If your neighborhood cats have been constantly harassing the birds visiting your bird feeder, you might feel the compulsion to get a BB gun and shoot at the intruders. However, one should always be humane, so you should use methods that work well but will not harm the feline predators.
This article will be teaching you a couple of nifty ways how to keep cats away from bird feeders. This way, your little avian friends can continue visiting your yard without fear of being the neighborhood cats’ next meal.
Step-by-Step Guide
Method 01: Use a Tall Bird Feeder
One of the most obvious solutions to keep cats from reaching your bird feeder is to hang it higher. This means you need to replace the original post with a longer one.
What to prepare:
- A tall pole – You will need a post that is much higher than your current setup, for obvious reasons.
- Basic tools
Detailed steps:
Step 1: Choose the right height pole. On average, a cat can jump up to five feet high, but there are some breeds that can jump up to 8 feet. So, you need to buy a new pole for your bird feeder that is at least 7 feet long and should be more than 5 feet high after you stick it into the ground.
Step 2: Remove the old pole and install the new one. You should at least wait until the bird feeder is emptied before you take it down. Once you remove the empty bird feeder, you then need to pull out the old post and install the new one in its place. If you have been planning to relocate the feeder, now is the best time to do it. Dig a hole that is at least a foot deep, or deeper to make it more stable.
Step 3: Refill the bird feeder and hang it up. Now that the new pole is installed and after you check if it is stable, you can now re-hang the refilled bird feeder. You might need another small pole to hang the feeder, but it should be high enough that neighborhood cats would not be able to reach the birds who are feeding.
Method 02: Plant Thorny Plants Around the Base of the Bird Feeder
A good way how to keep stray cats from bird feeders is to arrange thorny or spiky plants around them. Even though there is a prospect of a meal, cats would not take the risk of getting a face full of thorns to get it.
What to prepare:
- Your choice of thorny or spiny plants
Detailed steps:
Step 1: Choose your plants. There are many types of plants that you can use as protective barriers for your bird feeder. The most obvious choices for a barrier plant are roses, but you can also plant cacti, which is great if you live somewhere that does not get a lot of rain.
Step 2: Place the plants around the base of the bird feeder. You can choose to plant the thorny bushes or cacti around the base of the bird feeder if you like. Or, if you want the option of moving the feeder and the plants later, you can place the plants in pots instead.
Method 03: Use Citrus Essential Oils
Cats do not like the smell of citrus but birds do not mind it at all, so you can use this to your advantage.
What to prepare:
- Citrus peels – You can choose whatever citrus fruits you want, but I have found that lemon peels work best.
- Citrus essential oils – Again, you can use whichever citrus oil you want.
Detailed steps:
Step 1: Sprinkle the citrus peels around the base of the bird feeder. You need to place enough peels so that you can smell them yourself when you stand close to the feeder.
Step 2: Sprinkle citrus oil around the feeder. If you don’t have enough lemon or orange peels, you can just buy a small bottle of citrus essential oil. This product is more pungent than citrus peels, so they are more potent deterrents for cats. You just need to sprinkle a couple of drops of the essential oil around the base and on the lower part of the pole.
Step 3: Refresh whenever needed. After a while, the smell coming from the citrus peels and the essential oils will dissipate, so you need to add more. However, you do not need to do this forever, but just until the neighborhood cats get the message that you do not like them loitering in your yard.
You need to be careful when applying citrus essential oil because it might make the birds sick if they accidentally ingest it.
Gadgets That Can Help Keep Cats Out of Your Property
If the neighborhood cats are doing more than just harassing the birds at the feeder, you need to use things that can effectively keep them out of your property altogether. Here are some options:
Ultrasonic deterrents: These gadgets are motion activated and should be placed along the entrances that cats use to sneak into your property. When triggered, these devices will emit a high-pitched noise that will scare away the cats. Eventually, the cats will get the message that they are not welcome and will stop visiting your yard.
Time-activated sprinklers: Stray cats hate getting wet, so if you place garden sprinklers all around your yard and time them so that they turn on during the times that cats would get into your yard, the water would chase them out.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to keep cats away from bird feeders, you can ensure that your little feathered friends will be able to enjoy the food you leave out for them without worrying about the neighborhood cats lunging at them. The best part is that you managed to do it without harming the cats in any way.