I've been feeding the birds all year round till this summer, when I had a major rat infestation (not living in my garden, but feeding from the bird food remains). How can I feed the birds but not the rats? The area where I was feeding the birds is in a hawthorn tree in the middle of a corner wild garden (my garden is all on the roadside, ie in full view of passers by, so the little rodents, while no bother to me, were of major concern to my next door neighbours). Any useful advice would be very welcome, as I loved feeding the birds, and we had a very healthy starling and sparrow population, as well as blackbirds, robins, blue and great tits, goldfinches and wood pigeons and collared doves.
I hang peanut and fat ball feeders from a high cross bar held up on two 2.5 metre posts. There's also a tray with loose seed in that the ground feeders are learning to use as well as the turtle doves. This means I can put less food on the ground and, by teh tim ethe pheasants, jays and early ground feeders have finished there's not much left for the rodents. I have other penut and fat ball feeders strung up around the garden near roses so waiting birds come and feed on any aphids.
I put sachets of poisoned food down near their tunnele ntrances every now and again and that delas with the rats.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
JEA72 its ok to put the dried fruit out just as it is. I have never soaked mine and the blackbirds and robins have no trouble eating them. I cannot keep time with the feeders lately. No sooner I fill them up, they are empty again. I bought a large tub of fat balls not so long ago and they are all gone. My hubby reckons the birds get fed better than he does !!
I usually feed the birds all summer, this year they missed two weeks whilst on holiday but the birds continued to come and seem to have fed on pests and weeds in the garden whilst I was away or it could have been all the rain which kept alot of pests away because there doesn't seem to be much of either this year, loads of spiders and ladybirds though.
Niger, sunflower seeds, bird mix, fat balls and musli are my chosen bird feed, on a tall bird station. I don't put stuff on the ground but ground feeders tend to pick at the lawn and hop amongst the flower beds.
I get the odd field mouse which the cat usually catches and occassional frog but for some reason the cat ignores these!
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I hang peanut and fat ball feeders from a high cross bar held up on two 2.5 metre posts. There's also a tray with loose seed in that the ground feeders are learning to use as well as the turtle doves. This means I can put less food on the ground and, by teh tim ethe pheasants, jays and early ground feeders have finished there's not much left for the rodents. I have other penut and fat ball feeders strung up around the garden near roses so waiting birds come and feed on any aphids.
I put sachets of poisoned food down near their tunnele ntrances every now and again and that delas with the rats.
I usually feed the birds all summer, this year they missed two weeks whilst on holiday but the birds continued to come and seem to have fed on pests and weeds in the garden whilst I was away or it could have been all the rain which kept alot of pests away because there doesn't seem to be much of either this year, loads of spiders and ladybirds though.
Niger, sunflower seeds, bird mix, fat balls and musli are my chosen bird feed, on a tall bird station. I don't put stuff on the ground but ground feeders tend to pick at the lawn and hop amongst the flower beds.
I get the odd field mouse which the cat usually catches and occassional frog but for some reason the cat ignores these!