Can large birds feed as well? I have a flock of grackles that will clean out my feeder in a day. Will they close the feeder as well?

I have the Squirrel Buster Classic and it easily supports a grackle plus two house sparrows. This was fun to watch for a while but after going through 40lbs of expensive food (most of which the grackles just throw on the ground looking for their favorite - peanuts) I decided to make some changes. Note that this question is posted on the page of the Squirrel Buster Classic (not Plus), so the spring weight is NOT adjustable, as C. Herrmann indicated. However, if like me you want to *deter* grackles, you can easily add a little weight to the frame - about 30-40g should be enough. Now that I have added some weight, a single grackle will usually cause the feeder to close up. I found, however, that this was not sufficient to stop them from cleaning out the feeder! The "closed" section of screen still has small holes in it - enough to keep a squirrel's paws out, but no problem for a grackle beak. So I duct-taped over the "closed" section - now it is well and truly closed when the screen drops down. The other day I watched a grackle hop around the feeder, confused, before flying off. Not to worry - we have a different feeder filled with cracked corn, specifically for grackles. And they clean that out every day so they're not going hungry. And but so - if you WANT grackles, the Squirrel Buster Classic will accommodate them. If you want to DETER grackles, you need to add a bit of weight and completely block the "closed" section of mesh. Good luck!

How often should I clean my Brome 1015-V01 birdfeeder?

All seed bird feeders should be be cleaned every 3-4 weeks! All you have to do is soak it in 1/10 bleach solution for a least 15 min, and that will take care of all the harmful bacteria.

I have a SquirrelBuster Classic that appears to be fine but the Bolt on the bottom is missing. How can we purchase a new Bolt?? Size is 20" with the pointed top on; 16" plastic clear tube; green cage is 4" across.

Brome sells replacement parts. If there is no bolt on the bottom sounds like you need a new center post assembly. The bottom of the center post is the threaded part the sticks out through the "cage" or shroud. If you are just missing the nut that screws on I would try a wingnut or other nut you may have or you can buy at the hardware store.

Does this feeder have to be hung on a pole? If I hang it off the deck with a short hook, will squirrels still reach into the ports?

My Brome Squirrel Buster Classic hangs from under an awning outside of my window; the squirrels were very curious about it when it was first hung out, and used every squirrel tactic to get at the seeds, but never with any success, and now they don't bother with the feeder at all. I've tried many squirrel proof feeders, but so far this one has been the most successful. The weight of the squirrels causes the cage to slide down covering the ports with a finer net of bars than what is usually in front of the ports, so the squirrels cannot reach into the ports. The squirrels that are here are Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sqiurus carolinensis), so I don't know how it would work for red squirrels or chipmunks.

Classic Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder w/4 Feeding Ports, 2.4-pound Seed Capacity

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