How to build a "Flexi-Perch" Squirrel-proof birdfeeder for $10 or less

Anyone who puts up a birdfeeder hoping to to enjoy the birds will soon attract unwanted guests - squirrels. These cute but rapacious little monsters chase off the birds, eat all the seeds, and can chew birdfeeders to bits.

I've been trying to fight off squirrels since 1989, when I put my birdfeeder webcam, SeattleBirdCam.com, online. I tried ultrasound generators, slingshots, and spiking the birdseed with hot peppers - all to no avail. After studying a number of expensive "squirrel-proof" birdfeeder designs on the market, I came up with my own inexpensive patent-pending birdfeeder design which can use cable ties (tie wraps) as flexible plastic perches. These "Flexi-Perches" (tm), combined with PVC pipe of the right length and width, make an inexpensive, easy-to-build, and effective squirrel-proof birdfeeder.

Step 1: Materials

- 4" diameter plastic drain pipe at least 24" long. Quantity: 1 (a 10' pipe cost me $5.48)
- 1/2 " PVC couplers. Quantity 4 ($0.39 each)
- 4" PVC cap. Quantity 1
- PVC glue
- 3/8" sheet metal screws. Quantity 4
- 10 gauge (about 1/10") galvanized wire at least 33" long. Quantity: 1
- 6" cable ties (tie wraps). Quantity: at least 4
- wood block approx 6" high x 6" wide x 1" thick (i.e. a 6" long piece of 1x6 board)

Note on Materials:
The cable ties are critical. When used as perches, they won't support a squirrel's weight.

For maximum anti-squirrel effectiveness, the plastic drain pipe must be at least 24" long so that the squirrel can't reach feed holes while hanging from the top of the feeder.

The pipe must also be at least 4" in diameter so that the squirrel can't cling to the feeder.

The wood block will be cut down to fit into the bottom of the pipe to act as the base plate. It fits flush into the bottom of the pipe so that there are no protrusions for a squirrel to hang on to.

Other dimensions can be changed to suit whatever materials you may have on hand.

Comments

[Joe Castrianni]

Hi Bill,
                   Thanks for the reply.  I have included (2) photos of the feeder. One an interior view looking down from the top.  The couplings all were almost 2" in length I installed the first one at full length and when I went to insert the second, third and fourth they would not sit flush with the exterior wall of the PVC because they were butting into the first coupling.  The other three couplings are an 1-1/2" in length.  The wooden plug at the bottom of the feeder is approximately 15/16" from the bottom of the couplings.  I left the overall length of the 4" PVC a bit long so there is a few inches of false overhang at the bottom.  I am look forward to your reply.  Thanks for you help.

[billr]

Nice looking feeder, Joe! 

I don't see anything in the feeder that could cause a problem, so now I'm wondering what kind of seed you put in it.  Although I don't think I've mentioned it, the only seed I use is black-oil sunflower seeds in the shell.  The seeds are big enough so that the baffles prevent them from flowing out.

If you're using smaller seeds like milo or millet (which make up the majority of "wild birdseed" mixes),  they may not be big enough for the baffles to keep them from flowing out.

Are you using small seeds?

- Billr

[Joe Castrianni]

Hi Bill,
                     Thanks for the reply.  I was indeed using small seed!  I purchased a bag of the black oil sunflower seeds in the shell & filled the feeder the same day I received your message.  The seeds are retained in the feeder.  It has been filled for three days nopw, but I have not as yet seen any birds land on the feeder. Any ideas as to how to attract the birds to the feeder?

Thanks again for all your help.
Regards,

Joe C.

[billr]

Joe,

I'm glad to hear that the larger seed solved the problem!  

If you haven't already had a feeder in your yard, it may take a few weeks for the birds to find the new feeder.  You might try scattering a few handfuls of seed around the yard to help let the birds know that it's a good place to explore.

