Gardman A01820 Heavy Duty Squirrel Proof Seed Bird Feeder, Multi-colour, 12.75 kg

Well made product, good price, but you'll need to add a bit of wire to make it squirrel proof.
This is a really well made and finished product. But it has not been thought out well enough to be 5 stars. The problem is, as built, it is not squirrel proof, which is supposed to be it’s unique selling point. However, I wouldn’t let this put you off if considering buying. As built it takes a squirrel about 10 seconds to discover how to open the simple and slack half centimetre twist lid. The solution I have used is to loop a piece of sturdy garden wire over the lid, it is twisted once round the lid handle and though the top of the cage and secured with ends twisted together. It may sound a little complicated but only takes me a few seconds to remove the lid for refilling seed and has most definitely foxed the squirrels. I would think the manufacturer could resolve this fault very quickly, but even as it is I would recommend to anybody , I may just get another myself !

Really do the trick!
Having been plagued by squirrels that clearly saw the old birdfeeders as a ready source of breakfast, lunch & tea I turned, too belatedly, to these feeders. They defeated the enemy at the first stroke – the creatures could find no way into the feed and very quickly took their interests elsewhere. The feeders are well designed, quite robust and take apart easily for cleaning. The birds are very happy to use them so a good result all around. Although a little pricey these feeders are well worth the cost. They’ll soon pay for themselves in the volume of seed saved from plundering.

Good but toot a complete success
A very well thought out feeder, metal fittings where they need to be and everything is a twist lock mechanism so incredibly easy to fully take apart to clean. It is a fair bit bigger than other feeders in diameter so the squirrels cannot gnaw at the openings to get to the food. The cage bars maybe a MM too wide as I have seen a few times squirrel after some effort squeeze through though they are pretty much trapped inside and find it equally hard to get out when you then approach them. It is a great size, very well built but not 100%, but a good deterrent and the bigger ones cannot get in, much better than the the cheaper caged ones ones, but I have continued in my quest to find a squirrel proof feeder.

Perfect solutio
Bought two of these, one for seeds and the other for fat balls. Magpies and squirrels would empty my older feeders, which were the same design but smaller, within a day. Still half full after 2 weeks and only the smaller birds attempt to go anywhere near them now.

Squirrels be gone!
It’s a bird feeder, NOT a squirrel feeder. Saw a couple of squirrels trying their luck when we first installed it but they soon gave up. I’ve knocked a a couple of stars off for ease of cleaning, because it isn’t easy. It needs to be completely dismantled to get to the plastic food holder and clean it properly. As you all know, bird feed can easily get water logged and mouldy so regular cleaning is essential. Apart from that it does exactly what it says – keeps squirrels out.

Those pesky Starlings cant get the mealworm's now!
I love watching the birds in the garden so i have a variety of feeders and other stuff hanging in the tree to help them out(as seen in the image). But i’m always having a problem with the VERY greedy Starlings that turn up and devour ALL the mealworm’s that i used to have in a dedicated mealworm feeder(top right in the image, there are suet pellets in that one now!). So i thought enough is enough and went on the hunt for a feeder with a cage and this is the one i went for!.

FANTASTIC. Its ideal for mealworms, the larger feeding holes above the double perches are great for the birds to see the worms and get them. The top is easy to open, with a small wiggle and turn(cant understand why others have a problem with it ?). And more importantly the cage around the feeder works GREAT at stopping the Starlings from getting at the worms!.

After putting it up the Blue Tits, Great Tits, Finches came to investigate and took to it right away, taking a worm at a time to eat in the tree elsewhere. Then the gutsy Starlings turned up, landed on it, had a look all the way round then gave up and flew away RESULT, ha i have won the battle!

So if you have a Starling problem with then eating EVERYTHING within minutes, then this is the feeder to get!

A easy 5 STARS from me, VERY happy!

ps. As you can see in the images the Starlings can eat other items that are not caged so they CAN get food, they are not going hungry!

Sturdy bird feeder.
I like the fact that it stops the larger birds getting to the food as they emptied the old bird feeder within hours! The smaller birds avoided the new feeder for days and are just realising that they can go through the metal mesh to get the food. Very well made, easy to clean and re-fill.

Good Feede
Purchased to stop the Parakeets from pinching all the food and bullying the smaller birds.

Agree with other reviewers that the lid does come off rather easily when in use, but have managed to secure it. The squirrels haven’t managed to get into it. Also attached a small chain to the lid to stop myself from dropping it. (second floor of flats)

Use Sunflower Hearts in the feeder and the small birds were in it as soon as I closed the back door. Cant believe how quickly it empties.

Would definitely purchase again.

starlings
Got this in the hope it would keep larger birds away from small birds food,especially the rapacious starlings!It works a treat,sparrows can feed inside it,starlings cannot reach the food and cannot get inside!The starlings are going nuts watching little birds feeding when the big birds have eaten all else.

