These squirrel feeders are easy and cheap to make at home and will attract lots of squirrels.
Common household items and materials like scrap wood, wire, mason jars, and milk jugs can be transformed into homemade squirrel feeders without any prior DIY knowledge.
Putting one of these simple feeders in your yard is a great way to help local wildlife, and bring more squirrels closer to your house so you can enjoy watching them. A dedicated squirrel feeder also stops squirrels from using bird feeders.
Mason Jar Squirrel Feeder
A mason jar squirrel feeder is easy to make. Use a large mason jar to place the food in, a fork as the perch, and some wire to hold everything together. Add a piece of wood or a paint stick instead of a fork for a sturdier perch for the squirrel. No tools are needed to make this squirrel feeder.
Squirrels will climb inside the jar to eat the nuts, so make sure the jar is 1 gallon or larger to accommodate the squirrel and give you a good view.
Any type of nut can be added to the mason jar squirrel feeder.
Squirrel Feeder Box
The squirrel feeder box is simple to make, requiring basic building skills using nails and a hammer. If you have the materials, you’ll have this feeder up in a tree by noon.
You’ll need solid pine or cedar wood panels, 2-inch nails, and a saw. Give the feeder box a removable lid for adding feed, a hole in the base for the feed to spill through, and a platform to catch the seed and give the squirrel a place to perch and snack.
Place corn, birdseed, or whole peanuts into the squirrel box feeder. Just make sure the bottom spillage opening is big enough for the type of feed you choose.
Squirrel Chair Feeder
A squirrel chair feeder is a complex yet adorable design. It’s difficult to make, and advanced wood-working knowledge is needed. The required tools and materials for this feeder are two 2.5-inch stainless steel screws, cedarwood, and one 3-inch screw.
Build a squirrel-sized chair and table, and drive a screw through the middle of the table to act as a corn-cob skewer. Secure the mini table and chair to a flat wood platform in a tree with strong wood glue.
A corn cob should be skewered onto the 3-inch nail sticking out of the table to provide feed for the squirrels.
Squirrel Peanut Feeder
The squirrel peanut feeder is easy to make and only requires a few steps. All you’ll need are a few common household items such as an old milk carton or empty plastic bottles, along with glue, sticks, scissors, and string to hang the feeder from a tree. No tools are needed to make a squirrel peanut feeder.
Cut a hole into the side of a plastic bottle for the squirrel to access the feed, and punch a small hole through the lid to hang the feeder by a string.
This peanut feeder can be filled with whole peanuts or other nuts and seeds.
Platform Squirrel Feeder
The platform squirrel feeder is easy to make, and only requires a hammer and nails, a drill, scrap wood, and wire for hanging.
Choose a piece of scrap wood for the platform. A 10×10 wood panel works great. Cut or reuse thin strips of wood (crown molding is perfect), and glue or nail them to the platform’s borders to create a small perch lip.
Then use a drill to make a hole in each of the platform’s corners. Thread wire through the holes and hang the platform where you can watch the squirrels feast.
Spread a mix of nuts and seeds across the platform.
Hinge Box Squirrel Feeder
The hinge box squirrel feeder keeps birds out of the squirrel food. It’s fun to watch the feeder lid “magically” flip open when the squirrel steps on the box platform.
The hinge box feeder is difficult to make, as it requires advanced mechanism construction, and woodworking with mixed materials. If you’re up for the challenge, build this feeder at home using cedar wood and pixel glass or plastic, wood glue, screws, and a hinge.
Fill this interactive feeder with whole peanuts.
Tree Hole Squirrel Feeder
The tree hole feeder is a great project for beginners. It is easily made by scraping or drilling a large hole into a horizontal tree branch. Useful tools for this process include a drill and small knife or paint scraper. Make the hole deep and wide enough to pour squirrel feed into.
Add peanuts, seeds, or other nuts into the hole to attract squirrels.
Picnic Bench Squirrel Feeder
A picnic bench squirrel feeder is a unique and creative feeder for a garden. It’s difficult to make without woodworking skills, so is best for advanced DIY-ers.
For the go-getters, craft this mini squirrel bench using a 1×4 piece and a 1×2 piece of cedarwood, four 1 ½-inch screws, a miter box, clamps, a hand saw, drill, a hammer, and glue. Fashion a mini picnic bench and drive a long screw or nail into the middle of the bench to hold a cob of corn.
You can skewer a cob of corn to the screw as a feeding option for the squirrels, or leave the nail out and scatter nuts and seeds across the “picnic bench” platform.
Hanging-Corn Squirrel Feeder
Beginner woodworkers will find it easy to make this hanging-corn squirrel feeder. All you need are a hook, some rope, and a tree to encourage squirrels to show off in the garden.
Tie the rope around a tree branch and tie the hook to the other end. Place a cob of corn on the hook. This hanging feeder encourages squirrels to jump from a tree or platform to the hanging corn, making for a great show.
Flat Squirrel Feeder
This feeder is a good choice for beginner crafters. You can easily make a flat squirrel feeder using old planks of wood, a pole, and wood glue or nails.
Place two planks together in a cross shape, and secure in the middle with wood glue or a nail. Attach the wood cross to a pole or tall stump to create a street intersection-like platform. A good location for this feeder is on a low pole under branches to stay hidden from birds.
Place nuts, seeds, and corn on the flat squirrel feeder.
