Suet is a popular high-fat food used to attract wild birds. It provides birds with the fat and calories they need to survive cold winters. However, suet feeders often seem to be empty before the birds can enjoy the suet. There are a few likely culprits that may be eating your suet before the birds can get to it. Identifying the suet thief can help you take steps to protect your suet and ensure the birds can enjoy it.
What is Suet?
Suet is raw beef or mutton fat that is sometimes provided as bird food, often in mesh bags or compacted cakes. Suet provides a high-calorie food source to help wild birds survive cold winter months when food is scarce. The fat helps provide insulation and energy to help keep small birds warm and maintain their energy levels when cold temperatures make foraging more difficult. Suet supplements birds’ diets with fat and protein.
Why Offer Suet to Birds?
Offering suet to wild birds provides an important supplemental food source during harsh winter conditions. Suet helps attract insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees that help control insect pest populations. Offering suet can also attract beautiful and entertaining birds to your yard that you can enjoy watching. It provides a reliable food source when natural food availability is low. Providing suet to help birds survive cold months and have the energy to keep warm is an easy way to support wildlife.
What Animals Eat Suet?
While suet is intended as a supplemental food source for wild birds, other animals are attracted to and will eat suet as well due to its high fat and protein content. Animals that may eat suet include:
Squirrels
Squirrels are very common visitors to bird feeders and will happily eat bird seed, suet, or anything else tasty they can get their paws on. Squirrels have excellent memories and once they learn a feeder is a food source, they will keep coming back. Their nimble climbing abilities and persistence make them difficult to deter from feeders.
Raccoons
Raccoons are nocturnal mammals with dexterous paws that give them the ability to access suet feeders. They are omnivores and will eat just about anything. Raccoons are highly intelligent and remember locations of food sources. Once a raccoon finds a feeder, it will repeatedly return to eat the suet as a tasty treat.
Mice
Mice are small enough to fit into suet cages to eat the suet. They tend to be more active at night when visiting feeders. Mice will repeatedly return to any feeder where they have found food. Their small size also makes them difficult to deter.
Deer
In areas with high deer populations, deer may browse on suet if feeders are accessible to them. Deer can obviously reach high feeders that smaller animals can’t access. They will consume suet for the high-fat content to help them maintain weight during winter.
Bears
In bear country, bears can be attracted to suet and will consume the fat-rich food. Bears have excellent memories and noses and will repeatedly return to feeders they associate with food. Due to their size and strength, bears can demolish feeders to access the suet within.
Other Birds
While suet is intended for small birds, larger birds like crows, grackles, starlings, and jays can also access suet and may consume more than their fair share. Aggressive large birds may even bully smaller birds away from suet feeders.
Preventing Suet Theft
Since many animals find suet just as tasty as birds, protecting your suet to prevent it from being eaten prematurely takes some planning. Here are some tips to prevent suet theft by hungry critters:
Only Offer Suet in Winter
Suet is meant as a winter emergency food source for birds. Only offering it late fall through early spring prevents attracting as many critters looking for food during warmer seasons when natural food is abundant. Taking feeders down in spring cuts off a food source critters will remember.
Use Caged Suet Feeders
Specialized suet cages allow access for small birds while excluding larger animals. Choose feeders with small openings and cages too small for larger pests to enter. Look for suet cages advertised as squirrel-resistant or raccoon-resistant.
Try a Baffle
Baffles are shields installed above or below feeders to prevent animal access. Squirrel baffles prevent climbing access while raccoon baffles block access from below. Work with different baffle designs to find what works for the intruders in your yard.
Elevate Feeders
Hanging suet high up on a tall pole, tree, or under the eaves of a house can help prevent access by some animals. Use a pole baffle to prevent climbing up. This won’t deter birds but makes feeders harder to reach for squirrels, raccoons, mice and deer.
Use Hot Pepper Suet
Some suet contains dried hot pepper or capsaicin oil, which birds cannot taste, but deters mammals with sensitive taste buds. It causes an unpleasant burning sensation reluctant to make mammals keep coming back. Replacing plain suet with hot pepper suet may discourage repeated visits.
Try Other Deterrents
There are a variety of taste, smell, sound, and touch deterrents sold to repel squirrels, raccoons, mice, deer, and other yard pests. Experiment to see if items like animal repellent sprays, ultrasonic devices, predator decoys, or water deterrents help discourage your suet thieves.
| Pest | Deterrent |
|---|---|
| Squirrels | Small cage openings, baffles, repellent sprays |
| Raccoons | Nighttime motion lights, predator sounds/decoys |
| Mice | Smaller cage openings, capsaicin oil |
| Deer | Elevated feeder height, deer repellent sprays |
| Bears | Take down all feeders in bear territory |
| Aggressive Birds | Multiple suet feeders to reduce competition |
Conclusion
When you find your suet disappearing prematurely, chances are a clever suet thief is the culprit. Squirrels, raccoons, mice, deer, bears, and bully birds are the most likely suspects. While suet-stealing animals can be persistent, there are solutions to protect your suet to ensure it lasts all season long to help feed winter birds. Using specially designed suet cages, feeder placement and deterrents can help prevent suet theft and allow birds to reap the benefits of this beneficial supplemental food source. Offering suet during the winter months and taking steps to prevent access by animals allows you to provide an important survival food to help wild birds survive harsh conditions while enjoying their beauty and activity at your feeders. With some innovative solutions and deterrents, you can win the battle against suet thieves and ensure your suet fully serves its important purpose – helping wild birds survive and thrive through cold winter months.
