Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone Bird Feeder, 2 lb Seed Capacity

I’m still giving this Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone feeder five stars overall because it absolutely does what it’s meant to do, but there are some noticeable differences between units purchased months apart that are worth mentioning. Functionally, it works great. From a build and design standpoint, the older version was better. The squirrel-proof design is the main reason to buy this feeder, and it works extremely well. The weight-activated perches do exactly what they’re supposed to. Birds can feed comfortably, but the moment a squirrel tries to climb on, the ports shut down. That alone makes this feeder a win, especially if squirrels have been a constant problem. In real use, it has dramatically reduced wasted seed and squirrel activity. Bird activity has been excellent. Once birds figure it out, they come back regularly and feed without issue. It attracts a good variety of birds, and the 2-pound capacity is a nice balance between size and refill frequency. It holds enough seed to last without being overly bulky or heavy when hanging. That said, there are clear differences between the first feeder I bought and the second one purchased a few months later. The first one felt more solid overall. The area where the birds perch felt thicker and sturdier. On the newer one, that same area feels thinner and cheaper by comparison. It still works, but it doesn’t inspire the same long-term confidence as the earlier version. Another noticeable change is the hanging area. The original feeder had a better, more robust hanging design that felt secure and well thought out. The newer version has been changed, and while it still functions, it doesn’t feel as well built or as refined. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s definitely a step backward in terms of quality. Despite those changes, the feeder still performs very well where it matters most. It keeps squirrels out, feeds birds reliably, and holds up outdoors. It hasn’t failed, broken, or stopped working, and that’s why it still earns five stars. The design changes don’t make it bad, just not quite as good as it used to be. Overall, this is still one of the better squirrel-proof bird feeders available. If you’ve never owned the older version, you’ll probably be very happy with it. If you have, you may notice the same differences I did. Even so, the effectiveness against squirrels and steady bird activity make it a strong, worthwhile feeder that I’d still recommend.

This a a great feeder that actually keeps squirrels off! Their comical antics trying to get in is fun to watch. I’ve had 2 of these feeders for several years. On unboxing this one, I note that the design has changed. The perches are now lighter weight and hinged, and the hanger is of a different design, not as portrayed in the picture. I’m concerned that it is of a lighter weight overall and may be not be as durable. I will give it a try for a week or two, but if it doesn’t perform as well as the earlier design, I may sadly return it. For now, I have retracted one star. **** UPDATE **** The design change proved to be a plus. Still no squirrels in the feeder, even if they get on it, they can’t access any birdseed. They have to settle for ground feeding. Increased from 4 to 5 stars.

I had one of these feeders for about 6 years before the inner plastic casing started cracking apart. Because it was effective at keeping the squirrels frustrated as they tried repeatedly to climb onto and get the food, I decided to get another one. This isn’t quite a perfect solution though as sometimes, the spring can get jammed, requiring playing with it to get to spring back as well as persistent squirrels can sometimes figure out a way to get in, depending on your setup. I try to keep the feeder on a pole away from any trees or other areas that they can jump on. I also use a squirrel baffle on the pole. Also, if you put too much food into the feeder, especially in a humid climate like here, mold can build up on the inside of the plastic. I suggest not filling the feeder all the way to avoid those issues. The biggest weakness of the feeder is the plastic casing on the inside. Even though the metal frame has held up well over the years, the plastic inside eventually cracked and broke apart until it was no longer usable. The springs can also get weak over time too, but these held up for the most part ok. All in all, I can’t complain about the life I got out of the old one, I just hope this new one holds up as well. 4 stars

It holds seed well, but one of the leaves fell off right away. It appears to have been covering some port or something, so I’m not sure if that will affect its ability to prevent squirrels from eating the seeds. Now another leaf is falling off. I contacted the company that sells the product through Amazon and they never returned my email. I am exchanging it for a new one but if it happens again, I will return it and lower my stars from 3 to 1. I lowered from 3 to one star even though the seller eventually got back to me and told me to return and try again, and the new one held its decorations. The new one was different than the first one I’d received, but exactly the same as the one I’d had for years, so I was happy. Unfortunately, just about when my window to return expired, both of the springs came off and one of the metal pieces on a window came off too. I put the metal piece back on and tightened it, but since my husband and I put the springs back on, the bird feeder no longer stays open and the birds can’t access the food. I rigged it with twist ties to keep it open, but now it’s no longer squirrel proof. It’s too late for me to return again, and I’m very unhappy with this product.

There are no promotional embellishments in the description of this feeder, and it does exactly what is described. For its price, it is well built, with an ease of use, and does prevent squirrels from eating bird seed. The adjustable exterior metal fencing drops down to protect all feed ports from the weight of any critter heavier than a bird. One can adjust this setting by simply hooking the tension hook in a series of vertical holes. It does not stop squirrels from climbing on it, but as soon as they put their weight on the exterior, the fencing lowers to conceal the feed ports. Very satisfied with this product, especially because it does exactly what it is supposed to do.

