Brome Squirrel Buster Plus Bird Feeder w/ Cardinal Perch Ring 1024 - Squirrel Proof

Excellent feeder!
Large- holds 5 lbs. seed!
Easy to fill.
A breeze to clean!
Birds love it!
Squirrels do NOT like it! 😂
I recommend this product!!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s the ONLY one that has worked for my smart aleck squirrels. They try, they are relentless until they aren’t. Moth balls are also a deterrent. Love to watch my cardinals in the morning. Peaceful kindof feeling feeding birds. Very sturdy and shuts down when they take another shot at getting the best of this awesome bird feeder.

We mounted the Squirrel Buster Plus on a 7 foot tall shepherd's pole using the Brome pole adaptor. It has been up for a month now and squirrel proof so far. Our previous wide tray feeder fed many squirrels in addition to birds, so we have squirrels that are used to getting food. They've examined the Squirrel Buster Plus from all angles and tried many approaches. They jump on it from the garage roof, but unlike the tray feeder, they have little place to land and slide off or jump off. They climb up the tall pole and hang onto the cardinal ring, but the metal shroud closes when they reach the seed. They tried to chew the polycarbonate and the ports, but the feeder has held up. The squirrels keep trying but the number of attempts has decreased (likely as they plot more creative solutions).Importantly, sparrows, finches, nuthatches, chickadees, juncos, downy woodpeckers, red-belly woodpeckers and cardinals have been feeding comfortably. Mourning doves have had to settle for with the small amount of seed that falls from the feeder. The feeder is well made and so far it is worth the expense.

This feeder WAS squirrel proof for years, but then I added the cardinal ring. An enterprising gang of 3 squirrels took turns leaping from the window sill up and over to the feeder (about 3 feet). As the feeder turned and twisted in the air, they clung to the ring while gnawing at the holes in the metal bottom. I found their antics quite amusing and felt somewhat sorry for them, given they would earn nothing for their tremendous efforts - or so I thought. But, their persistence paid off, and finally they enlarged one of the holes to make it big enough to rapidly extract seeds. I filled the feeder one evening after the birds had left for the day, and when I got up the next morning, the squirrels were just pulling the last 1/2 inch of seeds out. I'm hoping Brome will replace the part. If they do, I'm not going to use the cardinal ring again, since that was the squirrels' base. Then I'll come back and change my rating. Brome really is a good company, and I can't imagine how a feeder could be more squirrel proof than this. I mean, those squirrels filed down METAL with their teeth! How do you defeat that?I contacted Brome and sent them the photos above. They stand behind their products and are sending me a new shroud. I will now use the feeder without the cardinal ring and expect it to last indefinitely like that, so I changed my rating from one star to four - not five since I can't use the ring.

I bought this from Amazon on June 3, 2011, which at this writing is just over eight years ago. The outside of it has been thoroughly scratched from years of squirrels trying to chew through the metal and all their acrobatics trying to pull a few seeds out of it.A few years ago I saw the most successful attempt by a team of squirrels. One would leap onto the bottom of the feeder and kinda shake it around, dislodging a few seeds here and there for the others waiting on the ground. It was way too much work for their reward and they got tired of it and gave up eventually.I've added a plastic dome over the top to add to the challenge, also keeping it dry in the rain.Bottom line is that the Squirrel Buster is the real deal. It's very well built and holds plenty of seeds.The reason that I was inspired to write this was from my recent customer support experience.Recently, I noticed that the holes weren't lining up perfectly. I think they were always off by a little bit, so I decided to take it apart and see what was wrong with it. I found that the middle spring unit seemed slightly too long. I cut it down by 1/8 inch and that seemed to make it better. Before I had done this I looked up on the web site if maybe I should just replace that part. So I wrote a customer support ticket asking about it. They asked me to send in a photo of the problem, but I just dropped it since I felt like I had fixed it well enough. I didn't even mention that the unit was eight years old, just that I noticed this problem and might want to replace the part.Today I received a package at my door containing a new unit containing the spring and the whole center piece that does the squirrel spring magic. I was surprised since I had dropped the ball on the process and didn't expect to hear from them again. I was never asked for payment and now with a fresh spring (probably the only thing that could potentially wear out over the years) seems like I'll get another decade out of the unit.So, not only are they dedicated to a solid, high-quality product. They actually put their money where their mouth is and really support it. I admit it cost slightly less eight years ago, but I would have been through at least three feeders in that time and would gladly pay today's price, especially knowing what I now know about them.--- update June 2020 ---After nine years of squirrels gnawing away at the metal hood of the feeder, they finally got a tiny hole in it. Talk about persistence!Like I did last year when I had another issue after just eight years, I contacted Brome support showing a photo of the aged and scratched hood.Within 24 hours, I got a friendly reply and a note that the replacement is on its way. It may seem like an expensive bird feeder, but I think I would have been through several cheaper ones over these years. As I told the support person, I almost feel bad that I don't get to buy another one from them as it just keeps working. I still highly recommend it.

