How To Keep Squirrels Out Of Your Deer Feeder (And How To Make A DIY Squirrel-Proof Feeder)

Summary – To keep squirrels and raccoons away from your deer feeder, use hot wires, anti-squirrel baffles, a feeder cage, and strings. You can also choose to trap and hunt squirrels around the feeder. Keep in mind that while these measures will not totally eliminate squirrels from your deer feeder, they will significantly reduce their population.

How To Keep Squirrels Out Of Your Deer Feeder

If you’re reading this, you will likely be a seasoned hunter, photographer, or wildlife enthusiast. I’m proud to say that I belong to the last two groups. My passion for wildlife has drawn me to photography, and the open field has been a fantastic environment for me to observe, document, and take pictures of deer and other wild animals in my area.

There is no doubt that a deer feeder is a great tool for wildlife enthusiasts and managers. It is used to lure and feed deer and other wildlife.

Perhaps, like me, you have installed a deer feeder in a suitable spot, using high-quality materials and following local regulations in your state. But, you continued to deal with a serious problem: squirrel infestation on your feeder. And no matter how much corn you store in the feeder, the squirrels never stop eating them.

Don’t be worried. In this article, you’ll learn about the many strategies I employ to keep squirrels out of my deer feeder and how you can keep your feeder safe.

Why You Should Stop the Squirrels

Squirrels are capable of emptying the food store in your deer feeder, and by that, I mean that they will consume as many tons of corn as you put in your feeder. However, this is not the only concern for deer managers. Squirrels are capable of causing even more mage to your deer feeder;

  • They will come in large numbers to destroy your feeder barrel and gain more corn access.
  • They will eat up and expose your feeder wiring.
  • Pull down the spreader on your broadcast feeder.

How to Keep Squirrels Away from your feeder?

There are two major techniques for keeping squirrels off your feeder

  • Squirrel proof your feeder
  • Hunt squirrel
Keep Squirrels Away from your feeder

How to squirrel proof your deer feeder

Install Hot Wire

One of the most effective techniques to keep squirrels out of your deer feeder is to build a hot wire around your feeder poles. The hot wire helps to keep squirrels out of the feeder by giving them moderate shocks as they try to climb the feeder’s legs. It also deters them from returning from your feeder.

There are two methods for installing an anti-squirrel hot wire around your deer feeder.

Electric Zapper

You can buy a commercially built electric shock kit like the Varmint Zapper. You can get one on Amazon. This is a simple squirrel deterrent that is both effective and safe. It is controlled by a remote and runs on batteries. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, you can easily install an electric zapper in your feeder.

Make Your Own Electric Shock

You can also protect your deer feeder by wrapping a DIY hot wire around it. An anti-squirrel hot wire is simple to construct with basic wiring materials such as cables, metals, a remote control, batteries, and solar power.

I use this strategy, which appears to be quite effective in keeping squirrels and other small animals, such as raccoons, away from a feeder.

Here’s how to make anti-Squirrel hot wire for your deer feeder;

  • Gather your materials, including fence wires, electric wire insulators, and a solar-powered controller.
  • Insert the electric insulators into your feeder poles at various spots, keeping them a few inches above the ground.
  • Next, wrap the fence wires around the insulators, ensuring they go through each one and are all linked.
  • String the wires as tightly as possible.
  • Connect one insulator to a ground pole and another to the solar power.
  • Finally, turn on your solar power to get your hot wire started.

Install Squirrel Baffles

Baffles are also a protective barrier attached to the feeder poles to prevent squirrels from climbing up the deer feeder. Once installed, the squirrels cannot get past the baffle when climbing the pole and hence cannot eat corn. Baffles are also effective on raccoons and other small animals.

Here’s how to mount anti-squirrel baffles on your deer feeder;

  • Get some O-shaped baffles and attach them to the tripod feeder legs.
  • Attach the baffle to the pole high enough so that squirrels cannot jump over and on top of it.
  • Also, set the feeder towards the edge of a field or in an area where squirrels cannot use a neighboring tree to bypass the legs.

Deer Feeder Cage

Squirrels are great climbers and will always make their way to the feeder drum by any means available, but building a cage around your feeder drum is an effective method to outwit them. Although I have not tried this procedure myself, many users have attested to its effectiveness.

The Moultrie Varmint Guard is a popular feeder cage. It is a huge metal cage that simply attaches to the bottom of the feeding bucket or drum. The metal lines are robust and close enough to prevent squirrels from inserting their paws into the feeder area, yet allowing feed to flow past the barrier. You can get a Varmint Guard from Amazon, Walmart, and other online stores.

Attach a String To Your Feeder Legs

Attaching a slinky metal spring to the feeder’s legs is a cheap and simple technique to keep squirrels away from your feeder drum. Simply connect one spring to each tripod pole. A metal string costs only $4 and can be purchased on Amazon and other internet retailers.

Hunting and Trapping Squirrel

Hunting and trapping squirrels is another way to keep them out of your deer feeder kit. While I believe this is a highly successful technique to keep animals away, you may have to deal with local regulations and hunting limitations in your region.

So, before you proceed with this strategy, it is recommended that you contact a game official in your state or read your state’s regulations governing animal trapping and hunting and obtain legal authorization.

How to hunt and trap squirrels;

  • Get your trapping and hunting kits; you may make your traps or buy commercially produced traps from a hardware shop.
  • Place traps around the field along the squirrels’ routes a few meters away from the feeder.
  • Place the trap far enough away from the deer to avoid disturbing it.
  • Regularly inspect the trap.

Although the purpose is to exterminate squirrels from your field, you have the option of selling, giving them away, or making soup with them.

squirrel proof your deer feeder

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do to keep squirrels away from my bird feeder?

To keep squirrels away from your bird feeder, hang the feeder out of reach of squirrels, give food squirrels dislike, or get a squirrel-proof feeder.

How Can I Naturally Keep Squirrels Away From My Farm?

Natural repellents keep squirrels away from your farm if they don’t leave your plants alone. Hot pepper plants, garlic and vinegar spray on hard surfaces, electric fences, and motion detectors are just a few methods for removing squirrels and other animals from your farm.