Pros: - Holds a lot of birdseed - multiple birds can feed from it simultaneously - outer cage is very sensitive to weight. Larger birds can still land on it and feed from it but even a small squirrel causes the cage to drop and cover the openings to food. - long and flexible hanging loop - attractive Cons: - cleaning isn’t the easiest. - The opening for food at the top isn’t easily accessed and you have to do some contortions to really open it up without badly tweaking the Spring holding everything together. (But it’s definitely worth the extra work for how happy the birds are and how unhappy the squirrels are). - the cage moves so easily that it’s hard to get a good grip on everything for cleaning and feel like you’ve done a thorough job of it. - tendency for moisture to accumulate at bottom of the long rectangular seed holder. We live in NW Oregon and get 90”+ of rain a year. I tossed my old one off these after a year because I just couldn’t avoid having mold problems. This time, I added a rain dome above the feeder and am keeping a much close eye on it to try to avoid this problem. - Filling the long tube that holds birdseed. I’ve finally realized that I should hold the cage down so that it covers all the openings when I pour in the birdseed. Now, I lose maybe a tablespoon of birdseed when I’m filling. - Access to the top of the birdseed tube is a bit wonky. A spring holds everything in place and it’s a tight fit. You remove the lid but since everything is attached together it’s more like lifting the lid slightly off the tube then pushing it to the side enough to open up the top of the tube, then holding down the cage to cover the openings on the sides of the tube, Then using a small-mouthed cup to pour in the birdseed while the birdseed hits the bar (holding the spring and lid and cage…) at the top of the inside of the tube which causes birdseed to scatter. Confusing? Messy? Wonky? Yes. But, still worth it because happy birds, unhappy squirrels. - worst problem? That design of the bar, spring, tube lid, cage contraption. When the feeder arrived, I couldn’t get the feeder cage & lid to work right, everything kept popping off when feeder was filled with seed. Finally figured out that the bar at the inside top of the feeder wasn’t attached properly. Was able to re-work the bar to properly attach both ends to the birdseed tube (I’m not super handy) and now it works like a charm. I highly recommend this bird feeder if you have problem squirrels.

Lets start off with the positive. It is nice looking and we were able to adjust the springs so the little birds could land and eat off it but the big birds would land and it would close. We have a separate bird feeder for the large birds, they are messy and will empty the feeder in half a day leaving nothing for the smaller birds, so this helped us provide a solution for that. It did foil the squirrels but didn't stop them from swinging on it and trying constantly lol. The bad, which is kinda a deal breaker for us. It broke it less than 3 months. The squirrels were putting their weight on the bottom plate to avoid the pressure plate closing off the food. We have this on a metal stake that wasn't near a fence or tree... they climbed the skinny metal pole anyway lol. Anyway I don't know if this is what contributed to the breakage but the springs that are the center of this whole contraption working broke and somehow popped so we can't find them (squirrels kept them as trophies? Maybe building their own super bird feeder invasion contraption? Not sure). The feeder was getting a lot of use, we would have to fill it once a day, maybe a day and a half... plus the squirrels trying their hand on it. So maybe it would last longer or not break if it had less traffic, but I bought this because I thought it could handle it (and befuddle the squirrels lol). Because I don't have those springs anymore I am not sure what size springs to get to repair this. Filling this was a little difficult because of the top opening, it was easier to fill with two people. There is a spring that connects the lid to the contraption (that is the spring that sprung it's way somewhere we can't find, and don't even know how that could happen) so you have to hold it open while you fill it. I always spill doing this, which the squirrels appreciate lol. The lid is also held in position by a metal bar that slides into two holes in the plastic. The plastic gets worn out pretty quickly. Keep in mind we used this for only 3 months. So that bar/peg thing likes to slide out. The plastic part at the top of the feeder gets pretty worn/nicked /chipped so I don't know how that would fare long term. I live in Maryland, so it doesn't get a lot of sun but does get a lot of rain and humidity, lot's of birds and squirrels. I lived in Arizona most of my life and think this might be better there due to less squirrel invasions. The metal is coated so we didn't see any rust. I *think* this would fare ok in strong suns like Az since it seems to be well coated. In conclusion I wouldn't buy this one again due to the fact it broke in 3 months, will be slightly difficult to fix since we need to figure out the proper spring size. It was difficult to fill which was annoying, small opening so I spill a lot, and with needing to fill it daily it was annoying. Thus the middle of the road rating. Maybe I just need an industrial strength feeder lol, but anything that breaks in 3 months is a waste of money for us. I hope this review helped someone decide if this is for them. Have a wonderful day : )

I had this same feeder 20 years ago and while it didn't completely deter all squirrels (I have photos of an upside down squirrel cleverly avoiding the mechanism that pushes the outer frame down), it put a damper on them chewing their way through to the seed. I went through a few different styles of feeders before trying this one, and tried a few more before returning to this style. I bought another one last year and also bought a baffle for the pole. This combination seems to do the trick, as the squirrels can't get a good grip on the feeder. It holds a good amount of seed, and it is relatively easy to fill by pulling the attached top to the side. I use a small metal creamer to fill it, but a scoop would work just as well. I like that it has a lot of window openings, so the birds can get to the bottom seed, and the sturdy metal wire outer frame is easy for them to use and hold on to. Highly recommended!

Easy to fill and gives my greedy birds plenty to eat as holds a lot! Great spring action keeps off the crows as well as the squirrels.

Nuthatches and even woodpeckers discovered it right away and seem to love it! The feeder is pretty tall, make sure it's on a higher pole

Das Futterhäuschen ist ein echter Hingucker. Leider war eine, der acht Sitzstange abgebrochen. Da wir aber das Häuschen erst zwei Wochen nach Lieferung in Empfang nehmen konnten (Urlaub...keine Lieferprobleme), haben wir auf eine Reklamation verzichtet. Aber trotzdem haben wir unsere Freude daran, denn es ist ausreichend Platz an den vorhandenen Sitzgelegenheiten. Außerdem sind unsere kleinen Gartenbewohner sehr erfindungsreich und klettern auch ohne die Sitzstange am Gehäuse entlang und finden ihren Weg zum Futter.

Très bien

Mes oiseaux sont très contents et moi aussi, tout fonctionne très bien et je n ai pas vu d écureuil de toute la journée. Beau changement….tres bonne qualité de mangeoire…vous ne serez pas déçu.