I’m tired of the squirrels in my yard. We have two “squirrel-proof” bird feeders outside our family room window. The squirrels have not given up, even though the feeders have been out there for a good 18 months now. Instead, they are systematically chewing through the thick (very solid) metal cap on top of the second feeder. It’s so loud (teeth scraping on metal) that we can hear it quite 
clearly in the house. Seriously – what does this do to their teeth? They are making headway. I noticed an actual hole in one small area, the last time I filled the feeders. Not big enough for them to get anything from it, but I’m sure they considered it a point for their team. I think I need to get this feeder next. Same metal top (which means eventually Team Squirrel will still chew it down), but it will sure entertain us the cats in the meantime.
Since it’s Monday, you know that I have Update news to share, right? It was a busy week last week, getting all of this ready! We just added:
Madelinetosh Merino Light in 50 colors – This single ply fingering weight yarn is being used in lightweight sweaters, shawls, scarves, cowls and mitts. At 440 yards per skein, it’s also a great price for the yardage.
Fiber Optic – Kimber’s great no-pooling or striping line of fingering weight yarn. I think these semi-solids look really pretty in socks and shawls with more intricate patterns. You don’t have to worry about an emerging pattern destroying the look of the stitch pattern.
The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga – I love the yarn, and I love working with Gryphon and Sarah. Another great semi-solid-ish look, with no pooling or striping to interfere with your stitch pattern.
Schoppel Wolle Flying Saucer – This is a new one for me – yarn on a spool. There are two ends, making it ideal for knitting two socks at at time. The other thing about this yarn is that it’s dyed in a way that gives you two identical socks. Even if you choose to wind it up into two balls and knit one at a time, your socks will still match. (Note – in the photos you’ll see 3 spools stacked up. This is just to give you the full view of the colors in that colorway. When you order it, you’ll get one spool that contains 459 yards.)
Dragonfly Fibers – We haven’t had Kate’s regular sock yarn here in awhile, and she did a great job of stocking us up!
Sweet Georgia Superwash Sock – Felicia sent us a re-stocking of colors we were out of, as well as new colors to add to the line.
Regia World Cup Colors – if you do like yarns that stripe, then this definitely fits the bill! You’ll find many of the countries represented in this line, but you’ll also love that they fit a variety of team colors and sports.
Shawl Pins by Shaune Bazner – I had a fun time picking out the colors for these hand-finished, beaded shawl pins. (Well – a fun time, but also a hard time. So many great choices!) Shaune has sold these as hair sticks for years, but she was at TNNA to share them as shawl pins. I think I might need to start a new shawl. (Oh, wait – I did start a new shawl this past weekend. Out of a new yarn base from one of our indie dyers. Want to guess what color? Really, not one of my usual colors at all, but I am loving it. In fact that’s why I had to start the shawl – I had to get this color on the needles. Any guesses? Now I just need to pick a beautiful pin to go with it!)
Re-stocks on: Dream in Color Classy and Smooshy, Fleece Artist 2/6, and Schoppel Wolle Zauberball.
Have fun shopping!
Sheri whohearsaLoopyElfintheLoopyKitchen,diggingintothePeanutM&M’s….
Mmmm. M and Ms, had some today. I keep Peanut M and Ms in my car for energy and protein and the absolutely necessary chocolate fix.
I was wondering about the flying saucer-I had seen it advertised. Cool! That is a great concept.
Be in soon.
Wow…it’s the Droll Yankee Squirrel Carnival Ride! Now I’m hooked on YouTube, just watching squirrels fly…
I actually contemplated the same bird feeder this year, but opted for another one. I’ve been lucky–suirrels don’t bother the bird feeder, probably because I have a huge mulberry tree in the back yard that the squirrels eat from all day long!! But, the birds at the bird feeders (chickadees) want to peck at the plastic glass. I thought there were woodpeckers eating at the birdfeeders because I kept hearing a “tap, tap, tap, tap”. It was actually the chickadees pecking at the plastic! It’s funny what keeps me amused!