Also, I don't fill the feeder all the way up because it holds a huge amount of seed and the seed at the top might get moldy before the the birds get to it.  I put in no more than a half-gallon of seed at a time and refill it when the birds have emptied the feeder.

Good luck and I hope the birds find your feeder soon!

- Billr

[Joe Castrianni]

Hi Bill,
                 As you have been such a big help, I thought I'd let you know that the birds have finally discovered the feeder.  So have the squirrels but they have not been successful and the birds have been.  Thanks again for your patience & help!

Joe

[billr]

Joe,

I'm glad to hear that the birds are happy! 

If you can get some video of the squirrels trying and failing to get at the birdseed I'd love to see it!

-Billr

[frenzy]

This posting has won today's "I Made It" Challenge. For winning you will receive a 3 month pro membership!

Thanks for using instructables!

http://www.instructables.com/community/I-Made-It-Challenge-Is-Back-Win-A-Pro-Membership/

[Grkehler]

Here is the way I cut my holes for the wire ties. Find an old screwdriver and grind it down to the size of your wire tie. Make the tip sharp. Than, heat the tip of the screw driver. Goes thru the PVC pipe like it was butter and you get a perfect square hole.

[cbosson]

Just wanted to thank you for the Instructable. I built one and the chickadees and nuthatches love it so far. I'm going to stash it away until the Canadian winter, when things get really interesting for the birds. Then I'll find out whether the squirrels are sufficiently discouraged...

[hmiller-1]

The squirrels keep snapping my zip ties. There are male cardinals who love this feeder, and I suspect them and the squirrels are in cahoots. I'm trying a new build this evening. I found that with 4 holes, the squirrels can grab hold and do some gymnastics and their mouth is perfectly situated for the middle hole. The pic is the build as close as I could get it to the instructions.

[hmiller-1]

For the bottom, I don't have any woodworking tools to cut a circle out of wood, so I used the craft foam that comes in sheets. I was planning to sandwich several small sheets together, but found the craft store had some 1/4 inch thick foam for door hanger signs and projects. I got two pink circles that were about 8 inches in diameter. I cut out two circles and kept trimming until I got a very tight, slightly concave stopper. You can't see it at all, and it's easy to get out by pressing one side, so it looses its concave shape. When I refill the feeder, I flip the concave to the other side of the foam piece. My new version has only 2 holes, and uses a wire perch. For the baffle, I simply use an extra tube of PVC. I cut it at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 inch from the end. This gave me a nice baffle. Then I cut a perpendicular cut about 1/4 inch from the tip of the angled cut. This gave me an identical second baffle. I drilled a 13/16 paddle bit about 8 inches apart and on opposite sides. I tapped the baffles in point side toward the top and got the edge flush with the outside. It was tight enough, I used no PVC glue. I'll see how it fares tomorrow.

[hmiller-1]

This is a great idea. I've tried so many feeders, but this has to be my favorite, because I can build it myself. I commended early but don't see it yet. One thing I forgot to add was that the large tubes are sold in 4 and 6 foot sections already cut in my orange big box home improvement store. They are priced about $1 more than if I'd gotten an 8ft tube. So for $3 more, I don't have to figure out how to fit a 12 foot pipe into my tiny ride. And the cut was perfect, and already de-burred.

What is the best paint? I don't want to have paint chips in a year. Also what is the best color?

[hmiller-1]