Very effective squirrel-proof feede
A very effective squirrel proof feeder which has totally baffled the local squirrel population who have now deserted my garden completely. Very easy to dismantle and clean. Excellent value for money.

Really does deter starlings.
I have been looking for a feeder to deter the bigger birds. Starlings have been emptying my feeders in less than an hour. I saw a review on this one saying the starlings couldn’t get in so decided to get one. Pricey compared to other feeders but it works. The starlings turned up and tried but they just can’t get the seed. The little birds took a while to work it out but now they’ve sussed it out. I’ve now purchased 2 more. Highly recommend

The Best Feede
This is my first ever 5* on all accounts for a product. Incredibly easy to clean but most of all Starlings can’t get a look in. Love it and have purchased the fatball feeder too. Finally I can watch the little birds get their fair share! Thanks Gardman.

Keeps out the Jackdaws
This feeder does keep out the large birds, e.g. Jackdaws, magpies, and allows in the smaller birds. This being the second purchase iahve discovered one down side, the shiny finnish soon dulls down. Cleaning is not easy, difficult to get into the bottom.

Keeps the Starlings Off!
I bought this in hope of deterring the starlings who have been eating me out of house and home, and therefore preventing the smaller garden birds from getting a look in. This works!!!! I’d only had it out for 40 minutes and the Great Tits & Robins were in there chomping away – 10 minutes later the starlings arrived with their brood and after 20 minutes of failed attempts I’ve not seen them back since!! In the morning the mealworms had only gone down by an inch whereas before hand the 2 extremely large feeders I previously filled would have been empty.
I’m so impressed I’ve bought another one!!
So if you have a problem with the starlings get one – your pocket will thank you!!

It does the job it was intended fo
At last I found a starling proof bird feeder. For the past few weeks I have had to fill my feeders twice a day. I now have a feeder that will allow small birds to feed keeping the greedy starlings away.

Good to deter large birds
Since a neighbour started feeding them we have been invaded by feral pigeons who took all the feed leaving the small birds with nothing to eat. This feeder is an excellent deterrent as the larger birds cannot get into the cage. We still have pigeons but my garden birds have plenty of food.

Our little birds don't use it🤔
This is a very well made product and a great design, however it’s been hanging around for a couple of months now and no birds have used it? Maybe they don’t want the mealworms that’s in it which of course was the reason for buying it to keep the starlings from eating the lot in an hour of filling the feeders. So it looks as though I’m going to have to empty it for the bigger birds to eat the contents and fill it with sunflower hearts instead and see if the little birds will use it then.

Clever squirrels
This seed bird feeder is very robust and the squirrels cannot damage the “cage” part of the feeder. However, the squirrels are stronger and cleverer than you would imagine as they can get the top (lid) off and so, of course, they can then eat up the seeds. I think the lid should be made more difficult to open i.e. with a screw type lid, rather than a bayonet-type lid.

Outer pds not enamoured, hopefully they'll get used to it!!😏
Good sturdy bird feeder,but sadly my sparrows are taking a long time to get used to the idea,they have to virtually go into the cage to get at the seeds!

Thwarts pigeons and squirrels!
This feeder is such a hit with the small garden birds that I am now the proud owner of 2 of these feeders. The feeder is pigeon-proof, squirrel-proof, but not entirely parakeet-proof. (You might consider blocking the grid directly in front of the feeding hole to defeat parakeets.)
The lid is easy to open and close, and remains closed when hanging from a feeder, but it will spill open if it hits the ground.
I wish Garden made a longer/bigger version of this design.

I have been able to attract and feed lots of ...
I have been able to attract and feed lots of little birds. The birds are using the food to feed thier babies so I am hoping to have more birds. One word of warning If you don’t put food on the ground the squirrels will climb up take off the lidand the one that is attached to and mounouver the container onto the ground so that the food falls out and they can eat it. I have also taped the covers on but the squirrels bite it Off! If you can’t beat them try to come halfway! My friend says thats doesn’t always work.!

Better than most squirrel proof feeders.
This is the heavy duty squirrel proof seed feeder I am reviewing. First like other squirrel proof feeders we have tried the squirrels can get inside them. They almost trap themselves in fact because when I go to chase them off they struggle to extricate themselves. Also they are persistent enough to remove the heavy duty lid which I have only solved by wiring the lid down with gardening wire.

We must have particularly aggressive and hungry squirrels because we have not yet found a feeder that is robust enough to deter them.

We’ve reached a point where if the feeder lasts a year without having the perches knawed off we consider it a success and this one is approaching a year of use and is still all there and useable.

