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How to Build a Squirrel Feeder Using Plastic Bottles

Squirrels are endemic to much of North America. These cute critters are either considered a blessing or a pest. They are voracious eaters and consume more than their body weight in food every week. This means that many bird feeders and domestic gardens are frequented by squirrels. Two sets of incisors provide the squirrels with the power to gnaw through and destroy a traditional wooden bird feeder. Instead, you can make the squirrels their own durable and economical feeding station using plastic bottles and other household items.

Things You'll Need

For hanging feeder:
1 or 2 liter soda bottle with cap
Awl or big nail
Masking tape
String
Plastic lid bigger than the diameter of the bottle (e.g., margarine tub lid)
Craft or utility knife sharp enough to cut plastic
Pencil
Birdseed
For dowel hanging feeder:
1 to 2 liter soda bottle
2 5/16-inch dowels or twigs
1- to 3-foot piece of wire
Drill
1/16-inch drill bit
1/8-inch drill bit
5/16-inch drill bit
Caulking

Instructions

Hanging Feeder
- 1
  Use the awl or big nail to make three holes on each side of the soda bottle. Make the holes near the top on the shoulder. Use the knife to cut two triangles in the bottle's shoulder. This is where the seed will come out. Cover the holes with the masking tape.
- 2
  Punch two holes about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the soda bottle. Make sure that they are opposite each other. Thread 20 inches of the thread through both holes, and tie the ends of the thread together.
- 3
  Use the cap and pencil to trace around the bottle top onto the margarine lid. Cut out the traced circle with the knife. Push the top of the bottle through the lid, fill it with seed and replace the bottle cap. Hang outside in a tree where squirrels can reach it; remove the masking tape from the holes so the seed can come out.
Dowel Hanging Feeder
- 4
  Use the drill and the 1/16-inch drill bit to drill a hole in the bottom of the soda bottle and the cap. Remove the cap. Feed the wire through the holes in the bottom of the bottle and the bottle cap. Screw the cap back on and wrap the wire securely around the bottle. Make a loop out of wire on the bottom of the bottle so that you can hang it from a tree.
- 5
  Drill two holes near the bottom of the bottle feeder using the 5/16-drill bit. The holes should be opposite each other. Push the dowel through the holes. Make two more holes for the other dowel so that it will cross the first dowel. The holes for the second dowel should be 1/2 inch higher than for the first.
- 6
  Use the 1/8 drill bit to drill holes above the dowels where seed will come out. Remove the cap and fill the bottle with seed. Replace the cap and hang it upside down in a tree.

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