This is just how badly the squirrels hated the peppermint oil soaked in cotton balls. (ha!)
There you see the cotton balls on the birdcage.
It bothered them at first, then they ignored it.
Actually, if I had put fresh peppermint oil allll the time, the squirrels would not have liked that. But, that was a lot of trouble and messy.
Actually, if I had put fresh peppermint oil allll the time, the squirrels would not have liked that. But, that was a lot of trouble and messy.
BUT, this cayenne pepper is REALLY working!!
I waited a few days to see if it works before I shared it with you.
This morning, three times I saw a squirrel coming down the chain, seemed to sniff, moved to the other side of the feeder and I guess, sniffed again. Then, it left the feeder and climbed up to a limb.
I swear I saw him rubbing his nose!! I really think he was.
Pepper doesn't seem to bother the birds, at all. The sparrows are not as eager to eat the seed, but all the finches, titmice and chickadees don't seem to mind.
The only thing that I wonder about is, whether or not it gets on their feet and, possibly, in their eyes. But, with all of the stuff that's out there and in the air, maybe their eyes have a way of protecting themselves.
I have a chile pequin plant
(Google)
and the mocking birds LOVE the peppers when they turn red.
I'll let you know if there are any changes, but for now,
NO SQUIRRELS!!
Lynda, I love all animals but the squirrels drive me nuts. I have learned to spray the birdseed with Pam and then shake the whole bottle of cayenne on to it. I shake cayenne on the feeder as well. It keeps the squirrels away and does not bother the birds. I still haven't figured out how to keep the ants off the jelly in the woodpecker nectar feeder, though.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great idea, but I'm wondering if the Pam is ok for the birds. I'll check on that but it's such a good idea to make the cayenne pepper stick. I would put vaseline on the wire or hanger to your nectar feeder. That used to work for me.
ReplyDeleteLynda, I don't use the real Pam spray. I have this thing called a Misto- nobody ever knows what they are. I put water and olive oil in it in a four to one ration and use that to spray on the bird seed. It sprays a fine mist just like Pam. You can find the Misto at Marshall's. I love it. No chemicals!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for telling me about Misto. I'll look for it next time I'm in Marshall's.
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