SQUIRREL WARS

SQUIRREL WARS

On January 25th of 1978, a blizzard hit Cincinnati like never before and never since. Cincinnati officially received only seven inches of snow on the three days of the blizzard but there was already 15 inches on the ground that had fallen since the first of the year. Temperatures stayed in the teens for highs and single digits for lows. The winds were so high that drifts of over 12 feet were common. No one was allowed on the road. All businesses were closed for two or three days. The national guard was called in to help clear the roads and to assist critical personnel to their jobs in hospitals and the like. My sister Kathy, a nurse, was one of those that was driven to work in a military vehicle.

It was at this time that I really became an avid bird watcher. You couldn't go anywhere and daytime TV was not my cup of tea. I was making feeders out of whatever I could find and trying different concoctions of food that they might like. I'd sit for hours at our dining room table looking out on the patio and watching the birds. After the blizzard passed, I started buying regular feeders and wild bird feed. I've fed the birds ever since. I got a book on wild birds and it became a pleasant winter past-time to watch and take photographs of birds.

My feud with the squirrels started a few years ago. The playful rodents have been around here forever but all of a sudden decided they liked bird food. They knock all the food out of the feeders and eat it off of the ground or deck. They broke two of my feeders in the back. I tried everything I could think of but couldn't keep them away.

Last year I moved the feeder to the front of the house and placed it on a shepherds hook. That worked fine. This year, the squirrels found it. They are able to climb up the metal pole and knock all the food out of the feeder again. Last week, I replenished the feeder and spread floor tile adhesive all over the bottom half of the pole thinking that would stop them. It didn't. I guess the adhesive froze and they climbed right over it. I am now trying to develop a new plan to thwart the pesky vermine. Any suggestions would be welcome.