Wooden Squirrel Feeder: Cheap, Environmentally Friendly and Entertaining.

Love them or hate them, squirrels are fairly common visitors to back gardens, and the area where I live is no exception. My family love the little critters and have a few regular visitors who come in to our garden on a regular basis, one of which has been visiting us for quite some time now who lives quite close by and sometimes brings his girlfriend along for a dinner date. We nick named him "Squiz" and he supply's us with endless entertainment, from doing somersaults on our trellis to playing "chase me" with the another regular visitors around the garden, another of which we have nick named "Tripod" because he (or she) is missing a front left foot. Squiz and Tripod and their families love their peanuts, walnuts, sweetcorn and sunflower seeds along the occasional fat ball and apple, and they are pretty good at staying away from our bird feeders now unless we forget to refill their feeder box which leads to some entertaining moments such as big leaps, very fine balancing acts and more somersaults, hilarious. The birds just sit there watching and probably thinking "these guys are nuts (no pun intended)".

Squirrels and the Environment:

Feed them or don't feed them. An ongoing debate between us humans because some see squirrels as pests that damage garden plants, strip bark from trees, invade bird nests and damage bird feeders. Some also say that feeding them encourages them to become too dependent on humans to feed them and loose their natural ability to find food in the wild as they do, and their natural fear of humans. They sometimes get a bad rap, especially the grey squirrel in the U.K where I live, as the are not native to this country as they were bought over in the late 1800's. Not their fault, it's us humans were to blame and although it is unfortunate that the grey squirrel is making the red ones extinct in the U.K, here and the world over, they are cute, smart and clever little living creatures that are here to stay.

On the plus side though, feeding squirrels and feeding them correctly does have ecological benefits too. Although they mainly eat seeds fruits and nuts (omnivores), they also do eat insects which can be beneficial to gardens with plants and flowers, and when they bury their food such as seeds, the ones they don't dig up stay in the ground and so they have effectively planted dispersed seeds and nuts for new plant and tree growth, beneficial for biodiversity and the environment overall. It has been noted that these little guys also eat mushrooms/fungi, even poisonous ones and disperses spores from their droppings which is environmentally good as these spores recycle nutrients and support plant growth.

As far as I am concerned, where these little critters can be an "inconvenience" for humans by some, squirrels no matter their what type they are, have just as much right to be here on our blue and green planet as we do, as we are all mammals and surely we can all coexist. From what I believe and have also read from some experts, feeding squirrels is a balancing act because we don't want them to become too dependent on use feeding them, yet also making sure they have a good supply of food during the times of year when their natural food resources are sparse, and to only replenish their food with a healthy variety of foods maybe every 3 to 4 days or so.

About the Feeder:

We have been feeding the birds with their own feeders for a while now, but when the squirrels started showing up and started helping themselves to the bird food, it soon became clear that we needed to give them their own feeder. So instead buying one I decided to build one using some leftover Marine plywood we had laying around from a previous shed build. I designed the feeder with separate compartments so I could separate the nuts, sunflower seeds, and to make a cubby hole to go in to so they can shelter from adverse weather and hide away from any potential predators. Check out the short video demo of it in use.

As you can see in the photos, the cubby hole is on the lower level, the peanuts or walnuts go in a compartment on the upper level, and the small compartment to the right of the cubby hole will contain the sunflower seeds and also act as a raised platform for the squirrels to reach the peanuts. The smaller compartment has a lid that fully opens and the larger one the roof is cut in two so only half acts as a flap and opens. I didn't want the whole thing opening as I thought it might be a bit to heavy and also end up with a load of bald squirrels running around the place from the constant rubbing of their heads on the lid. I used come clear Perspex on the front of both feeding compartments so we can see if they need refilling, and they also slide out from the top for easy cleaning if needed. Finally, the whole feeder sits on a platform attached to the garden wall with a couple of supports and makes the whole thing nice and sturdy, and the base has a hole drilled and a peace of rope pushed through and tied off for another point of access for them to climb up. The feeder and base are fixed to a brick pillar with the base cut to fit around it. You can make this to any shape and size you like that fits in with the surroundings and to where it's going to be installed. This is a quick and fun build in a day project with no advanced skills or special tools needed.

