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In the 10 years that Eli Haislip has worked at , a bird-feeding supply store in Nashville, one of the questions he’s fielded most often concerns not birds, but mammals: What can I do about squirrels? “We answer it literally every day,” he says. In late spring and early summer, when young squirrels emerge from their nests to forage, “we might get 15 or more squirrel questions in a day.”

There’s a lot to love about fox, red, gray, and other squirrels. They’re undeniably cute. They’re native species that play important ecological roles, including as food for hawks, owls, and other birds. And they’re resourceful, adaptable survivors skilled at exploiting whatever food sources are available to them.

For Haislip’s customers and countless others, that last bit is the problem. Clever, agile, and seemingly insatiable, squirrels are notorious for gaining access to feeders and siphoning off scads of seeds and nuts.

But take heart, bird-feeding enthusiasts: “In our experience, anybody that wants to be squirrel-proof can be squirrel-proof through one way or another,” Haislip says. “Nobody has to suffer through having squirrels eat all their bird seed.”

The key—if it’s not overkill to invoke Sun Tzu’s The Art of War in an article about small rodents—is to know your enemy. “They’re not as smart as they get credit for,” Haislip says. “They’re very persistent, and they’re very good at two things: climbing and jumping. If you take those away from them, there’s not much they can do.”

With that in mind, here are the best bets for defending your feeders, depending on your situation.

Great: pole with baffle

We lack the hubris to describe any feeding setup as “squirrel-proof,” but you can get pretty darn close by sticking a pole with a baffle into the ground. Baffles are devices ideally made from metal that, when properly installed, block squirrels from climbing up the pole to the feeder. There are , cylindrical baffles and those that wrap around the pole.

With this setup you can use whatever type of feeder you want, with a couple of important caveats: First, be sure to place it at least 8 to 10 feet from anything solid—trees, buildings, fences, whatever. Otherwise the nimble rodents will simply leap onto the feeder. Second, the baffle needs to be between four and five feet off the ground. If it’s too low, the squirrels will jump on top of it, using it as a launch pad to a feast. If it’s too high, they might jump straight from the pole to the feeder. “The best weapon against a squirrel is a tape measure,” Haislip says.

Good: weight-activated feeder

If you don’t have enough space between structures to allow for that setup, your next best option is a weight-activated feeder. When a squirrel climbs onto one of these feeders, its body weight pulls down a shroud that blocks the feeding ports. Birds weigh much less, so they can feed as usual. These products can be very effective, Haislip says, but make sure the feeder hangs farther from the pole or tree trunk than a squirrel can reach. Otherwise, it can pull the feeder closer to it and access food without triggering the shroud. Another option is a feeder surrounded by a cage that keeps squirrels from reaching the food. The downside? The cage also keeps out larger birds.

It’ll Do: safflower

If the above setups don’t work for you—maybe you’re in an apartment and can only feed birds on a fire escape or with a window feeder—you can at least discourage squirrels by offering safflower seed. Many birds will happily gobble up this nutritious oilseed, but squirrels dislike the taste and will generally avoid it, Haislip says.

A version of this story originally ran in the Fall 2025 issue as “Feed Birds, Not Squirrels.” To receive our print magazine, become a member by .