"david taylor" wrote in message
...
I had two cheap plastic based nut feeders for birds hung in a hawthorn bush
and a grey squirrel gnawed off the base of one to get at the nuts. I
replaced that feeder with a metal one. The squirrel then attacked the
second plastic feeder.

I had a plastic bird feeder that the squirrels gnawed off in a few days, so
i bought a metal feeder with a metal wire cage around it, they clung on to
the wire cage & are constantly at it, so i hung the feeder higher & on a
thin branch that i thought wouldn't support both their weight & secured the
hook on the feeder with twine to the branch so strong gusts of wind wouldn't
bring it down. The squirrels gnawed off the twine & the feeder fell,
scattering the seeds all over the garden. Score - Squirrel 2, GV 0 : (

I smeared the base with butter then vasilene mixed with chilli powder
(cheap from an Asian supplier). The squirrel sampled it, recoiled, tried
again, washed itself vigorously, then went off and hasn't been seen
since.

I like the sound of that... flicking through my take-away menu & considering
a vindaloo or phal... finally an excuse to order one of these for dinner!
: )

The chilli did not affect the birds and it does seem to be a way of
keeping squirrels from particular targets such as bird tables or feeders.

Thanks, i think i have sone habernero chilli stashed at the back of the
larder.

GV.