Re: Squirrel question?

In article <4633c618$0$15115$4c368faf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "dyork" <dyork@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have thought about giving the squirrels their own food. And I think I'm
going to have too, because their taking the lid off my bird feeder.
Squirrels are so smart! I never knew that until I started feeding birds.
I have thought twice about putting out that cayenne pepper because of the
neighborhood cats. You would think that all cats would chase squirrels, but
nooo. I have seen my neighbors cat chasing my squirrels once, and I've had
the bird feeders out for a good while now. We have lots of neighborhood cats
and I don't want them not to come around. After saying that, we're cat
lovers, we have one of our own, but he's and inside cat. I'm going to have
to feed my squirrels too. Thanks!

I have experiance with my cat. I eat habenero pepper and live pepper
all the time. I never noticed any sneezing or other effects while I
am eating. I do sneeze often myself. Its probably hard to mix
dry pepper with seed. One option is to spray it. I would use Dave's Insanity
hot sauce mixed with water. Dave's is about 10 to 20 times stronger than regular
hot sauce. One drop is enough to make a food dish hot. I use it to
beefen up mild sauces.

greg




"Jester's mummy" <cocky2@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0pv43316o2gt26e9e7gjafmc1l9tfh1eph@xxxxxxxxxx
On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:27:18 -0700, "dyork" <dyork@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<(((*>If I put out some Cayenne pepper around my (squirrel proof) bird
feeder, will the Cayenne pepper harm my birds? One of my feeders, the
people I bought it from said that the squirrels could not get the top
off....wrong!

Hi Donna,

I live with a cockatoo, and one of his favourite treats is peppers. He'll
eat
jalapenos and other hot peppers without a problem, and according to the
received
wisdom of the rec.pets.birds group, birds don't feel the heat because the
taste
receptors in their mouths are different from the taste receptors of
mammals.

This week hubby & I put out some "Critter Ridder" which contains
derivatives
from capsicum (peppers) in hopes of discouraging visits from a certain
raccoon.
It hasn't discouraged the squirrels, and the birds don't seem bothered by
it.

Based on this experience, I think you can safely try the cayenne pepper,
with no
fear of harming the birds. But I'm not sure it will work on the squirrels.

Have you tried giving the squirrels their own spot for food? We give them
peanuts and discarded parrot food (whatever Jester refuses to eat). It
doesn't
keep them off the bird feeders, but while they're eating it, at least
they're
not ON the bird feeders!

Tara J. Ballance
Montreal, Canada


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Squirrel question?
    ... I have thought about giving the squirrels their own food. ... I never knew that until I started feeding birds. ... the bird feeders out for a good while now. ... We have lots of neighborhood cats ...
    (rec.birds)
  • Re: Squirrel question?
    ... Squirrels are so smart! ... I never knew that until I started feeding birds. ... I have thought twice about putting out that cayenne pepper because of the ... the bird feeders out for a good while now. ...
    (rec.birds)
  • Re: Squirrel question?
    ... I never knew that until I started feeding birds. ... I have thought twice about putting out that cayenne pepper because of the ... You would think that all cats would chase squirrels, ... the bird feeders out for a good while now. ...
    (rec.birds)
  • Re: Squirrel question?
    ... One of my feeders, the ... wisdom of the rec.pets.birds group, birds don't feel the heat because the ... It hasn't discouraged the squirrels, and the birds don't seem bothered by ... Based on this experience, I think you can safely try the cayenne pepper, ...
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