ChristinaRoto/TwitterSquirrels are cute little creatures, but the critters can wreak havoc in a garden, driving horticulturalists to extreme lengths to keep them at bay.
One green-fingered woman, however, has worked out an ingenious way to stop the pesky squirrels from stealing bird food from her bird feeders. As the name suggests, the food is for the birds.
As squirrels have previously shown considerable cunning, being able to work out tricky obstacle courses and stopping at nothing to track down some scran, this trick might just have outsmarted them once and for all.
Check out the hack here:
As the footage shows, the well lubricated pole thwarts the grey squirrel’s attempts to steal the food, despite several tries.
The video was uploaded to Twitter by Christina Roto who, letting the video speak for itself, said:
My mom put oil on her bird feeder to keep squirrels from stealing the bird food and…
An inspirational move by the keen gardener or, as the hack is very ‘thinking outside the box’, I’m going to say avant-gardener, a-thank you very much.
Inevitably, the internet responded:
Can you tell your Mum she is a star! That has made my day! I have terrible trouble with squirrels on my feeder, now I can imagine they are pretending to be firemen and oil up the pole hahahaha!?
— Joanne Marsden (@jojodragonfly) May 5, 2018
One way to protect bird’s food…???
— wluckett (@1wluckett) May 7, 2018
Why does remind of Mario when he brings down the flag at the end of the each level ?
— isela⛓ (@radxisis) May 6, 2018
@Shannen_2697 @ErinFlannery2 genuinely one a the funniest things I’ve ever seen??
— katie (@katiewalsh_403) May 6, 2018
I am legit laughing so hard at this I think I pulled a muscle
— CLOWN SHOES, PEOPLE (@MenNeedIt) May 8, 2018
Though native to eastern North America, the grey squirrel was introduced to the UK and Europe where they have caused concern after displacing the red squirrel from their natural habitats. Having no natural predators, the grey squirrel population has been able to grow and spread rapidly across many European countries.
This is also the case in the Pacific region of North America, where native red squirrels have been largely displaced by the eastern grey squirrel in parks and forests.
While a bit of oil on a pole seems to have defeated this unlucky squirrel, spare a thought for the iguana who managed to slip out of being consumed by a pack of hungry snakes without so much as a drop of extra help.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me fill you in. In Planet Earth II, narrated by the inspirational David Attenborough, we were treated to a dramatic tale of survival that makes anything by Bear Grylls pale in comparison.
You can watch it here:
As the innocent iguana went about its business, a group of villainous racer snakes – living up to their name – chased down the iguana in an effort to bag themselves a meal.
But it turned out the iguana was fast, not fast food. Having just seen the serpents devour one of his compadres, the iguana was thrust into a race and we were all cheering him on. We thought he was doing so well when another pack of the cunning snakes came at him from the opposite direction.
As the poor guy got wrapped up in a sinister web of snakes, he spotted his opportunity. As if by magic, and with a little help from a fantastic Hans Zimmer score, the iguana wriggled free and leapt to safety as the snakes fell by the wayside.
Slippery little suckers.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.