GOOD BUT NEEDS INSTRUCTIONS WHERE TO HANG IT SAFELY
Although it good at keeping the squirrels out of the feeder it is no good hanging it from a
“tree” feeder or anything similar. The squirrels found that they could not bite through the
metal lid, perfect, but instead the rotten little bs put both front feet on the feeder, swung
on it until the food dropped out of the holes onto the floor. So it must be put somewhere
where this can not happen.

I would welcome suggestions on just where you could place this feeder as it appears no
matter what type I buy the squirrels seem to get at them, bearing in mind that squirrels
can jump great lengths and from heights to steal bird food. I do not want to feed or kill the
squirrels but it is getting far beyond a joke now especially as they visit our garden at least
6 times daily, and not as the books say 1 hour after dawn and 1 hour before sunset. Also
they do not care what they eat whether it is seed, peanuts or pellets etc., name it and they
will do their damness at getting into the feeders and scaring hell out of the poor birds.

Very good but not squirrel proof.
Basically very good, but not squirrel proof. Our squirrels used to just take of the lid and help themselves. I have made it actually squirrel proof by constructing a metal plug for the top. It is made out of a small can, lead filled and fitted with a metal knob to lift it out for refilling. We use this model for both peanuts and seed. The one designed for peanuts make it excruciating difficult for birds to get a nut. This model allows them to take a whole nut. The birds get through a lot of nuts, but that’s part of the joy of watching them.

The Gardman feeder is excellent in every way
I have bought cheap versions of this feeder and they are rubbish in comparison. The Gardman feeder is excellent in every way, strong, well made and easy to dismantle and clean. The cheap versions let the seed get wet and rot, very difficult to get rid of the gunk that accumulates at the bottom and seed is wasted. The Gardman feeder is everything I was looking for, it is well worth the extra price. Very pleased.

QUICK TO RUST
A very nice bird feeder has kept the squirrels at bay, but unfortunately I cannot give it 5 stars because only a couple of weeks after hanging it up it has started rusting. Not something you would expect to happen on something of this price.

Brilliant! Works for mealworms too.
Having tried a number of supposed squirrel proof bird feeders and watched the squirrels find a way of breaking into them with military precision, we found these and thought that we would give one a try. It was a revelation! Not only are the squirrels completely at a loss with regard to breaking in, they are brilliant for keeping out the larger birds too! We bought one to put sunflower hearts in but we were so pleased with it that we decided to buy a second one for mealworms as we could not find a mealworms feeder that could stop the local pigeons and magpies from pigging out at our expense and, of course, frightening away the smaller birds that we were trying to attract. It worked perfectly! Additionally, the feeder is very well constructed, easy to fill and to keep clean, can be used by up to four bids at a time and the food stays dry inside – so no more rotten, stuck on mess to clear from the bottom.

The best so far...but with a reservation.
I think it’s beaten the squirrels although once or twice the tube of seeds has been emptied suspiciously quickly. I suspect the squirrels simply shake the whole cage such that the seeds fall through the bottom on to the ground. Possibly some form of flooring to the bottom of the cage might overcome this. Nevertheless I’m happy with the purchase.

Sturdy seed feeder.
Sturdy seed feeder….large and well made this seed feeder should last for many years. The holes in the mesh are certainly narrow enough to keep squirrels out, it took the smaller birds a while to make the change from our old feeder which the birds could easily poke their heads through and feed. This feeder makes them have to get right in and sit there feeding…which they seem to enjoy doing. Larger birds like woodpeckers can also use this feeder, they can just about reach in, but at maximum stretch. The smaller birds seem to relax in this feeder, in our old one they took a seed and flew off to eat it, on this one though they sit there eating. We’re very happy with it.

Seems excelle
This is fabulous, there’s a constant queue of little birds trying to get in all day long, i think because the holes are quite big they can fit right inside. I think i’m the local garden centre’s best customer for bird seed.
So far no squirrels, magpies or crows have gotten in. The starlings havent found it yet, when they do they may be able to get inside the cage, we will see.

Gartman Heavy Duty Bird Feede
I’m very pleased with this feeder. It’s quite strong and holds a fair amount of food. I did put an extra 2 screws through the top though as I thought without the squirrels may soon learn how to twist it apart. Since putting a squirrel feeder up they haven’t bothered with the bird feeders so haven’t had to test my theory. The added bonus of this feeder is that it’s stopped the blackbirds and starlings emptying the feeders in minutes.

So far this does seem to have defeated the squirrels ...
So far this does seem to have defeated the squirrels. Initially, one or two birds came to the feeder as soon as it was set up. Then it was totally ignored by birds and squirrels. Now one or two birds are giving it another try. I think it will work out once they get used to it. On the plus side, the squirrels won’t be able to pee in this feeder – they would cling on to the old one, munching away at the seeds at the top of the feeder, and peeing on the seeds at the bottom. Nobody wanted to eat those seeds after that, not even squirrels so they would have to get thrown away, the feeder cleaned and fresh seeds put in it. This should pay for itself in time!