This feeder WAS squirrel proof for years, but then I added the cardinal ring. An enterprising gang of 3 squirrels took turns leaping from the window sill up and over to the feeder (about 3 feet). As the feeder turned and twisted in the air, they clung to the ring while gnawing at the holes in the metal bottom. I found their antics quite amusing and felt somewhat sorry for them, given they would earn nothing for their tremendous efforts - or so I thought. But, their persistence paid off, and finally they enlarged one of the holes to make it big enough to rapidly extract seeds. I filled the feeder one evening after the birds had left for the day, and when I got up the next morning, the squirrels were just pulling the last 1/2 inch of seeds out. I'm hoping Brome will replace the part. If they do, I'm not going to use the cardinal ring again, since that was the squirrels' base. Then I'll come back and change my rating. Brome really is a good company, and I can't imagine how a feeder could be more squirrel proof than this. I mean, those squirrels filed down METAL with their teeth! How do you defeat that?I contacted Brome and sent them the photos above. They stand behind their products and are sending me a new shroud. I will now use the feeder without the cardinal ring and expect it to last indefinitely like that, so I changed my rating from one star to four - not five since I can't use the ring.

I bought this from Amazon on June 3, 2011, which at this writing is just over eight years ago. The outside of it has been thoroughly scratched from years of squirrels trying to chew through the metal and all their acrobatics trying to pull a few seeds out of it.A few years ago I saw the most successful attempt by a team of squirrels. One would leap onto the bottom of the feeder and kinda shake it around, dislodging a few seeds here and there for the others waiting on the ground. It was way too much work for their reward and they got tired of it and gave up eventually.I've added a plastic dome over the top to add to the challenge, also keeping it dry in the rain.Bottom line is that the Squirrel Buster is the real deal. It's very well built and holds plenty of seeds.The reason that I was inspired to write this was from my recent customer support experience.Recently, I noticed that the holes weren't lining up perfectly. I think they were always off by a little bit, so I decided to take it apart and see what was wrong with it. I found that the middle spring unit seemed slightly too long. I cut it down by 1/8 inch and that seemed to make it better. Before I had done this I looked up on the web site if maybe I should just replace that part. So I wrote a customer support ticket asking about it. They asked me to send in a photo of the problem, but I just dropped it since I felt like I had fixed it well enough. I didn't even mention that the unit was eight years old, just that I noticed this problem and might want to replace the part.Today I received a package at my door containing a new unit containing the spring and the whole center piece that does the squirrel spring magic. I was surprised since I had dropped the ball on the process and didn't expect to hear from them again. I was never asked for payment and now with a fresh spring (probably the only thing that could potentially wear out over the years) seems like I'll get another decade out of the unit.So, not only are they dedicated to a solid, high-quality product. They actually put their money where their mouth is and really support it. I admit it cost slightly less eight years ago, but I would have been through at least three feeders in that time and would gladly pay today's price, especially knowing what I now know about them.--- update June 2020 ---After nine years of squirrels gnawing away at the metal hood of the feeder, they finally got a tiny hole in it. Talk about persistence!Like I did last year when I had another issue after just eight years, I contacted Brome support showing a photo of the aged and scratched hood.Within 24 hours, I got a friendly reply and a note that the replacement is on its way. It may seem like an expensive bird feeder, but I think I would have been through several cheaper ones over these years. As I told the support person, I almost feel bad that I don't get to buy another one from them as it just keeps working. I still highly recommend it.