I remember seeing a show on PBS a while back about squirrels and squirrel proof feeders and such. On average, no matter what they set up, it took the squirrels 7 days to learn how to get to food, and they set up some wacky set ups. I just put a flat tray out for the jays and other birds, the squirrels just head for that, and don’t destroy anything.
I’m picking up a couple of those bird feeders! I’ve been looking for something like that for years. With our squirrels, we have to load up the feeders every day!! Hope you can make a commission from Yankee 🙂 Oh, and I’ve been wanting to try Tosh Merino Light for quite awhile too, and tonight I picked some up! Thank you!
Rub hot sauce on it. Seriously.
My family has been battling squirrels for years as well. My dad greased the pole the squirrels climb up with who knows what. It worked great – the squirrels would get half way up the pole and then slide down. It was highly entertaining. Unfortunately the grease got sticky after a few days and then they had no problems. My grandfather took to decorating all of the trees in his yard with aluminum pie pans in hopes that the noise would keep the squirrels away. My grandmother made him take them down.
My local bird store suggests distractive feeding: provide some peanuts or corn or something on the ground and maybe they’ll stay out of the bird seed. (Don’t get too in to the distractive feeding though-I got bird food, and then peanuts to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders, and then winter came and the geese moved in, so we got corn to keep the geese out of the squirrel food. Have any idea how difficult it is to get rid of a flock of “pet” geese who expect corn every time the door opens?)
You can use any feeder out there IF you buy the seed mixed with hot pepper. The squirrels don’t like it and the birds don’t care! There is also a hot pepper suet available.
I’d rather have squirrels in my feeders than in my walls! Around here, red squirrels rule. And they are sooooo destructive. Stubborn, hard to catch (and relocate), and did I mention stubborn? I hear them working their way through the insulation in the wall by my bed at 4am (really, why couldn’t they be doing this in the afternoon?? So inconsiderate).
There’s a store near me that sells bird feeders that spin around if something heavier than a bird lands on it, sending the squirrel flying!
It’s true–tossing out peanuts will keep the squirrels away from the bird seed. I actually like seeing them visit. A bonus with the peanuts is that blue jays will come around sometimes, and chipmunks visit almost every day. We’re an unofficial wildlife sanctuary, I guess! I do check around the outside of the house periodically to make sure no critters can find a way into the house. So far, so good.
We let the boys take their super-soaker squirt guns (very powerful if you’re not familiar) and they lie in wait for the red squirrels to come to the feeders. My middle now has a bb gun, but as much as I hate the little buggers, I can’t bring myself to give him permission to shoot them. That seems just too cruel.
We have very few oaks right in our yard and a few cedars, so we hardly see the gray squirrels, just the reds.
What a delicious, juicy store update. I can’t wait to work through my stash so I can start diving into some of this yarny madness!!!!!
We solved my mother’s squirrel problem with a CONCRETE bird feeder shaped like an acorn. In addition to being really cute, the little buggers can’t do a thing to the concrete. They can get some seeds out of the screen, but it is limited.
A local artist makes them, but for the life of me I can’t tell you who it is.
I tried “hot” birdseed the winter before last…the squirrels liked it just fine. I didn’t put up feeders this year, because of an impending move…that has been the most effective way not to have squirrels at the feeder 😉
Of course, there’s a down side to that!
I am SO getting that feeder. I have another one of theirs and it works pretty well, althought I have had to tape the top of it before. It’s the Squirrel Be Gone one with the leaves on the sides. It’s on a spring and the weight of the squirrel forces the cage down so the leaves cover the holes for the feed. Life in the woods 🙂
Sorry for the double post, but I’m laughing out loud at work – there is a Tipper, a Dipper, and a Whipper 😀
You could always just move to WV (we could do with a good yarn store). I took my “squirrel proof” bird feeders from Washington, DC (where they’d failed miserably) to the farm in WV, where the squirrels still haven’t figured out how they work (after 9 years). ‘Nuff said.
