Squirrel-Proof your Bird Feeder Using a Flower Pot

A cylinder squirrel baffle is perfect to protect bird feeders that are on poles. When the squirrel climbs up the pole, he encounters the baffle and can’t get around it. These baffles are sold commercially and are pretty inexpensive. We have one and it works great! But it is also easy to make your own. A previous post talked about how to make one out of a stove pipe.

You can also make a similar squirrel baffle out of a plastic flower pot.

Here’s how:

1. Cut the lip off the flower pot so that it is smooth.

2. Make a hole in the bottom of the pot that is 1/4″ bigger than your pole.

3. If you have a wooden post or pole, hammer two or three nails into it on opposite side of the pole, leaving half of the nail exposed. If you have a metal pole, get three metal corner brackets at any hardware or home improvement store. Secure them to the pole with a hose clamp so that they form a little shelf. For either method, make sure you put these at least five feet from the bottom of your pole since squirrels can jump five feet straight up.

4. Invert the flower pot, thread the pole through it, and let it rest on the nails or the shelf made from corner brackets.

Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, check out this website. The author has photographs of each step.