Best feeder ever!! It was a lot of money up front, but I've had it almost a year and it was worth every penny. The squirrels simply gave up trying to get a free meal. The seed never gets wet (and I live in WA)! This feeder is VERY well built and a joy to own. Most importantly, the birds love it!

I've used vertical tube style bird feeders since 1970 and have always battled the squirrels who pig out on bird seed, scattering and wasting most of it. This is a thoughtfully designed, well-made, squirrel resistant bird feeder. It has 6 feeding ports, all on the same (bottom) level, rather than stacked vertically in 3 levels of 2 feeding ports each. I prefer the 6 ports on one level design to the stacked design because, as the seed level in the tube falls (as it is consumed by the birds) the top and middle level feeding ports become unusable when the seed level falls below the level of the upper ports. The only way to keep all 6 ports continuously operating is to continuously keep topping off the seed so the seed level remains above the level of the ports. With all the feeding ports on the same level, you only need to refill the tube when the seed level reaches the absolute bottom of the tube, so there's less maintenance. The same manufacturer (Squirrel Buster) makes vertically stacked ports feeders also, probably to cater to "clinging" birds who prefer not to feed from a perch. If you predominately have clinging birds, then a stacked ports design may be preferable for you, but I think this all ports on bottom level would be best for the average user.This feeder comes factory set to support the weight of about 6 sparrow sized birds (3 oz.) before the ports close. The spring tension on the closure is adjustable if you want to feed larger birds. Adjustment is extremely easy. The manufacturer recommends you keep the feeder a minimum of 18" from any object a squirrel could use his back feet to hold onto, so the entire weight of the squirrel is on the feeder to activate the port closing mechanism. I ignored this recommendation on the first hanging and found my squirrels could hold onto a nearby (9" distant) pole, upside down, and grab and shake small amounts of seed out of the feeder with their front legs, defeating the mechanism. When I moved the feeder out to 12" away from the post, the squirrels couldn't stretch enough to repeat that stunt. When a squirrel is forced to put his entire weight on the feeder, the ports close from the weight and the feeder literally is "squirrel proof."I like that the seed tube is ventilated so if moisture gets into the tube, it dries quickly and doesn't allow mold to form on the seed. The whole feeder can be easily disassembled and cleaned in a dishwasher at intervals to reduce possibility of feeder transmitted bird diseases. I don't worry a lot about bird diseases, but it's nice that the manufacturer apparently does and has designed for it.With a vertically stacked ports feeder, a squirrel can attach his back feet to the feeder hanger and, hanging upside down, can access seed from the upper ports. With all the ports on the bottom level, such as this design, it's impossible for the squirrel to reach the ports at the bottom of the feeder. There are no anchor points on the tube (like upper port perches) that a squirrel can attach to. The manufacturer has added a couple overhanging roofs or eaves to further hinder a squirrel from reaching the ports. The lower overhanging roof helps keep snow out of the ports, which was evident during a recent snowstorm.A certain amount of seed inevitably falls on the ground beneath the feeder. It seems to me that less seed falls to the ground from this feeder than others I've owned.I like that the feeder comes with good user instructions and explanations of it's design features so the user understands exactly how to use it. The manufacturer also has helpful YouTube videos that demonstrate how to assemble and disassemble the feeder for cleaning, and how to adjust for weight the spring closing mechanism. This is a very expensive bird feeder, however the squirrel proof design, ventilated seed tube to prevent mold and other features will prevent wasted seed, and over time the savings on wasted seed should more than offset the higher initial price of the feeder.

I have to admit this bird feeder is overpriced but simply the best. Unlike some other reviews it attracts almost every type of bird imaginable. Cardinals and other birds love the included ring. It even has attracted two types of wood ****’s. The squirrel proof ability has not been tested. So far nothing has defeated our pole’s protection. If you can afford one-buy it!

After too many other purchases, this is finally a truly squirrel proof bird feeder and built tough. After 10 years of continuous use my seed tube broke. I’m wondering if it wasn’t the deer that visit it from time to time. This is one of the few companies that stocks spare parts. I sent them a picture of the feeder and they sent me a new seed tube…FREE! After 10 years! When I finally need a replacement or need a second one I will surely buy from this company. I have not experienced this level of customer support since Sears went out of business. Much appreciated.

