I had no idea birds can't taste it!!

The squirrels don't really bother my suet, whether home-made or store-bought. They prefer to focus on my sunflower seeds.

This is how birds can eat the hottest of the peppers. Those pequins and extremely hot peppers like that seem to have been designed with birds in mind.

This will work mixed in with your bird seed also.

cool cool cool.. now if it would just keep the bear away I can put feeders out again

Allison, bears are sensitive to spicy just like humans and squirrels. It might be worth a shot, though the bear would have to try it once to figure out that it tastes bad.

LOL, he'd probably view it as a challenge, like a 22 year old guy with a plate of hot wings.

Just remember not to touch the suet (or well coated bird seed) with your bare hands... it really does take a bodacious amount of hot pepper to make things too spicy for our local squirrels.

Birds eat the hot chile petins...they like them!

Our problem is racoons. Anybody know if this works on them?

I wouldn't use the cayenne pepper, if the animals get it in their eyes it burns so badly that they can actually damage or even gouge them out. JMHO

I have to agree with Margaret. I enjoy seeing the squirrel antics. They sure can be a pain sometimes, though, but I just would never do anything to harm any animal.

I feel that way too.
If it spilled on the ground, even our own pets could get into it.

The suet mix I make isn't something that's going to get in anybody's eyes or spill on the ground... I cut it into sandwich-sized blocks to put into the suet feeder.

I don't advocate wholesale dumping of cayenne pepper over everything... just too many problems that could result, as has been pointed out.

The squirrels here get plenty of food (we put a couple handfuls of sunflower seeds just outside the patio door every morning... "kitty TV" and entertains us too)... I just want to keep them out of the PB and suet feeders!

I suspect outwitting raccoons is even harder than outwitting squirrels.

OMG, I never even thought of that! Thank you for pointing that out, Margaret!

Polly Sharon Renee

Horntoad said:This will work mixed in with your bird seed also.

I was just going to ask if this would work with seed? I'm sick & tired of feeding the squirrels.. I have 3 resident squirrels and boy are they FAT! I'm about ready to trap 'em and take 'em across the road to the Cherry Creek reservoir & release them there...

Toni, if you trap and take them away others will just move in and take their place. I know this for a fact, I have tried and my sister has tried several times, now we have just learned to live with them.

I will never use cayenne pepper in the bird seed or around the garden.

Margaret - Why no cayenne pepper?

mcash70 said:I wouldn't use the cayenne pepper, if the animals get it in their eyes it burns so badly that they can actually damage or even gouge them out. JMHO