottom to put sand inside to keep it in place. However, I hope to be able to mount it on top of my bird cage frame for maximum effect. Has anyone done this successfully before and would you share your methods with me.

I have four squirrels I feed peanuts to for three years and none have eaten through our screen. Have you seen them. I kept birdseed in the lanai and it was a rat that had chewed through screen and into the bird seed bag. I had to put the bird seed into a plastic container to make it stop and then put out rat poison inside an upside milk crate. The rats can fit through the holes in the crate but it's keeps other animals out, namely a rabbit that we have come all the time. Do you have food of any kind inside your birdcage? That's what they smell. I guess it could be a squirrel, they climb my screen but that's all they do. The fake owl generally works for birds, every neighborhood pool has one mounted on the trellis around the pool to keep bird droppings off the recliners.

[Dana1963]

Originally Posted by Sailohio

The Wife and I have had squirrels climbing all over our bird cage and even chewing holes in it. I bought a plastic owl from Home Depot. It has a round hole with plug on the bottom to put sand inside to keep it in place. However, I hope to be able to mount it on top of my bird cage frame for maximum effect. Has anyone done this successfully before and would you share your methods with me.

We tried it the squirrels and Owl became friends.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

We tried it the squirrels and Owl became friends.

The trick is to buy a real owl.

[DeanFL]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

The trick is to buy a real owl.

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yeah, but from WHO???
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[JohnN]

I've had squirrel problems. Good luck with the owl!
I bought a hav-a-hart (have a heart) trap from Home Depot and when I catch one, I haul 'em out to the forest preserve and release him there. I've caught a dozen or more, palm rats too.

[vintageogauge]

Squirrels are very persistent and there is very little you can do to deter them, trap and release is the best method.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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yeah, but from WHO???
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.

Owls are Us has them for a real good price, guaranteed to eat squirrels too.

[Sailohio]

Originally Posted by John_W

I have four squirrels I feed peanuts to for three years and none have eaten through our screen. Have you seen them. I kept birdseed in the lanai and it was a rat that had chewed through screen and into the bird seed bag. I had to put the bird seed into a plastic container to make it stop and then put out rat poison inside an upside milk crate. The rats can fit through the holes in the crate but it's keeps other animals out, namely a rabbit that we have come all the time. Do you have food of any kind inside your birdcage? That's what they smell. I guess it could be a squirrel, they climb my screen but that's all they do. The fake owl generally works for birds, every neighborhood pool has one mounted on the trellis around the pool to keep bird droppings off the recliners.

No food in bird cage at all. Maybe rats. I don’t really know. But squirrels are all over the place. If I could trap the squirrels I could drop them off at your place and you’d have more to feed. 🙄

[Sailohio]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

The trick is to buy a real owl.

[HeleneGB]

Tried it for pigeons in California. Pigeons pooped on owl.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

We tried it the squirrels and Owl became friends.

funniest part is it's completely true. ! after watching the results, even up north, this method doesn't always work. sooner or later they figure out the statue isn't a threat

[LoisR]

Try a 22.

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

The trick is to buy a real owl.

[MandoMan]

[QUOTE=Sailohio;1887385]The Wife and I have had squirrels climbing all over our bird cage and even chewing holes in it. I bought a plastic owl from Home Depot. It has a round hole with plug on the bottom to put sand inside to keep it in place. However, I hope to be able to mount it on top of my bird cage frame for maximum effect. Has anyone done this successfully before and would you share your methods with me.

Can squirrels actually recognize plastic owls as owls? I know my 12 lb. papillon LOVES to chase squirrels, but if the squirrels don’t move, she can run right by them without seeing them. She chases things that move and can’t find them if they stop. She loves to meet dogs, but when there are dogs on television, she pays no attention at all and doesn’t seem to see them as dogs. Thus my question about whether a squirrel would recognize a plastic owl as an owl. And then there is the issue another commenter raised: would the squirrel soon realize that the “owl” doesn’t move at all. Squirrels are pretty smart. Even if they thought there was an owl, they would soon grow accustomed to it.

My house in Pennsylvania came with a plastic owl in the basement. I mounted it on the partial wall separating the refrigerator from the dining room. It’s been watching me eat for years, and I never have to feed it. I’ve never had any problems with squirrels in my dining room since I put it there, but I don’t think that counts as evidence, though some people might find it convincing.

I DID once catch seven juvenile raccoons trying to reach my bird feeder in the course of five days, using a large Have-a-Heart trap. I let them all go in the same place several miles away beside a creek in the woods. For squirrels, I used the small trap.