We like to feed the birds at are cottage during the winter months. The problem is when we put the feeders up in October, a mother raccoon and her two babies came, climbed the tree and hung upside down to climb a very tin branch to the feeders and managed to get three bird feeder and also three suet cages. They broke all the feeders and walked away with the suet feeders which we later found in the woods. We saw them try to do this when we where still up and scared them away numerus times, but as soon as we went to bed they where back.Has any one else had this problem or have any suggestions.

Loran
Guest
Jan 21, 2008
5:27 AM

Hello,

We also are at times over run with Raccoons, but have found that no matter what you do they will get to the feeders. Let's not forget they are programmed for survival and that leaves them very resourseful. We have found that if you take the feeders inside at night, then they will soon tire of not having the feeders available and will soon cross your house off their "meal list". This must be done every night and the trick is to set up your feeders so they can easily retreived at night. We used an old clothesline and hang the feeders from this during the day and "reel" them in at night. We also remove any feeders we have on the deck and this will deter them. The old clothesline is strung from the deck to a nearby tree by two pulleys and works great. Just don't overload the line. One or two feeders is sufficient. We moved into the "forest" two years ago and we have had to adapt to the environment. I mean think about it, you are now in their territory and evolution is programmed into the "critters" that live there. They will do whatever they need to survive and if that means destroying your feeder, then they will. A little change of routine in your handling of the feeders will go a long way to cure the problem.