This is the best bird feeder. I had three tube feeders on a pole system in my yard and the squirrels were eating me out of house and home. I took those down and put this one up and it is amazing. The birds are coming and eating and the squirrels try and try to get on this feeder. They go up and down the pole and they sometimes get on the top of the feeder but then they fall off. It's worked out perfectly for me

🚨 Updates at end of review, very important to know before buying!Original review —Don't worry about the review regarding this bird feeder dropping seed when the birds fly away. She must have been using feed that was ultra-fine grain or had a defective unit. My unit does not drop seed, even the fine stuff. I've watched it take squirrel impacts and no seed has fallen out.This is the best bird feeder I've ever had. The birds possibly love it more than I do. It's very high quality, has a great warranty, great unboxing experience obviously put together by ornithologists. Mechanics reading this will feel right at home, as every part has an ID that can be requested for replacement (and free of charge). You're getting your money's worth here... bravo Brome!The adjustable weighted counterbalance spring system is genius. It not only gives me the ability to cut off certain larger birds (like the mature male Grackle who must weigh 7oz. and is a messy eater) but also most importantly: squirrels.I live on a forest edge and my backyard is squirrel territory. Maybe you can relate, after all, you're looking at squirrel-proof bird feeder reviews on Amazon. Let me tell you, my squirrels (even flying varieties) have been attempting to Mission Impossible into this thing literally 24/7. Some are able to reach the bottom of the perch, which is counterweighted and promptly closes. Based on my birdseed usage, I can tell you – Not a single squirrel has gotten so much a seed directly out of this feeder. They have been, overnight, downgraded to bottom-feeders in this particular area containing the Squirrel Buster Plus.Don't be too excited to put it up and forget to MEASURE. It's the most important part. Make sure there's clearance around the feeder at recommended distance. Another really important thing is something they don't tell you:Make sure you don't have any smaller branches/twigs that can possibly be bent by the squirrels to use as a makeshift bungee to hang off of above your feeder to circumvent the counterweight. If attaching from a tree branch, make sure the branch you hang it off of is clear of any smaller branch offshoots or tree vines.IMPORTANT UPDATES –UPDATE 1: Squirrels managed to outsmart ME, not the bird feeder. They used their little hands to unhook the feeder from my carabiner and dropped the entire feeder onto the ground. The thing weighs a a lot, so shows me how strong these little buggers are. DO NOT use carabiners! Only use a metal chain that has a hard-to-disconnect latch. They WILL chew through rope and CAN unhook spring-loaded carabiners!UPDATE 2: Apparently 🦝raccoons🦝 can unscrew U-bolts and slide things out of keychains. I’m honestly astonished. Most recently caught them at 1am before the feeder fell down. It’s an ongoing battle. The issue isn’t with this bird feeder, it’s with whatever is holding it up. Chains, rope, hooks, straps, nuts and bolts; That’s the weak point. These nocturnal critters have a lot of time to experiment. Unfortunately for them, so do I.My latest plan is using an automotive U-bolt bracket over the tree branch. The bird feeder’s hook is locked into the bracket via two nuts. I plan on using Loctite Blue thread locker soon to cement the bolts in place. Unless the raccoons have an electric impact drill, this should buy me some time. I suspect their next gambit will be chewing through the bird feeder itself or perhaps the tree branch. I’m sure this will give me an opportunity to try out Brome’s replacement part program.Update 3 – I fought the squirrels and the squirrels won. They chewed through, to the core. Am contacting Brome to see what we can do.– Last updated on May 14th, 2022Follow these tips and you'll have the same awesome experience I've had! :) Happy birding!

WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. It's only been a few days, but days of peace. My previous "squirrel proof feeder" had squirrels on it I'd say 85% of every day consuming all of the expensive "squirrel resistant" birdseed, after scratching their way up my screens (completely torn) and then walls. They consistently broke it with their weight. They have continued occasionally to TRY with this but so far NO LUCK! So I actually get to watch birds!!! I am even getting more varieties of birds since the perch can handle small to large birds.

Well worth the money. Put a shut down on my squirrels Golden Corral buffet. It did take awhile for the birds to get used to it. I kept my old feeder near the new one and let the feed run out. They slowly went to the new one. I also got the weather guard it aids in a squirrel ramp when they fall off. The construction is well designed, by far the best feeder on the market.