Submitted 2 months ago by wesker@lemmy.sdf.org to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Every boomer with a bird feeder hates squirrels. I don’t understand.
The squirells empty the bird feeders much faster than the birds would so the boomer then has to refill it sooner. Rinse and repeat until they constantly talk about the squirrels. My parents bought my grandfather a slingshot for his squirrel problem/hatred and the dude took off part of his own thumbnail and had to go to an urgent care.
My grandpa took issue with the seagulls harassing everything else in his backyard, so he bought a slingshot and shot them with grapes “They don’t get hurt by a squishy grape, they get scared and the pigeons are happy about the grapes”
I admit I laughed at the end.
I’m in my 30s and now also hate squirrels because of this very reason. They will empty an entire bird feeder in a single afternoon and the shit’s expensive. We like to keep it stocked so our cats have some excitement to watch out the window.
Also, a bird built a nest in the tree right next to the feeder and squirrels came and ate through the bottom of the nest so they could eat the baby birds which was pretty horrific to discover.
Since people already answered the question, here’s some unrequested tip:
If you want mammals to avoid bird feed, mix some of the hottest chili powder and/or pepper seeds that you find into the feed. The birds won’t care, they don’t get pepper burned, but squirrels (and you) do.
Picture related:
Tried this and it didn’t faze the little fuckers. Going to take another pass at it, must have done something wrong.
Maybe they developed a taste for it?
It’s not my fault.
I’ve got my eye on you…
Not a boomer, don’t care for squirrels. They’re attic-hiding, wire-eating bastards. What the fuzzy-tailed rats don’t eat out if the bird feeder, they knock on the ground. I planted 12 cannabis seeds. Each time one sprouted it would disappear the next day with a tiny asshole paw-shaped scoop left in the dirt.
We don’t? Boomer with bird feeder who loves squirrels.
I don’t think it’s age related.
Non-boomer here, I hate squirrels.
If you try to grow your own vegetables, you too will come grow to hate squirrels. I promise. Ageism need not apply to squirrel hate or vegetable enthusiasm.
Depends on where you live. I only have the Eurasian red squirrel in my country, and they are definitely not a nuisance to any vegetable planting plans.
I’m a Gen-Xer who hates birds and squirrels equally. So I guess I’m your antithesis?
Though I don’t hate any of them to the point of harming any of them. That would be too much effort.
You’re one of the good ones.
That’s the same thing racists say when they get to know a minority.
The way people talk about boomers here is pretty awful, and it wouldn’t be tolerated for any other group.
It doesn’t matter your age, put up a bird feeder and you’ll soon hate squirrels. You spend $40 on a bag of seed and they’ll scoop out all the stuff that they don’t want to get to the stuff they do want. Seed on the ground attracts animals you don’t want like rodents or Canadian geese that shit all over. I found it easier to pay them off like the mafia. Buy a bag of corn or cheap peanuts and sprinkle some around to appease the bastards. It sucks but it’s worth it in the long run.
And then lace the corn with cyanide?
The Mark Rober episode that boomers need.
Not a boomer and I don’t hate squirrels but one day I walked out onto the porch to have my morning coffee and a smoke and the fattest fuckin squirrel I’ve ever seen in my life was sitting there at eye level in the bird feeder staring back at me too satiated (or smug, I couldn’t tell) to move after having eaten all the feed for several days straight. I was refilling it daily which is unusual but I never thought I’d meet the culprit in this way.
It’s a thing.
Did you nod at each other, in acknowledgment?
Basically. If I remember it right I just had my smoke and went inside and later when it had waddled back to whence it came, I hung the feeder in a different place. The squirrel was well fattened for winter. The birds not so much.
I disagree with the premise. Not every boomer hates squirrels. Not even every boomer with a bird feeder.
I normally don’t care for broad strokes like this either, but his statement was that every boomer with a bird feeder hated them, so it wasn’t all boomers.
That said, squirrels where I was from are much more scarce than they once were. The acorns are still around, but the animals… Slowly disappearing.
The title talks about boomers in general. Only in the subtext is it specified to mean the ones with birdfeeders.
Not a boomer, but squirrels are pretty much just tree rats that make loud noises, could be the cause.
They are of the order rodentia, but so are capybara and everyone loves those. So I think you’re incorrect.
I love squirrels but Capybaras are the most different thing possible. I’ve played with some and they’re so mega chill, I can pet em and feed em by handing things to them… squirrels won’t even be on the same side of the tree as me.
Loud noises? The only noise I’ve heard a squirrel make is the “Tsk, tsk, tsk” -sound while agressively staring me down and whipping their tail and it’s not by any means loud.