(1) I built one of these in early spring and hung it in my ornamental cherry tree. Before they shredded the zip ties, the birds loved it and visited it often. (2) The larger birds and squirrels had the L zip ties shredded in a day. I removed the entire thing, and got XL zip ties that were 1/4 wide. It took them 2 days to shred it. I put their favorite sunflower seeds in there, and let all my other feeders empty. Before long I watched squirrels sitting on branches waiting for another on of them to slide down it, jiggle it a bit and they'd all pounce on the fallen 2 or 3 seeds. One particular one stuck his arm into one of the holes and held on for dear life. He wiggled himself around and got hold of the bottom PVC edge of the thickness of the PVC tube. He was there for a while, but dropped off after a bit. (3) I could never find a bottom that was not a cap with a ridge for the squirrels to get a foothold on... I searched my orange home big box store, my smaller local place that says it's the place, and the blue big box store that promises lowe prices. I found nothing. I tried a plunger but it was too big. So, I went to an arts and crafts store and got 1/4 inch "pink" door hanger foam pieces and stack about 4 of them into the bottom. I used foam "dots" that go on picture frames as stoppers. I cut the pink foam a tad too big, so there is some resistance going towards the top of the tube. (4) I had 4 holes 2 low and 2 a bit higher. They effectively allowed the squirrels to have handles to the side and get their little heads right at the 3rd hole. So, I cut the big PVC tube just above the 4 holes. I drilled 2 holes this time. Once near the bottom and the other on the opposite side but 6 inches higher. I substituted Zipties for a piece of copper wire, the biggest the big box store had (about 3 inches each slot), so about $.50 cents or so. (5) For the baffles, I used an extra piece of PVC pipe I had laying around. It was remnants of a sprinkler job. I simply cut a 45degree angle about a half inch from the end. Then I made the second cut 90 degrees to the length of the pole. This made 2 nice baffles. I used a paddle bit 13/16 to drill the hole which was slightly smaller hole than the baffle. I used a deadblow (soft hammer) and smacked the baffles in until the edge was flush with the outside. It was secure enough that I didn't use PVC Cement. (6) filled the version 3.0 tube feeder with the bird coveted black sunflower seed. I hung it outside and will watch tomorrow for the results. I added a pic of tube feeder 2.0. You can see one bird's tail on the other side of the feeder.

[lkreisz]

I have been so frustrated by the squirrels in our yard that my husband and I built a somewhat modified version of this bird feeder. At first I hung it on one of my free-standing flower hangers. Day 1 - I laughed with glee as the squirrels slid down the sides of the feeder. But by day 3 the buggers had figured out that they could cling to the pole with the rear legs and fling themselves at the feeder until they grasped either the perches or the edge of a hole. They would then pull the feeder close enough to literally stick their face in and chow down. Obviously the pole was too close.


Now the feeder is hung from a wire suspended between two house corners. It's only a matter of time till these crafty creatures figure out how to get onto the roof and cross the wire but so far so good. As I type there are six squirrels prowling the ground for seed and staring up at the feeder. The young ones are the daredevils.


I had mainly chickadees and smaller birds on my original "squirrel-proof" feeder but since I painted this feeder I've been inundated with Stellar's Jay, Grosbeaks, woodpeckers and finches. I placed some extra perches between the holes for these bigger birds so that they aren't so close to the hole. They've figured out that if they grasp both pieces of the perch it's strong enough to support them.


My first seed fillup lasted 4 days but we do have a forest so the feeder is busy with birds virtually nonstop. I tested it for a couple days before painting it to look like tree bark and the birds didn't seem to like the white.


We made changes to make it simpler to build and refill. The top is just a loose cap that I pop off by hand. The perches are heavy guage weed-whacker line looped through two small holes below the feed holes. I filled in the base cap with a styrofoam block as a false bottom to keep the feed base close to the bottom of the feed holes and drilled a hole in the bottom to drain any potential moisture.


I was too cheap to buy the cleanout and knockout for this first one but I will on my second one. It's just simpler. By the way, the blue and yellow rods are to attract more birds because I read that these are the only colors that birds can see. They love to hang from them while waiting for a perch to land on. My next one will be painted in those colors.


Thanks for the great idea!

[Bullmastif]

That looks great! Good job.

[billr]

What a beautiful feeder! I'm tickled to hear how frustrated the squirrels are. Thanks for sharing your story - it really made my day. I wasn't aware of the blue/yellow bird vision, please let me know if the birds prefer a feeder painted in those colors.

