Why are the squirrels second class citizens to the birds? Is there a bird food shortage?
Comment on Why do boomers hate squirrels so much?
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
Squirrels eat the bird food meant for the birds and are extremely hard to stop
wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 3 months ago
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
No, it’s just a bird feeder not a squirrel feeder. At least until the squirrels manage to change the signage, which they probably could if they tried hard enough.
KittenBiscuits@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Squirrels can clean out a feeder pretty quickly. Not as fast as deer can, but much faster than the birds.
So it’s a pain in the ass to go fill it back up, and it costs money. A person gets a bird feeder because they want to watch birds. There are cheaper ways to feed squirrels, if you like squirrels.
Both squirrels and birds can build nests in your home. Squirrels can chew their way into your attic, then you risk them chewing through wires. Birds nest in your dryer vent or bathroom vent. A nest in the dryer vent is a fire hazard. And they can introduce bird mites into your home. It’s like having a bed bug infestation except you can’t see them, their bites are hella itchy, and at least they can be dealt with by multiple rounds of thorough vacuuming. Ask me how I know.
I used to love to keep a bird feeder and watch the bird party on a snowy day. But I wasn’t out to feed the deer, and the mite problem erased any lingering feelings about feeding birds.
Shadow@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Squirrels are an invasive species, they’re not native to North America. They chew wires and mess with stuff.
Birds are pretty, sound nice, and eat bugs. They also poop on everyone’s stuff, but somehow it’s good luck if you get shit on.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Squirrels are an invasive species, they’re not native to North America.
Just how many tens of millions of years do a species need to exist in a place before you consider it native to that land?
“The earliest known North American squirrel fossil dates back to the late Eocene epoch, about 34 million years ago.” source
Shadow@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Only about 300 years, from your own link you kindly provided:
When European settlers first arrived in North America, they brought with them a number of animals that were not native to the continent. One of these animals was the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), which was introduced to England in the early 1600s as a curiosity.
The eastern gray squirrel quickly became popular in England, where it was kept as a pet and admired for its agility and intelligence. In the late 1700s, a group of eastern gray squirrels was introduced to New York City’s Central Park, where they quickly established a population.
Over the next few decades, the eastern gray squirrel spread rapidly across North America, aided by its adaptability and ability to thrive in a variety of habitats. Today, the eastern gray squirrel is one of the most common squirrels in North America, and it can be found in every state except for Alaska and Hawaii.
technocat@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Don’t forget the obviously non-invasive european starling and european house sparrow common at feeders.
wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 3 months ago
They have managed to invade my heart.
chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 3 months ago
Humans are an invasive species, especially if you are a descendant of an English settler and not a native american indian
toasteecup@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Truthfully they were also invasive. We’re only native to Africa
Lauchs@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Birds are super good for the environment, take a quick google!
Squirrels on the other hand, are an invasive species in much of the world.
In my home province squirrels make it pretty hard for some of our local trees etc.
uienia@lemmy.world 3 months ago
A particular species of squirrels. I think people in this thread fail to make clear that this is exclusively about the North American grey squirrel. The Euroasian red squirrel is not invasive anywhere, I am strongly doubt anyone have any problem with having them in their bird feeder, since they are solitary and relatively shy creatures.
2ugly2live@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Squirrels in my area don’t share. And will do whatever they can to get to the feeder, even if that means breaking shit. I currently use a seed that has some spillage and that’s kept the squirrels satisfied. I don’t mind them, but they end up making it sl I won’t get any birds.
Vilian@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Skill issue
Anissem@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
They make a bird feeder called ‘Squirrel Buster’ which is fairly squirrel proof. I still put out food for them though, squirrels gotta eat too.