OK, the squirrel feeder video was hilarious!
I really need to try the flying saucer yarn. Just saying the yarn names makes me want to knit it up!
I decided to quit fighting the squirrels as long as they don’t chew my feeder. i have the squirrel proof one (yeah right) that has a flap that closes over seed when squirrel steps on perch. The squirrels entertain by hanging from the perch upside down, pushing the flap up with its nose and grabbing a seed then drops to upside down position to eat.
I just watched Skacel video on winding the flying saucer. I love the colors but I think I’m gonna have to continue to have 2 almost identical socks because I’m not knitting 2 at a time and I don’t think I want to hand wind the way they showed it. As I understand you can’t knit one at a time from spool. I’m a bit disappointed.:-(
I only feed in late fall & early spring when there really is no good food naturally available. Since I don’t feed when it’s above the mid 40s I just use suets, sure the squirrels eat from it, but they can’t run off & stash the whole thing so everyone birds & squirrels get a full tummy. Plus because my yard is known as somewhere to eat when the pickings are so slim the birds often nest here too.
What a delightful video! By all means, get one of those feeders. Just think of the blog photo possibilities! BTW, you did a great job in choosing the colors for the shawl pins–I ended up ordering two.
We use “squirrel baffles” …they work great. You can get them at any bird store.
My parent’s squirrels have gotten so chubby eating out of the birdfeeders that hang from the gazebo that now they just come to the french doors and peer in until Mom brings them corn on the cob (dried or fresh), sunflower seeds, and peanuts that they eat out of a bowl. Only the young, lean squirrels have enough acrobatic skills to hang from the top of the gazebo with their back legs while lifting the lid on the feeder with their front paws. They are pretty hilarious! The pidgeons and doves dive bomb them when they get too greedy.
Sheri,
I’ve been waiting for your Regia World Ball yarns because I have many friends who are Brazilian but alas I don’t see Brazil in your stock. Will you be getting any or did they already sell out?
Thanks. And sorry if I posted in the wrong place.
Bev
So funny! My dad dislikes squirrels so much that we surprise him with squirrel dolls, squirrel tee shirts, and pretty much anything we can find with squirrels on it. (When I was a kid, we had a family of squirrels burrow up our dryer vent and cause a lot of damage. Ever since he’s been most decidedly anti-squirrel.)
Good luck on your adventures.
We live well into the county and have always had to replace feeder after feeder due to our squirrels…UNTIL we learned about capsaicin. The local feed store stocks this product that is safe for birds yet squirrels do not like it. We researched it and found it to be harmless to birds. We followed the directions, our birds are doing great the squirrels haven’t been seen since a day after we mixed it all together.
I used to work as a landscaper when I was in high school. There was one person that had a electric bird feeder that would send a small jolt to the squirrels. My father wanted one for Christmas one year (because ya know feeding birds when you live in the middle of the woods where bears have been spotted is such a good idea!) When we refused my dad told my mother he wanted a red rider bb gun and a bird feeder instead. He shot near them to scare them off, but now loves to watch them and uses the bb gun to scare off the raccoons. Honestly my father has a strange sense of humor!
Hmm, I have a guess about the shawl, – maybe I’m golden, or maybe I’m wrong 🙂
sheri…you need to put those domes up to keep the squirrels out of your feeders…above if they’re hanging, below if they’re on a pole. Those pesky so and sos have just discovered my garden and are eating my tomatoes while they are green!
Hate to tell you this but we shoot the squirrels at our house. They are so destructive. In one year they ate the heat shield in my van, tore the paper off the sheetrock in our garage, and stuffed my husband’s boat full of pinecones. One even crawled in the sewer vent pipe and ended up plugging up the plumbing. I had to call a plumber to get it out. That same year we shot over 70 of them.
Fun that you’re carrying Shaune’s hair sticks, I taught both her sons!