Bruce Church has left a new comment on your post "Squirrel Baffle Update: Spoiled Entitlement Squirr...":
My war with the squirrels began when they figured out how to climb a shepherd's crook. I think it was when a new and improved squirrel came to my yard since they looked more athletic, but also as the enamel paint on the poles (bars) and baffles dulls, it's easier for squirrels to climb. WD-40 on the pole is only effective until the first rain. I didn't feel like buying enamel paint and redoing the paint job since that could be an every year job to keep the pain shiny and slippery. That's when I inserted a shiny 6-foot 6" wide $6 chimney pipe over the pole, and they never make it up that more than a couple feet. The squirrels refer to it as the 6-6-6.
Then however, they resorted to jumping down on the feeders from the house roof, the wires, and the detached garage roof. It took a while for me to find a spot near the kitchen window where the squirrels couldn't jump to the bird feeder, moving it a few feet this way and that. Shepherds crooks are easy to move if you let a gallon of water soak in before lifting the iron out, or before standing on the iron to force it into the ground. Hot water will quickly unfreeze the ground, too. Else, you can wait for a good rain.
Once I found the perfect location that no squirrel could get to for an entire year, I replaced the crook with a 8-foot 4x4 from Menards ($6). The $29 post hole digger was on sale for $20. I dug the hole 2 feet deep. Since the post is treated, no concrete is necessary. The chimney fit over the 4x4. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the top of the 4x4 and inserted the top part of the shepherds crook. My crook has two hooks, on which I put a feeder with safflower, another with black sunflower seed, and in the middle I put a suet cage on a wire hook I made.
The juvenile robins, cardinals and black-capped chickadee really love suet, so I'm helping the next generation of birds by using year round suet. All the birds will at least occasionally eat from each feeder and suet cake. Woodpeckers eat suet 99% of the time, of course.
I'm really happy with "First Nature's Niche Waterer and Bird Bath" ($20). I tried hanging it up first, but the wind caught and all the water runs out. So I put in another 4x4 post (same as above). The waterer has a built-in mount for 4x4 posts. The birds love it.
Finally, I have a hummingbird feeder with a large homemade ant mote filled with water to keep the ants and earwigs out of the sugar water, plus out of one box bird feeder:
First Nature's Niche Waterer and Bird Bath
http://www.amazon.com/First-Natures-Niche-Waterer-Bird/dp/B000RHSS32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308364725&sr=8-1
Ruby Prism Hummingbird Feeder
http://www.amazon.com/Trap-Moat-Hummingbird-Feeders-Bulk/dp/tags-on-product/B001BZNWVM
Water moat:
http://www.amazon.com/Trap-Moat-Hummingbird-Feeders-Bulk/dp/tags-on-product/B001BZNWVM
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bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Squirrel Baffle Update: Spoiled Entitlement Squirr...":
Squirrel jumps off porch roof to defeat baffle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YlauyBzZdU&NR=1
Squirrel defeats double baffle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7VpKY3mPsM&feature=related
Squirrel using weld seam on baffle as grip to defeat it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwH30DAQttQ
