Hot Pepper Bird Seed And Its Negative Effects
No matter where you live, the battle between birder and squirrel has been brewing since the advent of backyard bird feeders. While there is certainly a large cohort of birders that welcome our bushy-tailed friends to their seed and feeders, there are definitely those that do not.
A quick search on Google about ways to deter squirrels and other mammals from raiding your bird feeders will turn up a plethora of results. Everything from quirky antidotes, far-fetched stories from the past, home remedies and a number of products can be found among these listings, some more effective than others.
One such remedy or idea that floats around the birding community is the addition of hot pepper to bird seed and feeders with hopes of deterring mammals from consuming the seed. While there may be some evidence out there that confirms the notion that squirrels and other small mammals detest the spiced version of bird seed, there is no real evidence yet documented on how it could affect our backyard birds, particularly in the long run.
Capsaicin
Capsaicin is an active component found in chilli peppers and as most of us know, acts as an irritant producing a sensation of burning in any tissue that it comes in contact with. Capsaicinoids are also used in a number of riot control and personal defence agents such as pepper spray and bear spray products so it is not hard to imagine the true effectiveness of such an ingredient.
Natural Solutions
How To Diy Hot Pepper Suet
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal and cayenne pepper. Add the melted lard mixture to the dry ingredients, mix well, then spoon in the pulverized peppers and mix.
You know what can? Sprinkle some red pepper cayenne or perhaps a similar spice on your birdseed before putting it out. Wild birds will consume the seed all right, but squirrels will smell heat and remain well obvious. Youll need to re-use the spice frequently, however, or itll wash off or blow away.
How do you make hot pepper bird food? How much cayenne pepper do you put in bird seed to keep squirrels away? How do you add hot peppers to bird seed? Is hot pepper suet OK for birds? Will cayenne pepper in bird seed keep squirrels away? Does cayenne pepper get rid of squirrels? How do you use cayenne pepper to keep squirrels out of bird feeders? How much cayenne is in birdseed? What can I put in my bird seed to repel squirrels? Do birds like hot pepper? Does cayenne pepper repel birds? Do birds taste cayenne pepper? What kind of birds eat hot pepper suet? Will squirrels eat hot pepper suet? Can wild birds eat pepper seeds? How do you use cayenne pepper for squirrels? How do you make homemade squirrel repellent? What spices do squirrels hate? What do squirrels hate the most? What is the most effective squirrel repellent? How do you make cayenne pepper spray for squirrels?
Hot Pepper Suet Logs by Birds Choice suet logs containing hot pepper, birds love it and squirrels will not eat it.
Types Of Bird Food Suet
There are different types of suet in terms of shapes and flavors. When we talk about flavors, there are tens and hundreds of different flavors that you can use to attract different types of birds.
With a suet cake infused with berry flavors, you will attract berry-eating birds, and with a suet cake featuring nuts, you will attract nut-eating birds.
But with shapes, you can address the issue of the type of feeder you are using, and how much quantity you will need.
The following are some of the most popular types of shapes that you can find.
- Balls These are very similar to the cakes densities and are spherical. You can use them in large cages or even nets.
- Plugs These are made for the log-styled bird feeders, and provide them with a more natural surface for suet bird feeding by clinging.
- Pellets These are small bite-size suet pieces similar to nuts, and seeds. They are best suited for dishes, platforms, and trays.
- Crumbles These have a softer blend of suet for the birds to nibble from the dishes or platforms.
- Shreds These pieces are very small, and they mimic the consistency and size of insects and worms. You can offer them to your birds in dishes and trays.
