The Squirrel Buster

I've waited a year to leave this review to use this and get a real idea of how tough and squirrel proof this is!I'm pleased to say it's great - really sturdy, stood the test of time and survived attacks by squirrels. I'd say it's pretty indestructible. The worst the squirrels have managed it's to strip small areas of paint off the metal top with their teeth. Whilst these patches have rusted a little, the overall look of the feeder is still good.Use wise, it's very easy to fill up - just unhook the hanger and lift off the outer sleeve. The inner plastic container still then stand on its own cleverly designed base leaving both hands free for you to pour the bird food in. Slide the protective outer metal mesh tube with top back over, and rebook the hanger.Plus from a bird health perspective it is very easy to take apart and clean - I can get into all the awkward bits with a bottle brush so no need to completely dismantle.

Excellent purchase. Birds love it! No sign of squirrels or magpies!

Got this to replace a basic hanging bird feeder for my second floor balcony. The other feeder was knocked off by a jackdaw, and smashed to bits on the ground underneath. This is very sturdy, and despite their best efforts flinging themselves against it, it's not fallen off or shown any signs of damage.We have pretty determined grey squirrels, but they've been totally defeated by this - they stopped trying to pick their way in, after a couple of days. Local idiot wood pigeons also couldn't work it out, and just stood around pecking the sides, before waiting for the other birds to drop bits they could eat.That's the only issue we found - small birds can get access to so much seed, they throw it everywhere. This attracted pigeons and eventually the neighbourhood rats (a stream runs under our car park, and not enough local cats to keep them in check), so we eventually took it down, to avoid grumbles from the neighbours.Expensive, but definitely a step up in quality and design from the cheapie models you get in garden centres.

Great product. Definitely squirrel proof if you follow the hanging instructions. More expensive than other similar products, but this one actually works. I decided to buy another one as it does determine squirrels

I've had three unsuccessful bird feeders to date. Magpies, wood pigeons and crows were mostly to blame, fighting each other and knocking most of the seed on to the grass. The poor old song birds didn't have a chance. But now I have a feeder designed with them in mind. When larger birds land on the perch it closes the hatch. Robins and chaffinches sit happily, nibbling a few seeds, in no hurry. It's a joy to watch and I highly recommend it.

Keeps the squirrels out - it’s been up for a few months now and the squirrels don’t bother with it anymore - very pleased with my purchase

The previous bird feeder was nicely designed - the accessible area was suitable for small birds only, reasonably priced & coped more than a handful of rainy windy days.But once the squirrels found the feeder, they destroyed completely - chewed off all the way & these little cheeky fluffs even learned how to open the feeder refill slot.So I thought let’s get this metal feeder which says 100% squirrel proof - yes it’s a tat pricy, but after reading reviews my hope was high.Unfortunately, the London squirrels are way too smart - they quickly learned that, by holding the bottom part gently they still could get some seeds.The only thing stopped these squirrels coming was unfortunately chilli flakes. Capsicum in chilli is only effective to mammals but not birds, so by adding chilli flakes it stops squirrels eating my feed and so happy not to see any squirrels today.Another unfortunate thing is that my favourite robin couple doesn’t seem to like the design of this feeder. They are quite chunky so when they try to eat together the lids seem to close down.It’s still an early stage so hopefully robins come back to my garden.Overall, I’m not convinced this feeder is 100% squirrels proof - but it is more well made feeder than others.

Great item. The squirrels haven't managed to access the bird food inside, yet!!