Materials I Used:

1. Cut offs of some 10mm Marine plywood
2. Small sheet of 5mm clear Perspex
3. One 6ft length of 2 x 2" treated timber
4. Short length of 4 x 4" treated timber
5. An old shoulder strap from a laptop bag
6. A small cut off from a plastic refuse sack
7. Wood screws
8. Eight 6" thick screws
9. External wood glue
10. Some raw plugs
11. A scrap piece of shower paneling (a laminated waterproof wood sheet) or any lightweight treated/waterproof sheet wood for the food dispenser lids.
12. And an old length of rope.

Tools I Used:

1. A drill
2. Nail gun
3. Phillips screwdriver
4. Jig saw
5. A Pencil
6. Ruler
7. And a tape measure.

It took about a day to build and and under half hour to fit. So on to the first step.

1.) After drawing up some plans I was happy with, using a pencil and ruler, I marked out the panels needed on to the pieces of plywood, which were...

1. Platform
2. Feeder base
3. 2 Side panels
4. Front panel
5. Back panel
6. Cubby hole roof (what the nuts will rest on for the main feeder section)
7. Back panel decoration (optional)*
8. The base and 2 side panels for the sunflower seed compartment
9. Panels cut from shower panels for main feeder, main feeder roof/lid and seeds lid

* The back panel decoration panel can be cut to any size or shape that you would like or indeed left off. The reason why I didn't cut the rounded corners and holes in to the original back panel was simply because this was an after thought and the height of the panel I had cut wasn't tall enough.

2.) Write the name on the marked out sections (e.g. back , left side, base, etc.) and cut out all the panels using a Jigsaw (or saw of your choice)

3.) With a rubbing down block and a peace of sand paper, sand down all the cut edges getting rid of all the splinters made by the Jigsaw and making the edges nice and smooth.

Next we will be working with the front and back panels, getting them ready for assembly.

1.) For the back panel, using a length of 2 x 2" wood, cut 4 lengths as pictured.

2.) Apply some wood glue to one of the lengths and attach to the bottom of the back panel, keeping it flush with the bottom edge and leaving a 10mm gap on each end (Use a peace of scrap plywood and place it each end to ensure the side panels will fit flush when you assemble it)

3.) Do the same as above, attaching the other lengths to each side first still leaving the 10mm lips on each side of the back panel then finally attaching the top batten. Leave for the glue to set.

4.) For the front panel, Cut out an arch with the jigsaw large enough for the squirrels to fit through easily.

5.) Using some more length of 2 x 2" batten, cut and fit to the inside of the front panel.

1.) With the base, front, side and back panels ready for assembly, glue the bottom of the back panel and attach to the base and nail down with the nail gun (or hammer and nails if you don't have a gun).

2.) Next, glue the bottom and back side of the side panels and attach to the base and back panel and nail down.

3.) Now finish off buy gluing the bottom and inner sides of the front panel and attach to the base and side panels then nail down.

4.) Now glue the front and back battens and slide in cubby hole roof/ceiling panel and nail down.

At this point you should now have a sturdy structure which will become stronger when the wood glue fully cures. Next we will get on with the food compartments.

While waiting for the glue to cure on the main housing, we can make the smaller seed feeder compartment for the sunflower seeds.

1.) Glue and nail the bottom front fascia panel to the front underside of the base panel.

2.) Then glue/nail and attach the side panels to the base.

3.) Next, glue/nail the upper back support batten to the side panels.

4.) Now glue around the bottom of the housing and attach to the small platform panel and nail down.

5.) Glue and attach two pieces of small strip wood running flush with the front edges of the side panels, then attach two more strips about 6mm in from the first two strips. This will leave the gap to slide the 5mm thick clear Perspex in between the strips.

6.) Now do the same again as above but on the main housing where the nuts will go.

7.) With a fine jigsaw blade (or fine hacksaw blade), cut the clear Perspex panels out for the nut compartment on the main housing, and the seed compartment, and test fit.

8.) Use some fine grade wet and dry sanding paper and rub the edges of the Perspex to a smooth finish. Put these to one side for now.

9.) Cut and fit some shower paneling (or solid lightweight sheet material of your choice) at a slanted angle facing forward inside the nuts compartment and nail into place.

10.) Now use another piece of shower paneling (or similar) and attach this to the top of the nuts compartment, gluing and nailing it to the top edges of the side panels. This piece should only cover about half of the top as the lid will cover the second half where the squirrels will lift the lid to get their grub.

TOP TIPS:

When screwing, nailing, stapling the straps through the compartment lids, make sure that the other ends of these don't protrude through the other side of the lids so the squirrels don't scratch/cut themselves when they get their food. Use short screws of use a pair of flush cutters to trim off any nails of staples poking through.

