How to keep Mice away from bird feeders

Small, cunning little mice are difficult to keep off bird feeders although it can be done with assistance of two kinds of squirrel baffles.

How to keep mice away from bird feeders is to isolate all feeders on a metal pole, as metal won't give mice the traction needed to climb. Install on this pole a squirrel baffle high up along with a baffle hung above hanging feeders. And let's not forget to clean up the area of food that is attracting mice in the first place.

Certainly not going to be an easy task on your hands to keep mice off bird feeders, but it must be done, and done well to prevent the spread of disease.

With that in mind wild birds simply won't come to a bird feeder infested with rodents.

Mice can climb most surfaces that provide plenty of traction, thus wooden surfaces must be avoided when hanging bird feeders and so must the branch of a tree.

What you can rely on to hang bird feeder on only is a bird feeder pole - which can be a Shepherd's Hook or standard but well known bird feeding station pole.

Isolate this pole so it can't give mice a different route to bird feeders hanging up.

On the bird feeder pole you'd need to install a squirrel baffle high up the pole as to make it difficult for mice to reach in the first place. And remember mice can't climb metal so easy, thus to reach the squirrel baffle on the pole would be difficult to say the least.

To keep the occasional mouse off bird feeders who got past your first line of defense, you can hang an additional squirrel baffle this time, which its hung above all bird feeders.

I can assure a squirrel baffle that is made to hang with bird feeders hung beneath the baffle will 100% keep mice off bird feeders.

It certainly doesn't hurt to double up defenses with use of a long thin length of steel wire the squirrel baffle can hang off - as mice will get hurt attempting to descend on wire which can literally cut into mice skin.

In the meantime, keep your bird feeder area free of bird food on the ground as its a cause of attracting mice to it - and if you fail here you'd then need to tidy away bird feeders until the mice issue has gone away.

Remember, mice are nocturnal animals thus bird feeders can be packed away for the night to save you a lot of bother dealing with these rodents at a time its a none issue.

Suspend on pole to keep mice off

Want to keep mice off a bird feeder, then be sure any bird feeder used is made to be hung, as its the only course of action that can effectively keep mice away.

Metal only bird feeder poles must be used as mice tend to struggle to climb up slippery metal. Whereas a wooden platform bird feeder on a stand will result in mice very easily climbing up without resistance.

Suspend bird feeders on what is a Shepherd's Hook or classic bird feeding station made in metal to keep mice far away from bird food resources.

Its certainly no guarantee as mice can be quite capable of learning, thus in the end an adult mouse could reach bird feeders if its witnessed at nigh or not.

Mice cousins in rats can climb bird feeder poles because their claws allow it, whereby a mouse claw cannot grip tightly around a pole.

While you can't always guarantee mice will not climb up a bird feeder pole - and then back down to descend on the hanging bird feeders - hang the bird feeders on a very thin long steel wire as mice would struggle to climb on cheese wire-like steel string.

Mount squirrel baffle on pole

Not all is lost by deterring mice climbing up the bird feeder pole when you can apply a squirrel baffle someway up the pole to stop mice in their tracks.

Squirrel baffles are made for squirrels of course, thus a little mouse may need a little more consideration to be sure they can't climb above the baffle.

Reason being mice can squeeze through a gap the size of a dime - or ten-cent coin - so mice will still get on the other side of the baffle if you are not careful.

With that in mind you'd need to buy a squirrel baffle that fits tightly to the bird feeder pole with no gaps in the baffle construction; or you'd need to apply your own hole-filler or technique to prevent mice getting through an existing gap.

Hopefully any mouse won't be able to reach the squirrel baffle to begin with because like I said, mice can struggle to climb up anything in metal.

Play it extra safe then by installing the squirrel baffle as high up the pole as you can; then mice will be seen to slide back down the pole rather than getting on the opposite side of the squirrel baffle mounted on the metal bird feeder pole.

Hang bird feeders under squirrel baffle

Squirrel baffles mounted to a bird feeder pole are highly effective in the prevention of squirrels, rats, raccoons and other nuisance animals climbing up the pole.

Mice shouldn't be any different but as they are small and cunning, a mouse might find a way in the end.

What you can do then is continue to hang bird feeders off a pole as you do, along with the squirrel baffle still installed high up on the pole - as you need a first line of defense to deter sneaky yet determined mice.

What to use this time is a squirrel baffle again, only the design of this baffle is made to be hung off a bird feeder pole bracket or branch.

