Squirrel Buster Classic Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder w/4 Feeding Ports, 2.4-pound Seed Capacity

I love having squirrels in our yard, but I want to keep them from the bird feeders. Having watched a number of different feeders and items and ideas fail, I purchased three of the Squirrel Buster models. I waited almost three weeks to write this review because it usually takes the squirrels 5-10 days to figure out how to raid the feeders. After 20 days these feeders have successfully resisted their attempts to reach the bird seed. This is a review of the CLASSIC model. PROS 1- The shroud works as advertised. Several birds can perch and hang on it without a problem, but even the smaller squirrels will force the shroud to close, preventing them from reaching the birdfeed. The shroud is a wire mesh cylinder surrounding the inner cylinder which looks to be made of a tough plastic. I don't see how the squirrels can climb on the feeder without activating the shroud. 2- The feeding ports are easy for the birds to use, but look as if they would be difficult for the squirrels to reach even if the shroud did not cover them. This also makes it less likely that the seeds will fall out of the feeder when a squirrel is jostling it or when the wind moves it around. 3- The cover fits securely and firmly. One of the first thing the squirrels try is to pry the cover off, and they cannot even budge it. 4- The outer mesh is made of a material that looks like painted metal. I watched as one squirrel tried to chew through it to get to the feeding ports, but could not even damage it. Hopefully it will continue to resist those attempts! The mesh allows for birds like nuthatches to perch in the manner that they prefer (clinging to the side). We have a red-bellied woodpecker that also enjoys using this feeder because it can cling to the mesh. 5- It is easy to refill and disassembles to allow for thorough cleaning. CONS None of the cons is a big deal, as far as I am concerned. But I am adding them for the sake of completeness. 1- The hanging wire is flexible. I initially had the feeder in a location where the squirrels could reach the cover without hanging from the wire. This allowed them to pull the feeder into an angled position, which allowed the birdseed to fall out. I changed the location to prevent this, but a stiff hanger wire would have made the change unnecessary. 2- The mesh makes it easy for squirrels to climb onto. They cannot get to the feed, but for a week or two you can expect that they'll disrupt the birds as they make repeated efforts to figure out how to get to the feed. Thankfully they seem to give up after several days of fruitless efforts, and only occasionally give in to the temptation anymore. 3- Some of the feeding ports are higher up than others. This makes sense and works very well, but of course when the feed runs low those ports will not be useful. I like to let the feed run out so I can clean it regularly, and this means a day or three of minimized access for the birds. As I said above, not a big deal. None of the cons are enough to remove a star because they are minor issues that are easy to foresee and because the feeder does what it promises, which is prevent the squirrels from emptying the feeder one way or another. Now they must be happy with the scraps the birds drop and the seeds and feed that I provide for them almost every day. I think they'll stay, but they might be a bit thinner now.

This thing is great. It actually works. It’s very well-made and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. In the first part of the video you can see a squirrel trying to get to the food. When he jumps off in frustration, you can see that the cage that surrounds the tube goes up so birds can get to the food. The weight of the squirrel closes the feeding ports by sliding the cage down to close them. It’s very slick and it’s fun to watch highly frustrated squirrels. It’s also fun to not have to pay outrageous prices for hot seed.

These worked great for me and they’re very well made and sturdy. The squirrels still try to get to them every once in a while but they quickly give up and just grab the snacks that fall under them. Holds a lot of seed, easy to fill, and I get all different kinds of birds on them (jays, finches, wrens, cardinals, bluebirds, tits, nuthatches, towhees, woodpeckers, and goldfinches are my most frequent flyers.)

We've had this one for 5 years and it's still working. The cylinder that holds the seed is not clear anymore. It does a good job to keep the squirrels from stealing all the seed. Smart squirrels will jump onto it from the side to get it to rock the seed out but they eventually get tired of the effort. Filling it is easy with the use of a large funnel. A bit pricey but it's metal and has held up to the elements well. I will probably buy the same whenever our first one fails.