The squirrels in the yard are noisy as hell, they chirp
Their mating call in the fall when they lookin for that squssy is a WILD sound
Not a boomer but the little bastards chewed through the propane line on my grill so now I throw rocks at em when I see them. They’re formally vermin in my eyes.
Put chili peppers in your bird feed. Birds aren’t affected by the capsicum like mammals are.
I don’t hate them, but since grey ground squirrels are a primary vector for Bubonic plague in the southwest US, I prefer to keep them distanced.
Also don’t have a bird feeder, planted natives to provide food and habitat.
I bought a squirrel proof bird feeder pole thing
jcswildlife.com/…/squirrel-stopper-deluxe-squirre…
It works great, now I’m happy to watch the squirrels run around not eating my birds’ seed.
Only downside so far is some wasps built a nest inside and stung me. But they’re dead now.
I’m imagining that last line said with a thousand yard stare.
A lot of boomers are really particular about well-manicured yards, pristine gardens, etc. Squirrels do not help with this.
I love seeing little divots where our squirrels bury nuts. If they eat some of our plants, then I put a cage around it or plant new ones. Seeing the little guys play and eat the food we put out for them far outweighs any minor landscaping problems they cause.
My momma is 62 and loves her squirrels as well as her birds
A lot of US defaultism going on in this thread. Americans (and perhaps British) talking about the North American grey squirrel as the incarnation of all squirrels, when people elsewhere in the world would have very different experiences with their local native squirrels, who act quite differently to those.
How DARE people answer a vague question with their own experiences!! Who’d guess that a question asked in English gets answers from people in predominantly English-speaking areas?! Fuck all these people for not discussing the habits of the Layards’s Palm Squirrel and why Sri Lankan boomers love/hate it!
Feel free to share your experiences.
For example?
My dad is a boomer and back when I was in high school he had a pet squirrel. It would sit on his shoulder while he worked. Eat walnuts out of his shirt pocket.
Squirrels were very popular pets in the 1800s. These answers are fascinating though.
Not a boomer, but as a Brit - the grey squirrel is an invasive species which has pretty much driven out the native red squirrel from most of the country. They also cause damage to trees through bark stripping.
I’ve known this for a while, however I do not wish harm to grey squirrels. This is their war, I don’t even know the first thing about squirrel warfare, although I do hope the red squirrels find an alliance to support their freedoms.
Every since one of them tore out half the insulation from my car hood and stuffed it in every corner of the engine compartment, I’ve had it out for them. Furry little obsessive compulsive weirdos.
Some boomer have gardens.
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
Squirrels eat the bird food meant for the birds and are extremely hard to stop
Anissem@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
They make a bird feeder called ‘Squirrel Buster’ which is fairly squirrel proof. I still put out food for them though, squirrels gotta eat too.
wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Why are the squirrels second class citizens to the birds? Is there a bird food shortage?
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
No, it’s just a bird feeder not a squirrel feeder. At least until the squirrels manage to change the signage, which they probably could if they tried hard enough.
KittenBiscuits@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Squirrels can clean out a feeder pretty quickly. Not as fast as deer can, but much faster than the birds.
So it’s a pain in the ass to go fill it back up, and it costs money. A person gets a bird feeder because they want to watch birds. There are cheaper ways to feed squirrels, if you like squirrels.
Both squirrels and birds can build nests in your home. Squirrels can chew their way into your attic, then you risk them chewing through wires. Birds nest in your dryer vent or bathroom vent. A nest in the dryer vent is a fire hazard. And they can introduce bird mites into your home. It’s like having a bed bug infestation except you can’t see them, their bites are hella itchy, and at least they can be dealt with by multiple rounds of thorough vacuuming. Ask me how I know.
I used to love to keep a bird feeder and watch the bird party on a snowy day. But I wasn’t out to feed the deer, and the mite problem erased any lingering feelings about feeding birds.
Shadow@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Squirrels are an invasive species, they’re not native to North America. They chew wires and mess with stuff.
Birds are pretty, sound nice, and eat bugs. They also poop on everyone’s stuff, but somehow it’s good luck if you get shit on.
Lauchs@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Birds are super good for the environment, take a quick google!
Squirrels on the other hand, are an invasive species in much of the world.
In my home province squirrels make it pretty hard for some of our local trees etc.
2ugly2live@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Squirrels in my area don’t share. And will do whatever they can to get to the feeder, even if that means breaking shit. I currently use a seed that has some spillage and that’s kept the squirrels satisfied. I don’t mind them, but they end up making it sl I won’t get any birds.