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How To Make Bird Suet That Won’t Melt
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In hot weather, bird suet softens and melts quickly which is dangerous for the birds. Making your own no-melt suet will save you the trouble of making or buying several new ones, and birds tend to prefer homemade suet compared to the commercial varieties. Make the suet dough first by rendering the suet and peanut butter, and then combining all of the ingredients. Refrigerate the suet until it has set and then freeze any leftovers until you are ready to use them.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of suet
- 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter
- 2 cups of quick-cooking oats
- 2 cups of yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
Makes 4-6 suet cakes
Part 1Part 1 of 2:Making the Dough
Part 2Part 2 of 2:Setting the Dough
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Tips
Warnings
Do Birds Like Spicy Foods
Many birds like spicy peppers as well, but only because they are unable to sense the heat. We know that birds and humans have distinct taste receptors. Birds do not feel the burn because they are physiologically unable to detect the effects of capsaicinthe chemical that makes peppers feel hot in your mouth.
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How Do You Keep A Suet Feeder Safe From Squirrels
Suspend your feeders from a wire stretched between two poles at least 5 feet above the ground. String plastic liter-size drink bottles over the wire on opposite sides of the feeders to prevent squirrels from performing a tightrope walking stunt. As the squirrels approach, the plastic bottles roll them off.
Which Suet Is The Best
Here are some of the finest suet for birds available.
Birds eat suet to keep their feathers healthy and to help them stay warm during the winter. The birds that like hot pepper suet are finches, cardinals, jays, nuthatches, sparrows, titmice, woodpeckers, wrens and warblers. Reference: why do birds like hot pepper suet.
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Birds Love It Squirrels Not So Much
Are critters stealing suet from your feeders? We have the solution. We’ve added some heat to some of our bird foods, including our exclusive seed cylinders, a no-melt suet dough cylinder, a no-melt suet cake, Jim’s Birdacious Bark Butter Bits & Bark Butter!
Fiery Feast: Treated with hot pepper this blend contains peanuts, tree nuts and sunflower chips and no shells. It is a no mess blend and is 100% edible! Fiery Feast has been found to be much more effective at deterring squirrels and critters than the competing products. The bag features a special pour spout for easy feeder filling without having to scoop or touch this hot pepper food.
Cylinders: Offer hot pepper in cylinder form! Offering bird food in cylinder form works great for vacations as they last longer than loose seed. You also get better views of the birds as they can’t just do a fly-thru and grab-and-go with their seed. Hot Pepper comes in small and large size cylinders as well as in both a regular and No-Mess variety!
You can offer a cylinder feeder on the WBU Dinner Bell, Cylinder Feeder , or a Tidy Cylinder Feeder. For best results, use a cylinder feeder with a roof to prevent the hot pepper from being washed off or diluted by the weather.
Stackables: Like our cylinders but in a small size! Offer these on a cylinder feeder with other stackables or by itself! We even have an EZ attach spike the perfect size for a stackable! Available in a No-Mess stackable, Cranberry stackable and suet stackable.
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Whats In Hot Pepper Suet That Gives It Its Heat
Hot pepper suets typically contain a mix of crushed red pepper flakes, chili powders, and spicy flavorings to supply the spice. Its mixed with the main ingredient typically rendered beef fat along with other ingredients enjoyed by birds like corn, roasted peanuts, and oats.
You can see why its tough to keep wild animals at bay when typical suets are around. The beef fat is hard to ignore. Thats not to say you wont come across an animal hungry enough to deal with the spice, itll still happen every so often. But if youre having issues keeping animal pests away from your wild bird food, you may want to give hot pepper suet a serious look.
UPDATE NOTICE: This post was updated on September 5, 2019 to include new content.
Do Birds Like Hot Pepper Suet
Asked by: Lois Kulas
Score: 4.7/5
You can help the feathered friends in your garden survive by making Hot Pepper suet. … Whilethe birds will happily eat the hot suetbecause they don’t have well-developed taste buds, squirrels and raccoons will try it once then stay away, deterred by the hot, spicy capsaicin, the main ingredient in Hot Peppers.
Is hot pepper suet bad for birds?
Hot stuff: The active ingredient in Hot Peppers, capsaicin, can be found as an additive in some birdseed.Birds don’t react to capsaicin the way mammals do so it does them no harm.