Thanks again, Bill

[Marcos]

How about more seed ports/perches? Most commercial tube feeders have several levels, staggered so that none are directly above the others. My mom has one, sequestered in her shed, because the #$%*! squirrels gnawed a hole in it. I guess I need to build another squirrel preventer. Come to think of it, I should probably put 'em on the market!

[Takhli]

Your feeder worked like a champ for 3 months then I had a STUCK BIRD trying to get the "last seed", saved the bird and added a 3/4 inch spacer inside on the floor of the feeder so they can't or don't have to reach down to get the "last seed". I would recomend that you put this step in your instructions and perhaps we can save a bird somewhere.
The bird was stuck in the slot in the bottom of the 3/4" coupling.

[Takhli]

Giving it further thought, the same thing can be done by turning the base block upside down (wire ties on bottom) leaving the inside floor about 1/4" below the couplings.

[doflagie]

This 'ible has an interesting take on the seed baffles...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bird-Feeder/

[blueshark]

Hello. I bought half-inch PVC couplers but only realized after I cut them up, that the 1/2 inch was the inside diameter. The outside diameter is 7/8". If you have to use pliers to force them into the one inch holes, what is the outside diameter of the couplers you used?

Also, what kind of bit did you use to drill the one inch feeder holes?

Thanks.

[billr]

I used a 1" spade bit like this one to drill the holes:
http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-88816-Speedbor-1-Inch-6-Inch/dp/B00004YOAB

I'll have to check but if the instructable calls for 1/2" PVC couplers then that's wrong. I just measured the ones I use and they are nearly 7/8" inside diameter and just barely over 1" outside diameter. This is why I had to squeeze them with piiers to get them to fit into the 1" holes.

Hope this doesn't cause you too much trouble,
billr

[blueshark]

Hello Bill,

I bought new 3/4" PVC couplers and they worked just fine in the 1" hole... Yes, the instructions did call for 1/2" PVC couplers.

The bird feeder works well. I temporarily suspended it to a wire. It is somewhat too low at about 36" from the ground and squirrels can jump up to it. Most of them slip off but I've seen one that hung to it, probably from the feeder holes. The situation will be corrected soon.

Thank you.

Blueshark.

[DavidM45]

Finally ... the squirrels are driving me crazy! well thought out, thanks

[billr]

Good luck and post a photo when you're finished!
- Bill

[suezq]

I think I'll make one of these and take my roto zip tool, cut a groove in one side about a 1/2" wide x 6" long, roughly 4" up from the bottom. Then I'll cut a strip out of a clear 2 liter pop bottle and glue it to the inside of the pipe over the groove so I can have a window to keep track of the seed level. Maybe it's less trouble just to lift the lid and look...
Nice instructable and quite doable. Thanks!

[billr]

I like the window idea. Please post a photo when you finish it!
- Bill

[myles136]

Hello again Bill,

In place of the 10 ga wire, I used 0.30 mig welding wire. This nearly invisible wire drive the squirrels nuts because they can not grip it!

I have another 6 sided plastic feeder. (the $5.00 Walmart variety) that is also now squirrel proof by adding a "dollar store" 14"diameter serving plate over the top like a baffle. The plate is fastened DOWN to the cheep feeder with short lengths of that 30ga wire that hold the plate rigid over the feeder. Again, it is suspended on mig wire. NO squirrel can climb down that super thin wire!!

Ian

[Dr.Squirrel]

You guys are sooooooooooo annoying!!!!!!

[forthebirds]

Hello Bill and thanks for sharing the plans for your squirrel proof bird feeder. I built one with a few minor modifications and it turned out and works beautifully. I hope you got your patent and are profiting from your idea.

One question if I may. Previously I was feeding from a tray on a pole. My main visitors were cardinals, blue jays and of course squirrels.

After a month the cardinals are still ignoring the feeder. In a attempt to lure them back I added a tray to the same pole the feeder is on. The jays and cardinals are back at the tray but they(cardinals) still ignore the feeder. The jays show no interest in the feeder, but that is ok I built it for the cardinals.

