Customer Reviews

Heath Outdoor Products HB-1 Squirrel Baffle

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This squirrel baffle is just about as cheap as they come here on Amazon. (The best and cheapest ones can be found either at a local Tractor Supply company, or at the Tractor Supply website). Its not quite as big or effective as either a squirrel deterrent or protection from the weather as a dome style, but it is certainly far better than nothing. (And a whole lot cheaper). The problem with the basic design of this baffle is the swing away system it employs. The same ineffective system that is unfortunately employed in a lot of squirrel baffles. Even ones a lot more expensive than this one. The theory behind it is that the squirrel will lay down its paw on top of it with its full weight, slip off, and then fall to the ground as the baffle swings out of the way. Unfortunately this is one of those times when something sounds most logical in theory, but is a total bust in actual practice. Squirrels very quickly figure out the baffles rational and set out to defeat it. That is to say, they just come to learn to hang their feet from above and use the baffles swing away design to their advantage by it moving freely out of their way. Just about everyone that has a bird feeder then sees the usual result. A squirrel hanging down from above upside down feasting on and spilling your expensive seed. This baffle can be made far more effective by a simple redesign. Just unscrew the two hooks that merge in the middle of the dome from above and underneath and screw in a lock nut so it is flush with the baffle on top and below. Then screw the hooks back in. The swing away design is then defeated and the baffle will remain stiff and very hard for the squirrel to move out of the way with his body due to the counterweight of the feeder underneath. Also, installing the nut stiffens the baffle sufficiently enough to prevent it from being tossed around by the wind as some other reviewers have mentioned. Trust me, it is very simple to do and it makes this very reasonably priced baffle most effective indeed. I recommend this baffle if you're on a budget and desire something that works very well with the simple modification described above. Order several at once to make the shipping charge worth it...

It took the gray squirrels in my backyard about a week to figure this one out. Because the baffle tips, the squirrels can hang on with their back feet and tip the thing almost vertically where they can then reach below and grab on to the cord that the feeder hangs from underneath. If the baffle didn't tip at all, or if it were wider, it would have a chance of working. As is, it's good for keeping the rain off the feeder and that's about it.

Your neighborhood squirrels will be baffled, alright. They'll be thinking "Hey, how come there's no more hard tricks to figure out? You're giving us an umbrella to keep dry while we raid the bird feeder? What's with the change of heart?"

Because that's exactly what you'll be doing with this "Squirrel Baffle". The initial look of it is provoking, as if it may actually give a squirrel a hard time in getting to the feeder hanging below it. But as all squirrels are up for a challenge, they aren't intimidated for a moment. As soon as they put some weight on it, the baffle swings down. Perhaps the makers were expecting the squirrels to "lose balance" and just fall to the ground. Well no, they immediately catch the cord or top of the feeder, hang down, and then proceed to feast. Meanwhile, the "baffle" (clear plastic shield) above keeps the squirrels protected from any rain or falling debris. So, this HAS to be a squirrel friendly product. I can't see how the manufacturer could be thinking any differently.


If instead you'd rather not be so generous to your squirrel friends and actually turn this into an obstacle, instead of a gift, you could attach two locking nuts above and below the baffle, then screw the hooks back together. This will help keep it from tilting. See the more detailed description by another reviewer. But hey, shouldn't the more clever species be rewarded? What's with all the squirrel antipathy?
;-)

Be very careful when buying this. I just hooked it on a pole with a bird feeder. The wind blew the cover (which pulled the feeder) off after 2 days, cracked the light plastic top, and rendered my purchase useless. Rigid, cheap plastic top, which is rather small. It does keep the rain off the feeder.

Fairly useless. Squirrels land on top of it and ride the tipping baffle to the feeder. Not very effective. A nice way to keep the rain off the squirrels while they eat your bird food.

I had no idea there were so many special needs squirrels out there, but apparantly there are based on the customer reviews that say this device works. My squirrels licked it immediately. That said, I can't believe any manufacturer would put a product on the market that fails so obviously. So I must be doing something wrong. When I figure out what it is, I'll evaluate this review in a new lighting. Till then, it gets the lowest score for taking my time up. It should have an instructional brochure for idiots like me who just hang it on the cord and hang a feeder under it. I was stupid enough to think that's all I had to do. The lock nut idea one customer wrote about... that sounded like a try. I picked up lock nuts and a couple of 1/8th wide washers as well. I'll experiment.

Surely there is a way to make my trouble worth the $10 I spent. I have thought that this baffle may work with a specific type of feeder: the tube type with a conical roof. If you were to attach this directly above that kind of feeder, perhaps it would prevent the squirrel from having something to grab onto. I had a 2-foot long wire hanging under this gizmoe and a large suet/feedbrick cage attached to the end of that. So the squirrels just slide down the initial 10-foot wire, hit this baffle, reach under it when it gives way, and grab the 2-foot wire and continue to the cage. If this baffle were maybe 4-inches wider, my intelligent squirrels would not be able to reach beyond the edge to grab the second wire. But they are able to balance on the baffle, so I don't know that they wouldn't eventually lick that as well. I sprayed the baffle with silicon, which wears off in the Florida rain. It helped a little.

There is one other possibility. This baffle may have been manufactured within a conspiracy between the squirrels and the Save The Squirrels Foundation. And priced so low that we easy-to-dupe desperados will buy the cheapest help on the market. In that case, squirrels and squirrel-huggers: you win again.

The item was received in great condition. Works great. Excellent product and price. Thanks

Plain and simple... these don't work. The squirrels can slide down over them to the bird feeder. Don't waste your money.

Doesn't do much to keep the squirrels out but does a great job of keeping the seed dry when it rains or snows. Seed clogs the feeders after it gets wet and that is the reason I bought them.

It is fairly easy for a large squirrel to hang on to the line suspending the baffle with his hind legs, drape himself over the baffle, and reach the feeder with his mouth.