What does hot pepper suet attract?
Suet provides high energy fat that can attractinsect-eating birdsto your yard or office, such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Warblers and Northern Mockingbirds to your feeding station along with such regular visitors as woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Do birds eat hot pepper plants?
Capsaicin is most concentrated in the tissues surrounding the seeds . It triggers taste receptors found in birds and mammals. But it also stimulates a certain kind of pain receptor found in mammals but not in birds, and that’s whybirds have no adverse reaction to eating peppers.
Do squirrels eat hot pepper suet?
Squirrels do seem to much prefer more usual suet flavorings. But a really hungry squirrel will still eat the spicy suet. … But over time, I found that hot pepper suet DOES seem to deter squirrels the rest of the year.Most of the time, they won’t eat it.
Best Bird food Ever – Hot Pepper Suet
- Xylitol.
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What Smell Does A Squirrel Despise
Spicy Smells
Scents like white pepper and cayenne pepper, for example, are known to repel squirrels. Cayenne pepper flakes sprinkled on your plants may deter unwanted pests from entering your yard. Garlic and black pepper odors are also repulsive to squirrels. Raccoons are also repulsed by the scent of pepper.
S To Make Hot Pepper Suet
How to Make Hot Pepper Bird Seed. Packaged hot-pepper bird seed or packets of hot-pepper additive are available for purchase at most garden centers or nurseries, but adding cayenne pepper to homemade bird seed mixtures is a relatively easy and far less expensive way to achieve the same results.
Things You Will Need Home Diy Packaged hot-pepper bird seed or packets of hot-pepper additive are available for purchase at most garden centers or nurseries, but adding cayenne pepper to homemade bird seed mixtures is a relatively easy and far less expensive way to achieve the same results. Hot pepper powder, or the capsaicin compound derived from hot peppers, is often added to loose bird seed, bird seed bells and suet cakes to discourage hungry squirrels from gobbling up food intended to welcome song birds to the yard or garden. Packaged hot-pepper bird seed or packets of hot-pepper additive are available for purchase at most garden centers or nurseries, but adding cayenne pepper to homemade bird seed mixtures is a relatively easy and far less expensive way to achieve the same results. Capsaicin is harmless to birds but is a heated reminder to squirrels and other rodents to stay away from expensive bird seed. It should help your bird seed last longer because it will just feed the birds not those pesky squirrels.
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Listing Results Recipe For Hot Pepper Suet
Hot Pepper Suet: Smart Wild Bird Feeding PepperScale4 hours ago Hot pepper suets typically contain a mix of crushed red pepper flakes, chili powders, and spicy flavorings to supply the spice. Its mixed with the Estimated Reading Time: 2 mins Preview / Show more See Also: Free RecipesShow details Make Your Own Suet Audubon7 hours ago Steps: 1. Mix the dry ingredients of bird seed, oats, and corn meal together and set aside. 2. Combine the shortening and nut butter in a separate bowl and melt. Stir until completely combined. 3. Pour the melted mixture into Preview / Show more See Also: Free RecipesShow details 5 Homemade Suet Recipes for Feeding Birds Birds and 9 hours ago 2 cups quick cooking oats. 2 cups bird seed mix. 1 cup yellow cornmeal. 1 cup flour. Melt peanut butter and lard over low heat. In a large bowl, Estimated Reading Time: 3 mins Preview / Show more See Also: Free RecipesShow details How to Make Bird Suet Cakes : 5 Steps Instructables8 hours ago If you would like to make HOT SUET for birds here is the recipe.
Want to make my own suet feeder size woodpecker food I have a bunch of peanuts, and I would like to make my own woodpecker treat suet. I does not really have to have suet. I think I could make it with vegetable oil, peanut butter, and peanuts, and other stuff. I was thinking I could use old suet boxes as a mold. Anybody know how to do this? I