I did not paint the feeder and left it white. Do you think this could possibly be keeping the birds away?. Thanks again! Don Lewis...Grapevine Texas

[billr]

Don,

We don't have Cardinals up here in Seattle, but I'm wondering what you used for the perches? Several people have commented here that the zip-ties were too light for Cardinals, they used weed-wacker line instead.

I've tried 0.13 inch "Grass Gator" weed-wacker line and Black-Headed Grosbeaks, which I think are close to the weight of a Cardinal, had no problem perching at the feeder.

- Billr

[davele]

Any success using 3" piping? Any reason why it needs to be painted?
I'm thinking of replacing the wood base with a PVC drain plug (after covering the holes), thoughts?

I'm interested what folks think about the following: To determine when to refill the feeder, I'm planning to drill a small hole near the top, but below the cap. Then by threading a knoted nylon cord through the hole and glueing it to a margarine lid, the lid will free float down as the seeds are eaten. When the lid drops and the string is no longer visable, its refill time!

[billr]

Davele, I think 3" PVC pipe would be too small to keep squirrels from climbing the pipe. I only painted my feeder because I don't like the way the plain white PVC looks. Several commenters here have suggested using a drain plug, so that sounds feasible.

I like your string idea, but I just use the simple method of looking through the feed holes. If I can see daylight, then it's time to refill the feeder!

- Billr

[Ron Calkins]

I built 2 of them for my ex-wife...I also substituted using zip ties with nylon weed trimmer line. They work great...but now I need to build her a new "Shepherd's Hook". She has a double-hooked heavy duty hook, but it's not strong enough to support the 2 of them, especially if they're full of seeds...and there's a breeze. Anyway...thanks for the plans, and I will try to attach the photos. Thanks again, Ron :-)

[Joe Castrianni]

Hi Bill,
                  I followed your instructables reasonably close, except I used 1" PVC Couplings instead of the 1/2' as siggested after reading some others comments.  I did cut out 1/3 of of the coupling, squeezed them in through the 1" holes that I had drilled with the cuts facing down. After the glue dried and the PVC was painted I couldn't wait to pour on the bird seed and much to my disappointment the seed flowed out of each of the PVC couplings until the PVC pipe was empty.  Can you tell me if I did anything wrong?
Thanks.
Joe C. @ [e-mail]

[billr]

Joe, I can't think of any obvious problem from your description, but here's a few wild ideas:

1. How long are the baffles?  Mine are 1.5 inches long, so they extend that far into the body of the feeder.  If yours are too short, they may not block the seed from pouring out.

2. How much space is there between the the bottom of the baffles and the "floor" of the feeder?  Mine has less than 1/2 inch.  If  yours has more space than this, the baffles may not work effectively.

If you could upload a photo, that would help diagnose the problem.

- Billr

[myles136]

Bill, I am in the prrocess of making one of your feeders now, but I definately want to feed jays and Cardinals so I will experiment with perches. On my existing feeders I have found that Graphite grease smells so bad to a squirrel that they wont get near it, yet the birds don't mind. I am generally not in favor of grease as I don't want to kill squirrels that could ingest it, but as I said, with the graphite, they don't cross it!

[billr]

myles36,

On my live video birdfeeder site, seattlebirdcam.com, you can watch Black-Headed Grosbeaks happily use perch made of 0.13 inch "Grass Gator" weed-wacker line. 

I think that size line would work well for cardinals and jays.

Thanks for the idea about the graphite grease.  I've got some in my shop and I'll give it a try.

- Billr

[OldMoose]

At my local Walmart they have some thin, flexible, cheap cutting board/pastry sheet thingies that we use in the kitchen for food prep that you could drill a hole in and use it above the feeder to keep the squirrels off. They measure 12" X 15" and and are real slickery and flexible. It use them on different types of feeders very effectively. Hope this helps.

[billr]

Sounds like a good idea!  When I was researching the flexi-perch, I ran across a patent using the same idea except the material was round instead of rectangular.

- Billr