if the bird-feeder is far enough off the ground, hang the slinky between the hook and the bird=feeder, the squirrels cannot navigate the slink.... Or buy a hawk or an owl.
mine splits at the top so there are 2 shepherd hooks coming off it. I didn't think those damn squirrels could climb the thin slippery pole but a couple weeks ago I found 2 of them on top of it. Problem is that one of them got their tail stuck in the fork of the hooks while trying to hang down and get at the birdfeeder. This stupid tree rat was really stuck and dangling by its tail making noises I had no idea squirrels could even make.
It took me a few minutes to figure out what to do, but I finally got a snow shovel and used it to get its tail unwedged. That REALLY did not make it happy, but it got free and ran off...leaving about 3 inches of tail fur behind. I've seen that squirrel running around the yard a couple times. Can't miss him with that jacked up tail! ha!
getting one of those plastic "keg" pretzel containers (Utz is one brand), and cutting a hole in the bottom the size of the circumference of the pole. He cut the top off the keg at it's widest point and slid the keg, open side down, around the pole. Dopey squirrels climbed the pole into the open end of the keg and couldn't figure out what to do when they reached the dead end. They never figured out how to, or weren't able to, climb the outside of the plastic keg.
Although kudos for the homemade solution.
of grain, corn, and nuts and just feed those cute rats somewhere else and they seemed to bother the bird feeders a lot less.
An expensive and "quitter's" type of answer, but he seems happier. Just a thought.
a six pack of beer, and an evening without any family members around. Or just give up and feed the squirrels too.
My wife, at one time, enjoyed feeding the squirrels - until they started on her bird feeder. Tried everything, to know avail. Ended up with a super soaker...water worked for a short while, bleach worked a whole lot better.
Had a friend that found a feeder that doors could be set to close at a certain weight.
Good luck...have fun.
auto parts store. It should hold up to the elements.