Squirrel Feeders: Squirrels Gone Wild!

Well…I never thought it would come to this, I’m a pretty tolerant backyard birder, and have several squirrel feeders in the yard for the critters. But they are starting to drive me craaaazy! The other day one had the nerve to tear a 5-inch hole in the screen of my back porch.  When I unlocked and opened the door, there he was scurrying about like nobody’s business.  Late for work, it took me 15 minutes to get him out the door!  He chewed a nice wooden black cabinet containing corn and several types of seed.  He also managed to shred the big plastic bin containing regular bird seed.  They overturn the water wiggler in my bird bath constantly, and I think they might even be scaring off the hummingbirds, as they are known to be one of their predators.

I have 5 cats, 4 of which are indoor-only. One is an ex-feral and goes out for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening.  When the squirrels on the deck see him come out…they say “hi, how ya doing today?”  Being an ex-feral he has no interest in the squirrels or luckily, the birds.

These squirrels are turning into monsters, brazen, they are not even scared of me anymore.  Suggestions? No bee-bee guns please!