4 Ways to Keep Toronto Squirrels Off Your Bird Feeders in 2026

Feeding birds is a joy—watching colorful songbirds enjoy your feeder can brighten any day. But in Toronto, squirrels have discovered your birdseed stash too. These clever critters not only scare away the birds but often take over the feeder entirely.

While squirrels are adorable, they can become a nuisance. They learn techniques from one another to access feeders, making it even harder to protect your birds’ food. Fortunately, there are proven ways to keep squirrels away from your feeders in 2026.

Here are four effective strategies you can try.

Caged Feeder

The caged feeder is precisely what the name tells you. It is designed in a way that a metal cage surrounds the feeder. The metal cage has space so that the birds can get inside and eat from the feeder easily; however, the squirrels cannot get their heads through the cage. Apart from the squirrels, some of the large birds can’t get inside either.

Mostly the cage is built from a plastic material, which is chew-proof. It doesn’t rust and gives a nice look.

Using Grease on the Pole of the Birdfeeder 

Another technique is to apply grease to the bird feeder pole. This is an easy and inexpensive way of keeping the squirrels away. The pole would get very slippery by doing this, and the squirrel wouldn’t climb on it. You can also call a rodent control company in Toronto or anywhere else for this purpose.

This is a cheap way to prevent squirrels. However, you’d have to apply grease on the pole again and again. On top of that, it would create a mess too. Secondly, if your kids come into contact with the pole, they would end up having dirty clothes when they brush against the pole. Lastly, pets can also transfer the grease from the pole to your house, making it dirty.

Use Pepper 

Squirrels hate pepper. Get a pepper-based repellent to apply on the Bird Feeders. They won’t come close to the feeder because they don’t like the taste and smell of the pepper. On the other hand, birds don’t even notice this. If you want to know more about it, you can ask a reliable rodent control company, and they will readily answer all your questions.

Use a location that is beyond the reach of a squirrel

Squirrels can jump to places that are up to 10 feet. So, keeping the feeders away from the trees, wires, roofs, etc., would be a smart option. Ideally, you’d have to hang the feeder on a metal pole that is at least 6 feet high.

Also, make sure that the area around the feeder is kept clean. Clean up any birdseed that has been spilt so that the squirrels aren’t attracted to the area.

Conclusion

Squirrels are adorable but can be destructive at the same time. So you have to try the tips given above to keep the squirrels away from the feeders, or else it would destroy it and scare away the birds as well. However, if the squirrels are still coming, you could consider calling an animal control company in Toronto to get professionals to deal with the problem.

If you don’t keep them away from the feeders, they would mess on the bird feeder and get an opportunity to enter your house too, which would cause many problems.