When cutting Perspex/acrylic, use a fine blade, cut slow, don't force the cutting tool, and lubricate the surface when cutting. This helps prevent chipping, melting and cracking the Perspex/acrylic.

1.) Glue the bottom of the seed compartment platform and attach to the platform of the main housing platform then nail in from the bottom.

2.) Cut to length a piece of laptop bag strap (you can also use a metal hinge for this) and screw or staple half the width to the lid.

3.) Now staple or screw the other half width of the strap to the main housing to complete the seed compartment lid.

4.) Next, using some treated batten timber lengths, cut and fit together to make two angle brackets (as pictured)

5.) Attach the two angle brackets each side to the main platform panel making sure the back of the brackets are flush with the back edge of the platform.

It was at this stage I realized that I needed to add an additional panel to the back of the housing not only to cut the curves for ascetics, but also to be able to screw the top of the feeder to the brick wall pillar which I couldn't do with the fixed part of the nuts compartment lid attached. I simply cut to shape a piece of the marine ply, cutting a curve shape and a couple of large holes for ascetics, then screwed it to the back of the main feeder housing.

6.) Add any decoration you like. I made a little house number and a small archway covering the cubby hole entrance. Not necessary, but some fun little details.

TOP TIP: If you decide to use a strap like I did with the laptop bag strap for this or any other project, when you cut it to length, use a flame from a lighter or similar to quickly and carefully burn the cut edges to stop them fraying. It only needs a second or two of flame to do this.

Time for fitting.

Now it's time to go outside with the main platform with attached brackets, the feeder, the Perspex panels, a length of treated timber, a drill, some screws and some raw plugs.

1.) Drill some small holes into the back legs of the angle brackets.

2.) Offer up the platform/brackets to the wall making sure it's level then mark or drill some pilot holes into the brickwork through the holes you made in the angle brackets.

3.) Drill the pilot holes with a bigger masonry drill bit the correct size for the raw plugs you have.

4.) Insert and tap in the raw plugs until flush with the wall, then attach the platform to the wall with galvanized (external) screws making sure the platform is secure.

5.) With the treated length of batten timber, measure to length and put one end to the ground ( a solid surface like concrete or a paving slab etc.) then press fit the other end to the underside of the platform and screw in through the top of the platform. (This might have been overkill, but I wanted the feeder to be secure as possible).

6.) Put the feeder centered on top of the platform and make two marks to screw the top back panel to the wall.

7.) Remove the feeder, drill the two holes, insert raw plugs, put the feeder back into position on the platform, then screw into place.

8.) Measure, mark and drill some holes from under the platform and into the feeder and screw into place.

9.) Now attach the nuts compartment lid the same way as you did with the seeds compartment.

10.) Finally, slot into place the two Perspex panels, close the lids and check everything is secure.

All that's left to be done now is fill your new squirrel feeder up with some tasty food... and wait. And I do mean wait because it could be a day, a few days or even weeks before you get your first visitor. If you already have some fury friends visiting your garden then it may be a few days before they notice and try out the new feeder. If you've noticed one or two squirrels in your neighborhood then it could be a couple of weeks or so, and if you're waiting for you first garden visitor then it could take a while, so be patient. We already put an apple out on a nail hammered into a fence post nearby for anyone to eat, so the squirrels already knew the area so using the new feeder only took them a few days to figure out.

This is an easy, fun, cheap, rough n ready, quick and dirty 'build in a day' project and you can build one to any size or shape you like. I played with the idea of painting ours, but decided to leave it as it is. What we did do is fit a long small diameter bolt through one corner of the platform and slid a corn on the cob over it for there little guys to help themselves with. You could also attach a small water bowel to the outside as well. we didn't because out fluffy visitors use a bird bath we have which we fill with fresh water daily, so they get a fresh drink and something to cool off in during hot weather.

An environmentally friendly build using scrap wood and materials that could have been destined for landfill but instead put to practical, entertaining, ecological use. it's also a great little project that you can get the kids involved with were under careful supervision they can get to learn how to use tools, making a useful item, seeing their project get used, and then get to see and study parts of nature and wild animals close up and safely from their own home.

And for all of the pro's and con's of having squirrels in your gardens, one thing is clear... get two or three or more together and they are fascinating creatures and endless entertainment.

Thanks for reading, and happy making.