Feeding squirrels on purpose

Two different people arrive at this page. One wants to know whether putting out a squirrel feeder will get the squirrels off the bird feeder. The other has decided they like squirrels and wants to feed them properly. The first answer is no, and it is worth understanding why before reading the second.

The decoy theory, and why it fails

The logic sounds impeccable: squirrels want food, you give them food they do not have to work for, they stop working for the food in the feeder. It fails on a single mechanism, and once you see it you cannot unsee it.

Reliable food does not redistribute animals. It increases them. A yard with a dependable food supply supports more squirrels than the same yard without one — more survive the winter, more young are raised near it, more move in from neighboring territories. You have not diverted the squirrels you had; you have recruited their relatives. And every one of them will still investigate the bird feeder, because a squirrel investigates everything.

This is not a theory peculiar to squirrels. It is the standard mechanism behind every feeding-attracts-pests warning in the extension literature. Penn State's guidance on chipmunks makes the same point about spilled birdseed near houses: it does not just attract them, it supports them — it raises how many the area can carry. The same arithmetic drives mice and rats, and it is why Washington State University Extension advises feeding only enough for each day, since extra feed on the ground attracts rats and mice.

Our longer answer on what does and does not work against squirrels is in how to keep squirrels off your bird feeders, and the blunt version is in are any feeders really squirrel-proof.

So why would you feed them?

Because they are entertaining, and because some people enjoy watching a squirrel work at a cob more than they enjoy watching a finch at a tube. That is a legitimate reason to put food out, and the rest of this page is written for the person who has decided that — not as a pest-control strategy dressed up as kindness.

It is worth being clear-eyed about what you are taking on. A reliably fed yard will hold more squirrels, and those squirrels will also be interested in your feeders, your bulbs, your roof space and your bird seed storage. If any of those are already a point of friction, feeding is the wrong move.

If you are doing it, the one rule that matters is distance. Put the squirrel food as far from the bird feeders as your yard allows, and keep the bird feeder properly baffled anyway.

How we chose these

On published manufacturer specifications, checked against live listings in October 2026 so every pick is currently purchasable. No testing claim: we have not run squirrel feeders against bird feeders, and nobody should trust a site that says it has without showing the method.

The ranking here is deliberately unusual: the top pick is a baffle rather than a squirrel feeder, because the question most people arrive with is about the bird feeder and the baffle is the answer to it. Within the squirrel foods, ranking went on ingredient honesty, cost per pound, and whether the maker publishes a guaranteed analysis. Our full criteria are here.

What to feed them, and what not to

Dried corn, on the cob or cracked. This is the standard squirrel food and the cheapest. Kaytee's corn-on-the-cob is a single ingredient — corn cobs — with a published guaranteed analysis of 7% minimum crude protein, 3% minimum crude fat, 8% maximum fibre and 14% maximum moisture, sold for squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, deer and other wildlife. Read that species list before you buy: it is the list of animals you are inviting.

Nuts in the shell. Whole peanuts and other in-shell nuts work and take time to open, which is the point. Buy them as wild bird or wildlife food — never salted, roasted or flavoured. Our peanut guide covers the forms and the mold rule, which applies to squirrels as much as to jays.

Not bird seed. Putting out a dish of sunflower for squirrels is the one version of this that is actively counterproductive: sunflower is what they want from the bird feeder, so you are training them onto the exact food you are trying to protect. Corn is a different food in a different place.

Not the kitchen. Bread, crackers, sweetened cereal and salted nuts are as wrong for squirrels as they are for birds, for the same reasons — covered in full here.

Where to put it

The placement rules are the bird-feeder rules read backwards. The 5-7-9 distances exist to keep a squirrel from reaching a feeder: five feet of height, seven feet of clearance, nine feet below an overhanging branch. A squirrel feeding station should be sited to break none of them.

• As far from the bird feeders as the yard allows. Opposite ends, not opposite sides of the same tree.
• Not on, under or within jumping distance of the bird feeder pole. A squirrel food source at the foot of a baffled pole is an invitation to keep trying the pole.
• Off the ground and off the house. A cob on a fence post or a wire holder on a tree keeps the food dry and keeps the activity away from your eaves. Penn State advises keeping feed well away from buildings for exactly this reason.
• Somewhere you can clear up. Spilled corn is the part that recruits rodents.

And keep the bird feeder defended regardless. A baffle on a properly sited pole is the only thing in this whole category with a reliable outcome, and the pole half is here.

The hygiene part, which is not optional

Corn is the single most mold-prone food in common backyard use, and wet, moldy corn is a genuine hazard to birds and mammals alike. A cob sitting on wet ground for a week is not a feeder, it is a culture.

• Put out what will be eaten in a day or two, not a sack.
• Keep cobs off wet soil — a holder, a post, a dry ledge.
• Clear anything that has gone soft, dark or furry, and clear the ground underneath.
• Store the bag sealed and dry. Our storage containers hold corn as well as seed.

The alternative purchase, if you came here for the bird feeder

If what you actually want is fewer squirrels on the bird feeder, spend the money there instead. In rough order of effectiveness per dollar:

1. A baffle on a correctly sited pole. The highest-leverage purchase in this entire hobby.
2. A weight-closing feeder. Shuts under a squirrel's weight and keeps feeding birds. Our roundup is here.
3. Safflower instead of sunflower. Cardinals and finches take it; most squirrels leave it. The honest version of that claim.
4. Nothing on the ground. Clearing spilled seed does more than any gadget.

A squirrel feeder is not on that list, and no amount of wanting it to be changes the arithmetic.

What we would buy

• You want the squirrels off the feeder: a steel baffle on a properly sited pole. Skip everything else on this page.
• You want to watch squirrels, cheaply: a bag of corn on the cob, one cob at a time, on a post at the far end of the yard.
• You want to feed squirrels and the ground birds: cracked corn on a tray, which doves, juncos and sparrows will share — that setup is here.
• You want both outcomes at once: corn at the far fence and a weight-closing feeder on a baffled pole. That is the honest version of “feed the squirrels and keep the birds”.

The thing to take away is that feeding squirrels is a hobby, not a tactic. Enjoy it on those terms, site it far from the feeders, keep the corn dry, and keep the baffle on the pole — because the squirrels you are feeding will still be checking.