Bird Feeder Squirrel Baffle

I have had growing problems with squirrels climbing the pole to my bird feeder and eating all the birdseed. I wanted to find a low maintenance and easy to install, permanent solution. The traditional baffles that look like a half circle don't always work, and lubing up the pole with Vaseline doesn't really seem too kind to the squirrel. After watching three of the little varmints climbing the pole hand over hand I remembered the "Flexi-Perch squirrel proof bird feeder" by billr that I had seen quite some time ago on instructables.

This bird feeder is pole mounted, which makes it easy for the squirrel to climb the pole hand over hand.

I am using a 5' long And 4" diameter PVC pipe. It was cut so that the PVC would slide down over the EMT conduit which is the real support structure, And allow the bird feeder to attach through the PVC and onto the EMT.

I just reattached the bird feeder cap to the pole. This particular bird feeder mounts to the cap. The PVC baffle is in place and just needs capped off so that bees or other pests can't get into the pole to build nests. This will also prevent rain or snow from becoming trapped in either pipe, which would surely burst if it froze.

This project was really easy and it took about 10 minutes to measure, cut, and to get the baffle fit. The cap on the pipe is not glued into place, so if I ever need to replace or service the feeder or pole I can easily disassemble the pieces. Total cost of the project was about $16 for a 5 foot long section of precut 4" PVC, and the 4" cap. Since there are so many different types of bird feeders out there, take this idea and modify it to suit your needs. Also, Be sure to provide water (in background) for your birds to drink or clean themselves.

This project is in the outdoor challenge and fix it challenge. If you are a member of instructables and have found this project to be helpful or inspiring, my human would appreciate your vote. Don't forget the other instructables in the contests too, there are some really awesome ideas in there!