Well, I had just purchased the Squirrel Buster Plus from Amazon and because I had a number of points gained from purchases, I decided to use them to purchase this bird feeder. I am certainly not sorry I did. The reason I wanted the Classic was because of the wire grid. This will allow the little perching birds to feed comfortably. I had a few nuthatches visit my tray feeder a couple of years ago, and they did not seem to like it that much. Also, we often get goldfinches and chipping sparrows during the winter season here in Florida, and I think this will be a great feeder for them. Of course, the prospect of not having "squirrel raids" is very important. I have mixed seeds in this feeder comprising mostly of a finch blend and other assorted seeds. I also bought some peanuts (no oil or salt), and chopped them up and mixed them into the other seed. (Hope I get the little nuthatches back.) I find this to be an extremely durable feeder. It is easy to fill, very easy to take apart and adjust and hangs from the tree "just right." I like the long wire and narrow steel tube just above the lid. Our little House Finches really like this feeder and pretty much come all day to feed now. I was surprised to find that my Cardinals also enjoy it. I did not expect this. They love the Plus, but they scoot over for the finch seeds and nuts, I guess. Our squirrels did not bother with this feeder for a number of days. Finally, they did give it a try. Of course, the grid dropped down with their weight and prevented access to the seed ports. They also tried to pop off the lid on the top, but this has a locking mechanism, so it is not possible for them to remove the lid and steal the seeds. They have pretty much given up on this feeder. I almost never see a squirrel trying to defeat it. They still give the Plus a try, but they cannot access the seeds there either. The Squirrel Buster Classic and Plus do what they claim. Now the squirrels have to be content with what falls on the ground. Like the Plus, this is a well-designed feeder that does not harm the squirrels in any way. When they are tired of trying, they just jump off. They are not trapped or shocked in any way. As with the Plus, you still want to hang it in a way where the squirrels cannot just reach over and pull the feeder to them without triggering the weight mechanism. A previous reviewer mentioned tiny access holes that the birds cannot reach. That is NOT the case on the Classic feeder. The access holes are quite large and allow for the use of black oil sunflower seeds and other seed mixes as well as full-sized peanuts. I think the other reviewer must be referring to the Squirrel Buster Finch Feeder which probably does have small access holes because it is intended for thistle and tiny finch seeds. At any rate, I recommend this wonderful bird feeder. It is well made, easy to use, durable and very attractive to the birds. Great price, and great service from Amazon, too!

Purchased in 2014 and still going strong, but if you just want one feeder I believe the plus version is worth the extra cost as this is truly a lifetime feeder. The us project can be easily adjusted to not just block squirrels but for select number of large birds that can clean out your feeder quickly. Ours is set to when if more than one pigeon or black bird lands the food is cut off. The plus is exception in comparison to other feeder and even this brands low models in regard to keeping the seed dry and preventing mold over the Texas winter or relatively wet months. This classic has to be washed out after the winter months. We have ours hanging off the deck hand rail ledge with an extension bar with a deck ledge clamp (search for stokes select 27in); right at eye level off the deck. This products is really well made. The green color blending in well with a natural surrounding was a plus. The installation was very easy and straight forward. This product is very easy to work with despite all the moving parts that keep squires away. The only improvement I would make is adding an option of an asteadicly pleasing seed catcher for the rare single pigeon. I have seen a couple options online that are not distracting (hanging nets) but they screw into the bottom of the feeder in most cases. On this feeder there is no option or pilot hole for a screw on the bottom. However since the bottom portion moves due to higher weight, I imagine the seed catch would get in the way. I would also (nice to have) change the hook or cable on the top of the feeder to be adjustable in length or rigid … with our 27in extension bar off the deck, the last feeder perch is blocked visually by the deck hand rail.

This is my second purchase of the squirrel buster classic. I like the feeder very much. It’s functional and is squirrel proof. The feed can get hardened and stuck but is relatively easy to clean. It is worth the price.

This product is great, no squirrels is fantastic. I really didn’t believe it was possible to keep squirrels from getting into my bird feeders.

This is my fourth feeder of this size. They are good feeders for regular size gardens or a woodland feeding station. I space mine around so that light lands on a different one at different times of the day. As a result the birds can use the one in the sunniest spot to feed. Hacing more than one also helps if there is too much competition. I find the larger size although expensive it the only one that lasts a week. Contents stay dry in both. The smaller ones are not great. I ended up throwing them away.

This bird feeder is truly squirrel proof. I have bought many so-called squirrel proof feeders in the past and ended up returning them because they don’t really work. This one actually works exactly as advertised. There is also a lifetime warranty. It’s seems pricey , but the money saved on bird seeds wasted on squirrels makes up for it. I definitely recommend it.

We bought this Brome bird feeder to replace an older, similar feeder that was accidentally broken. The Brome is a great design - it keeps the seed fresh, lots of birds are at it daily, and it works very well to keep squirrels out. As soon as a squirrel lands on it, the outer cage slides down and blocks the openings. Has been working well for over a year now.

Sturdy and effective squirrel protection.

Having already purchased one for our front garden it was time to replace one of the feeders in the rear garden and this is the goto feeder for us.So easy to fill and clean and its design as attracted more birds.One in particular being a nuthatch who likes to hang upside down on the feeder.Something they were unable to do on the previous caged feeder.