What's Eating My Bird Seed at Night?

Have you ever filled up your feeders in the evening, only to wake to them completely emptied in the morning - or even destroyed? There are lots of critters that seek out food at night, and many of them wouldn't pass up the chance at an easy meal of seed, suet, or even jelly & nectar from our feeders! 

Virginia Opossum hiding in barbeque

Who are these nocturnal visitors?
There is a lot more that goes on under the cover of darkness than we can see, which means there are a lot of animals who visit our yards without us even knowing. And sometimes the only way to tell if we've had visitors is if the feeders are empty. Some of these animals that you might have seen during the day or at night include raccoons, mice, rats, rabbits, skunks, foxes, or even deer, though most still prefer to feed at night. Depending on location, a few other animals that may visit our yards for a midnight snack are opossums, flying squirrels, and bears. Yes - even in cities and urban areas! For the most part, wildlife will feed on the spilled seed on the ground below the feeders, but if feeders aren't protected we really can't blame them for emptying them all out. On to our next point - feeder protection.

Advanced Pole System with Raccoon Baffle

How can we protect our feeders?
Wildlife that come into our yards to feed aren't emptying or destroying feeders to be malicious, they're just hungry - and we're providing an easy meal. When feeding backyard birds, it is inevitable that we will also attract other types of wildlife and it's our responsibility to protect our feeders from possibly unwanted guests in an ethical way. 

• Baffles: The number one solution to this issue is to install baffles on feeding poles. Raccoons cannot jump onto a pole, rather they can stretch out and grab onto one if it’s close enough to a tree, fence, deck etc. So placing a pole 4’ from anything sturdy enough to support a raccoon is fine. If you want to prevent raccoons and squirrels the top of a pole baffle should be 5' above the ground to prevent jump-overs by squirrels, and the pole itself must be 11' from anything sturdy enough (tree, fence, house, etc.) from which a squirrel could leap and gain access. The pole must also be tall enough so that all feeders stay above the top of the baffle. Most standard shepherd's crooks are not tall enough to achieve both of these rules, but WBU's Advanced Pole System is tall enough to allow for a properly placed baffle. Baffles will stop raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats, and any other climbing critters from reaching feeders, but they will not deter deer or black bears. 
  
  
• Bring feeders in at night: This sounds like a simple solution, but I can tell you from experience, it isn't. You get busy, or the weather is bad, and the feeders are forgotten, and you wake to empty or missing missing feeders again. Not to mention bringing open bird food indoors can be an invitation for some of those smaller visitors to explore your garage or home for the food. 
  
  
• Maintain clean feeding stations: Dropped seed is a huge attractant to other wildlife. You can clean under your feeders by sweeping with a stiff broom, raking, and vacuuming with an indoor/outdoor vacuum if necessary, and disposing of the waste in compost or with yard waste. Keep as much food off the ground as possible by feeding a high quality seed blend without fillers. Filler-filled “wild bird mixes” contain items that backyard birds don’t eat, such as milo, wheat, oats, red millet and other grains. Our backyard birds are not interested in these ingredients and they scratch them out of a feeder and onto the ground in search of the seeds and nuts they truly enjoy - sunflower seeds, peanuts and safflower. In addition to no fillers, consider offering foods without shells. When a bird drops the shell to the ground there is always a little meat left behind. These little bits of food may attract rats and mice. Seed blends such as our WBU No-Mess CD or LM blends contain no shells, reducing the debris that falls to the ground. Foods like suet, no-melt dough, peanuts without shells, cylinders, and mealworms also contain no shells or food waste and are less likely to end up on the ground. 
  
  
• Bears: If feeders are being raided by a bear, the best option may be to remove feeders until they go into hibernation in the fall. This can be such a difficult decision to make, but is often the safest option in areas where bears are present. If you find yourself in this situation and are worried about the birds, don't fret. They have plenty to feed on during this season and will readily come back to your feeders in the fall when it is safe to put them back up. For more bear solutions, click here.
  
  
• For more solutions visit our website. 

White-tailed Deer and Red Fox visiting water dish in backyard - Photos courtesy of Ann 

Leave some water! Maybe we don't want to feed the wildlife around our homes, but there certainly is nothing wrong with leaving a dish of fresh water for them. Everyone has a hard time in the heat, and water is much appreciated by our wild friends. 

Want to know who's been visiting your yard at night? Install a camera! Trail or game cameras are an excellent tool to learn about the visitors in our yards. You may be surprised by who you see!

Happy trails!
- Shayna