Many animals find a never-ending buffet of seeds irresistible. They will eat until their hearts’ content and sometimes cache the leftovers for later. Here are a few things you can do to increase the amount of your bird seed that is available for the birds:

• Hang bird feeders on a wire between trees or on a baffled pole to prevent access
  • To create your own baffle to exclude small animals, punch a hole in the bottom of an empty one-liter soda bottle and slide two to four of them onto the wire on each side of the feeder or slide two or more two-foot sections of two-inch diameter plastic pipe over the wire
• Use feeders that capture fallen seed or minimize spillage
• Clean up spillage that does occur so that it doesn't attract other hungry animals
• Temporarily remove all bird seed and other foods if they are attracting species other than birds
• Do not feed birds from April through November when they can easily make do with naturally available foods. This is especially important for avoiding problems with bears
  • If there is an early spring with melted snow and warm weather, it is a good idea to take your bird feeder down early