How to keep Starlings off bird feeders

I will admit its not easy to deter Starlings at bird feeders though there are some methods to put in place, in a way to force Starlings to hang upside in which they struggle to.

How to keep Starlings out of feeders relies on a squirrel proof feeder, that now become Starlings proof. Small, compact no-perch feeders can help and so to can upside down suet feeders. You can cloak wire suet feeders in saran wrap or cut open a plastic bottle, as Starlings are forced to cling at a tricky angle.

Admittedly, it won't be an easy task when keeping Starlings off any kind of bird feeder, as they can be a similar size to wild birds who you'd want to permit access to feeders.

In particularly, Starlings coming to bird feeders as young fledglings will be small and super eager to raid your bird feeders; your fat ball or suet cake bird feeder will then become a prime target to young Starlings.

Starlings are a big bird feeder user all year long thus it may not be possible to prevent them at all, but it is possible to reduce numbers for sure.

Often exposed suet bird feeders will be hard to keep Starlings off unless you can shroud it in some kind of film wrap... and that is something you can do.

While Starlings can be attracted to seed feeders - which are harder to protect against than suet feeders - it does automatically make it easier to keep Starlings away.

With Starlings attracted to seeds or juicy mealworms in feeders, there's always an opportunity to actually feed Starlings all this and more some distance away; all while your bird feeders can be reserved for small songbirds only.

Now with your Bluebird feeder once taken over by Starlings that eat all the mealworms, can now be distracted on an open - and therefore an accessible - bird feeder dish that is sure to grab their attention.

You can't fully get rid of Starlings at feeders thus you can just think about reducing numbers... which let's face it, does get out of hand at certain times of the year.

Utilize Starling proof cages

Fully grown mature Starlings can be deterred at the point of bird feeders commonly surrounded in a bird feeder cage to stop large birds taking bird feeder food on what is a too regular basis.

While squirrel proof bird feeders - of the cage surround type - do a great job at keeping squirrels out of feeders, they can often work on keeping larger birds away.

No guarantee mind as Starlings can be large or super thin, thus are likely to on occasions be able to squeeze between the bars of the squirrel proof cage.

Often you can have too many Starlings coming to your feeders which is a pain, but if you can at least prevent two thirds of them accessing bird feeders... then consider it a great success.

In no way can you stop all Starlings raiding bird feeders, but most of the larger and often more aggressive ones can be kept at a distance.

Squirrel proof suet, seed or nut bird feeders must be bought with squirrel proof cage pre-installed. You can buy a squirrel proof cage only to mount to a feeder later, only it will have huge compatibility issues unless bought by the same brand.

If you enjoy feeding Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals or Gray Catbirds at feeders, bear in mind to deter Starlings can in fact keep all these birds, and more, off your feeders.

Small-bird, bird feeders

While there's once again no guarantee Starlings can be kept off any type of bird feeders at this time, you could utilize small, compact confined feeders for the time being.

Once again Blue Jays, Cardinals and many others will find it hard to feed on feeders, as they usually do anyway - but it can make it super difficult for Starlings to perch - thus you can concentrate your efforts on feeding small birds only.

How to feed small common backyard songbirds while keeping Starlings off then will rely on a concentration of small seed bird feeders in particularly.

You know the kind, the long tubular type seed feeders that have two or more perches attached near to the port wells where a mix of seeds are dispensed.

Similarly, wide seed feeders exist to allow small birds to perch in a precarious way in which its not possible for Starlings to achieve.

When attracting small birds to bird feeders while deterring nuisance Starlings at the same time, I can't say it enough... never utilize any type of bird feeder mounted with a seed catcher tray, or various easy to access perch placements.

Small bird feeders to attract small birds only can still deter Bluebirds to American Robins mind, whereas your Finches or Warblers can access this kind of feeder with ease.

Deter Starlings on upside down feeder

While I only recommend you make use of this technique for keeping Starlings off feeders; you must currently be attracting Chickadees or Woodpeckers to your yard at this time, as upside down eating birds will benefit the most.

What you can do is actually buy an upside down suet feeder - as this type aren't made for other types of bird feed - that can be hung up on the bird feeder pole or tree branch.

What an upside down suet feeder is exactly are suet bird feeders that allow birds to feed beneath it only.

Now, bear in mind only birds who can feed upside down - like Woodpeckers or Chickadees - can use this method that is unfortunately restricted to few backyard birds.

Although Starlings can cling or perch at an awkward angle on feeders, its unlikely Starlings can be found to cling upside down to feed.

Birds are forced to cling upside down on the cage to feed in between the wire to peck at mostly suet fat balls that are inserted in this feeder.

Commonly made in wood, the upside feeder is encased in a box with access only made available on the underside.

Hang it as normal while baring in mind it won't cause issues if hung on its own in a tree.

Cloak suet feeder in plastic wrap

Now, what you can do with any type of suet cage type feeder you may be in ownership of at this time, is to actually wrap the feeder in saran wrap.

Like preventing Starlings accessing suet in an upside down bird feeder because they're unable to cling on upside down; this technique is similar to that with Starlings are only allowed a small space, whereas small birds can feed with ease near the bottom.

How to stop Starlings eating fat balls in a fat ball feeder in particularly, relies on most of this cage fat ball feeder being wrapped up in plastic.

Space of up to one inch will be allowed to stay open for birds to perch near to, whereas Starlings will find it hard to cling in a position you force them to try - in an attempt to cling to feed on the fat balls.

With bird food, or suet enclosed in what can become a warm interior, you can skip the saran wrap method to be a little more inventive with other craft supplies.

Another way to keep Starlings off suet or peanut wire feeders is to encase the feeder in a cut at the bottom soda bottle: it will allow air to pass through while forcing wild birds to feed in a small gap left at the base, thus Starlings are unable to perch again.

And with that you can take a sheet of acetate to make a cone shape around any exposed bird feeder, which will once again shield most of the feeder from Starlings - with only the bottom exposed enough to deter perching Starlings.

How to Starling proof a wire suet feeders only will see a lot of success with these methods, though it can't be said with bird feeder food held in other types of feeders.

To summarize

How to keep Starlings out of feeders may require additional investment on your part, would be to rely on a collection of squirrel proof bird feeders.

Bird feeders that hold suet, seeds or peanuts are surrounded in a wire cage which can allow small songbirds to pass in between, with the hope Starlings are too large to get their bodies through the gaps.

Similarly, there is such a thing as bird feeders for small birds only, that will rely only passage for small birds while forcing large birds to stay well away from the bird food at the center of the feeder.

Better yet, a simple clear long tube seed bird feeder can make it awkward for Starlings to perch, with smaller birds landing to feed as normal.

When there's plentiful of upside feeding able-birds like Chickadees and Woodpeckers in your yard, then an exclusive upside down eating only feeder will do.

Starlings can't cling on upside down to feed thus it won't be possible for them to access what are primarily fat balls inside this type of feeder.

With Starlings unable to cling at an awkward or on a limited space, you can think about wrapping saran wrap around a suet feeder that would otherwise be fully accessible to Starlings - only now there's just a small gap made available to small birds at the bottom.

Truth of the matter is you won't be able to keep all Starlings off bird feeders, but you can put up some defenses that will succeed in keeping most Starlings off feeders.

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