Clever Tricks For Keeping Raccoons Away From Your Hummingbird Feeders

While raccoons are famous for tearing into garbage bags, leaving trash strewn in their wake, these nocturnal creatures don't just dine on rotting food. They also have quite the sweet tooth. Their wide-ranging diet includes naturally occurring delights such as berries, figs, and apples. However, their quest for sugary goodness may involve them engaging in some acrobatics to get into the contents of your hummingbird feeder. This can be incredibly annoying, but there are some simple tricks if you want to eliminate this problem — such as moving your feeders inside at night.

This is a great option simply because hummingbirds and raccoons are on very different schedules. Hummingbirds almost exclusively feed during the day, so they won't be in need of any sugar water while raccoons are out of the prowl. And when those masked bandits come out at night, they won't find your feeders waiting to be plundered. Of course, this isn't a perfect solution as it might not be easy to remember to move your feeder inside every evening. Plus, raccoons will sometimes venture out before the sun sets, and it's also not feasible for people who travel out of town on a regular basis. But fear not — there are other ways to protect your hummingbird feeder. If you want, you can banish them with Epsom salt, or you can try out several other unique hacks.

If you don't love the idea of bringing your hummingbird feeders inside every night, there are several other anti-raccoon measures at your disposal. For instance, you can put your water sprinklers on a timer to periodically turn on and spray any oncoming invaders. However, this option can be somewhat costly, and it's not really that great for the environment. That's why a better option might be to put your back porch lights on a motion sensor or a timer.

But raccoons have voracious appetites, and they might continue to go after your hummingbird feeders. Fortunately, there are a few other options. Your best line of defense might be to separate your hummingbird feeder from the reach of your raccoons. For example, if your bird feeder is dangling from the branch of a tree, raccoons can easily climb it and get at that delicious nectar. Using their claws, they can also scale a wooden beam quite easily, so your porch might also not be a safe spot to hang your feeder. Instead, maybe try a windowsill or an awning. You could also put a shepherd's hook in your yard, and hang the feeder from that. You could install a baffle to ensure there's no chance these critters can climb the pole, or you could even try using a slinky to keep them away from your feeders. Whatever you do, just don't get too close to any raccoons because even though they're cute, they can be quite dangerous.