Bird feeders

Too true, "M", some people I have worked with have found that to be easier than others!!
My feeders hang from my Lilac about 6' from the ground and, to be honest, so far I have had no problems with unwanted "guests" helping themselves to the seed. Possibly my two Cats deter any rodents, but I can't remember seeing any signs of a rodent or getting an alarm cry from my two patrolling cats while in the jungle of the garden.
The putting together of the plastic pot saucers and feeders cost me basically nothing as I already had numbers of both, while in the garage is what I regard as the National Collection of Nuts, Bolts, Washers, Screws etc. If anyone is thinking of going down the pot saucer/feeder combination route then I would advise using the 12 inch diameter saucers as they appear to be just the right width, anything less seems to not quite solve the problem.

 

Nicely done, Martin, but I think you'll find that the saucers might be a little too small for the job. I'm afraid whatever you do Pigeons and Doves will home into the feeders despite the lack of landing/launching area of the dish as they will be determined to fill their crops full of yours/my bird seed and unless you stand 24 hour guard they will still come. What seems to happen with the smaller saucers/dish is that they will land on it tipping/tilting the dish, because of their weight and contortions to get to the seed, and any spillage in the saucer/dish gets thrown to the ground. So, despite it seeming to be contrary, the larger dish doesn't tilt enough even with the Vulture sized Pigeons we get around here.

 

Oh, just a PS to anyone fitting a saucer/dish to their feeders, don't forget to drill some drainage holes in them or they'll flood when it rains.......Martin has wisely put drainage holds in his.

 

.............Yeah, right!!!!

 

Well! If we're into quotes:-

People that are resting on their laurels are wearing them on the wrong end!

 

I'm not quite sure what a 3ft Yankee bird feeder is?

 

Re shooting rats: it's not so easy because you will need to already have a window open at the right angle for you to take aim. Opening a window whilst the rat is there won't work as the rat will disappear extremely fast.

Then, as you have other gardens around you there mustn't be even a possibility of the slug going into another garden (it's illegal). Also, unless you have a fairly modern high powered gas assisted air rifle you almost certainly won't kill it with one shot and it will run away, even if injured. Then it could become a danger to children and pets.

Even if you do get it you have to dispose of it. Most councils will allow you to put it in the 'black' bin but it has to be double wrapped in plastic. You need to wear rubber gloves when picking it up, scrub the gloves afterwards and wash your hands thoroughly.

Baited rat traps are the recommended way to go about it.