What this setup will look like is a squirrel pole hanging off a long wire on a bracket or pole, then the bird feeder will be hung some way down beneath the squirrel baffle.

You want to keep rodents off your bird feeders all together in fear of disease, so use a squirrel baffle above hanging bird feeders to guarantee feeders become untouched.

Hang the squirrel baffle some way down below the bracket or branch its hung off, on thin steel wire so its hurt mice if they attempt to descend down on it, in which it will cut them.

And if mice succeed on getting on top of the squirrel baffle, I can assure this style of squirrel baffle won't allow mice to get on the other side to reach the bird feeders.

Clean spilled food to deter Mice

With all my personal mice-deterrent solutions outlined for you above, let's not forget to take care of areas that attract mice to bird feeders in the first place.

Of course spilled bird feeder food will bring mice to your yard due to a mouse being highly sensitive to smell.

Mice like to feed on anything from grains, fruits to seeds; and as the latter will likely to used in a bird seed feeder - of course mice will attempt to feed on it.

Unfortunately mice don't mind what kind of seed mix is it thus you can't use a certain type of seed to prevent mice eating it.

If mice are allowed to access bird seed that has fell to the ground then it must be tidied up ASAP, but it shouldn't be allowed to spill in the first place.

I believe most people forget about spilled bird feeder food on the ground, and while it doesn't effect most of us - some of you will be unfortunate enough to experience a rodent infestation - which must at least force you to keep the ground tidy.

How to feed birds with rodents calling by is to never allow bird food to land on the lawn below feeders, and certainly never allow bird food to remain in place if it does.

You must be pro-active in cleaning up any mess or else the mice problem won't go away.

Delay bird feeder use for a week

What you may of tried thus far is to try and stop mice accessing bird feeders by first hanging them, and therefore isolating bird feeders on a pole.

With that pole you would of installed a squirrel baffle far up the pole as mice struggle to get traction on metal - yet an additional squirrel baffle will be used above hanging bird feeder to prevent mice finally reaching bird feeders, if they do get past the first baffle.

Above situated squirrel baffles won't allow mice to descend on bird feeders hanging beneath them, so it certainly will be the end of the road for the rodents.

Not quite yet, as you'd still need to keep the area below all kinds of bird feeders clean and tidy... with any spilled bird food being the main cause of your mice infestation.

Clean up bird food as often as you can but what you are looking for is keeping the ground free of bird food 100% of the time.

However, you may find none of these solutions is helping you keep mice away from your bird feeders, thus its vital you pack it all away.

That's right, its time to clear up all bird feeder equipment in the yard for a few days or a week, up until the mice have at least disappeared.

Once you can be sure all mice or other rodents have gone for good you can begin the process of attracting common backyard birds back to your bird feeders. Keep an eye on proceedings thereafter before packing feeders again with the first sign of a mouse.

Final Thoughts

How to keep mice away from bird feeders is to at least suspend bird feeders off a pole so feeders can be isolated.

Last thing you want to do is suspend bird feeders within a tree or bracket mounted to the kind of surface - like a wooden post - that mice can easily climb.

Mice struggle to get traction on metal thus a metal bird feeder pole should stop them climbing up.

Bird feeder of any kind can be used, it just needs to be hung on a pole so we can apply effective techniques to keep mice well away from bird feeder food.

On a bird feeder pole the first thing to do is install a squirrel baffle high up on the pole.

What this will lead to is mice struggling to get past the baffle, and if they do reach it they will only fall or slide back down on the metal pole.

OK then, let's say a mouse squeezes past the squirrel baffle like they can; we can then setup a second line of defense which includes a made to be hung above hanging bird feeders, squirrel baffle.

Be sure this squirrel baffle is hung off the bird feeder pole bracket on a long piece of steel wire to hurt mice if dare they attempt to get their claws around it. Distance is important because then a mouse won't be able to reach down far enough.

Beneath this squirrel baffle of course can be any kind of bird feeder which will be safe from visiting mice as they'd never get pass the squirrel baffle hanging above feeders.

If my squirrel baffle solutions I've suggested to keep mice away from bird feeders at least help you a little - or not at all - you must still keep the area around the bird feeder clean of bird food, as its what is attracting mice with a keen sense of smell in the first place.

And if all that doesn't work for you then pack away bird feeders for the time being, or at least until the mice issue has disappeared.

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