There’s nothing quite like starting your morning on the porch watching your neighborhood birds have breakfast. It’s nice to feed your feathered friends, and they repay you with an entertainment alternative to the much more unpredictable morning news. As any experienced bird caterer knows, however, bigger critters can sometimes get in the way by eating all the food and chasing your birds away. Squirrels are arguably the worst offenders.
Brome’s Squirrel Buster line offers a handy solution to keeping the thieves away. Using a special tension device, these bird feeders cut off access to the food once they sense the weight of a squirrel. We’ll look at three models from this line and examine the different features offered by each of them. While all three can solve your squirrel problem, certain differences will help you determine which bird feeder is the best for your needs.
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Size
Squirrel Buster Standard
The first model we’ll examine is our smallest at 5in x 5in x 21.5in. This feeder has four feeding ports encircling its base, giving several birds the chance to eat at once. Its seed capacity is on the small side, but depending on the amount of traffic you get in your backyard, this may not be an issue for you.
Squirrel Buster Classic
Our largest model is 5.3in x 5.3in x 32in. At a little under three feet tall, you’ll want to make sure you have a good place to put this feeder before making the purchase. On the plus side, you’ll be able to fill it and leave it alone with its 2.4-pound seed capacity.
Squirrel Buster Plus
This last model is shorter but wider than the Classic, sized at 6in x 6in x 28in. The extra radius means a much higher seed capacity, even though it’s four inches shorter. You can fit 5.1 pounds of seed in this feeder, making it the highest-capacity model of the three.
Verdict: Of the three models, the Squirrel Buster Plus delivers the highest seed capacity. When purchasing a bird feeder, seed capacity is an important consideration, since most of us would rather limit our refill trips. With 5.1 pounds of seed capacity, your neighborhood birds will have plenty of grub. Additionally, the Plus model features the same dispensing placement as the Standard, located on the bottom. The Classic has four ports up and down the sides of the feeder, which means that when your seed gets below the halfway point, a couple of those ports won’t dispense anymore.
Tension Mechanism
Squirrel Buster Standard
While all three of these models feature a tension mechanism that closes ports as soon as a squirrel’s weight is detected, not all of them offer users the potential to adjust this weight threshold for larger birds. The Standard does have this feature, so if you have a wide variety of birds in your area and would prefer to narrow down the types that use your feeder, you need only adjust the tension mechanism.
Squirrel Buster Classic
This model does not come with an adjustable tension mechanism. Keep in mind, however, that adjustability is only beneficial if you plan on using it. If your feeder doesn’t usually get a lot of traffic anyway, you may want to attract as many birds as possible, and the standard squirrel calibration will do just fine.
Squirrel Buster Plus
Like the Standard, this feeder does offer adjustability. If you’d rather keep larger birds away from the feeder, simply turn down the weight limit, and you’ll see more of the smaller birds native to your region.
Verdict: This category is a tie for the Plus and the Standard simply because these models offer the most control. As mentioned above, this feature may not be necessary for the area where you live. On the other hand, you never know who’s going to show up when there’s free food available. You may not see larger birds now, but once there’s an endless supply of tasty snacks, big ones may show up and scare your favorite songbirds away. It’s always better to be prepared.
Other Features
Squirrel Buster Standard, Squirrel Buster Classic, & Squirrel Buster Plus
There are a couple of features sported by all three of these models that are well worth mentioning. The first is the chew-proof materials used in the construction. When squirrels are frustrated in their efforts to steal your birdseed, they’re likely to try breaking into the feeder through brute force. Luckily, the folks at Brome have used special materials on all exposed parts of these models, so not only will squirrels be unable to break in, but they also won’t be able to damage your feeder aesthetically. No one wants to look at a chewed-up feeder, even if it’s still functional.
The second terrific feature offered by all three models is a lifetime guarantee. Once you purchase a Squirrel Buster from Brome, they will service your feeder for the rest of your life. You read that right. Whatever happens to your feeder, they will take care of it. For the rest of your life. It’s hard to argue with that kind of confidence and support.
Verdict: There’s no winner in this category since these features are shared across the board, but these are important things to consider if you’re looking elsewhere for a bird feeder. If you find another model that offers squirrel protection, you’ll want to make sure the company has thought far enough ahead to construct it out of chew-proof materials. Squirrels are not known for their patience or regard for aesthetics. The lifetime guarantee speaks for itself.
Squirrel Busters: Conclusion
The Squirrel Buster line has three terrific contenders here, and we’ve run down the best features offered by each. We’ve looked at size, tension adjustment, chew-proofing, and the lifetime guarantee. The best feeder on this list is the Squirrel Buster Plus.
This model pulls narrowly ahead mostly because it combines size and speed capacity with an adjustable tension mechanism. While the Standard also offers adjustability, its seed capacity is less than half that of the Plus. Any of these models will serve your local birds well, but you want a product that you can fill once and enjoy for a long time, not something that requires frequent maintenance.
Squirrel Wild Feeder | Recommended
Last update on 2024-04-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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