"Like a true Midwesterner, my dad has been feuding with the squirrels in his backyard for years. Every few months, he comes home with a new "squirrel-proof" bird feeder, each more expensive than the previous, each one promising to finally do the trick. My mom rolls her eyes at the pile of hardware-store receipts and discarded feeders. I shake my head watching this all play out-knowing full well those feeders never stood a chance."
"Here's the thing nobody tells you when you're standing in that aisle, planning your long-awaited victory: Squirrels aren't dumb. You're losing to an animal that has evolved to be remarkably like you, with hands that manipulate and a brain that learns. Every time you buy a new "squirrel-proof" feeder, you're handing a puzzle to a creature that has spent millions of years getting really, really good at solving it."
A homeowner repeatedly purchases increasingly expensive "squirrel-proof" bird feeders that fail. Hardware stores offer mechanical deterrents—weight-triggered shutters, spinning perches, metal cages—priced from about $40 to $140. Squirrels possess hands and learning brains that enable manipulation and adaptation, so feeders become puzzles rather than barriers. Squirrels forage boldly in daylight, unlike nocturnal, secretive rodents that rely on numbers and stealth. Squirrels invest in individual learning and problem-solving rather than sheer reproduction, making mechanical solutions frequently ineffective as squirrels quickly figure out and bypass those designs.
Read at Slate Magazine
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