We bought one of these a few years ago and it's still going strong and just bought another one to add to the other side of the house. They really do work and the squirrels try to climb the stands and I've seen them hanging off the feeder but they are not able to get any food from it. The feeder is durable and can withstand the weight of a squirrel hanging from it. We have left the original feeder outside through all weather (wind, rain, snow) and it still works like a charm. I am confident this second one we bought will be just the same. I fill it with black sunflower seeds and the birds love it. There are always multiple birds feeding from it all the time and it's great entertainment for my cats watching out the windows

Ok, I was a bit skeptical about spending this much on a bird feeder, HOWEVER--it's obvious that it'll pay for itself in about 1 - 2 months based on how much seed isn't going to the darn squirrels. Maybe it's because I'm in quarantine, but watching the squirrels try to figure this out and FAIL over and over again has brought me a lot of joy.

It was fairly intuitive to figure out, although the "funnel" let a bunch of seed slip between the plastic and the wire mesh when filling it, which spilled all over the ground. Turns out I was overfilling it. I was just SO excited to get it hung up. I've gotten better with practice at refilling it. Once I hung it up where the old broken feeder used to be, the birds were on it within 5 minutes. The squirrels thought it was business as usual...little did they know that the feeding ports would be shut as soon as they jumped on it!

I haven't seen any issues with multiple birds weighing it down. Actually, I've got more birds than before...probably because the squirrels have learned this feeder is NOT for them so they leave it alone and stop scaring away the birds.

Pros:
well made & sturdy
beautiful design
easy to clean
holds a LOT of seed
is actually squirrel-proof!!! ðŸ¿ï¸

Cons:
None. Yes it's a little expensive, but you'll have this forever and like I said, it'll pay for itself once you realize how much seed you're not wasting.

We have some incredibly crafty squirrels near our home and have been looking for a feeder that keeps the squirrels away but still attracts the birds. This feeder is it! While it looks like several other feeders available for a lower cost, this feeder has certain details that make it worth the extra money you will spend.

1) The "shroud" system (which several other feeders also have) does indeed work to close the ports off every time a squirrel jumps onto the feeder. BUT squirrels are very clever and find other ways to access seed.

2) The cap on the Squirrel Solution 200 feeder has a button lock/release. Similar feeders that we had tried without this feature were easily accessed by squirrels. They simply keep at that cap until they manage to push it off....and there goes all of your bird seed. Squirrels will also begin to chew through the plastic at this point, and your feeder will be worthless in a short time. Eventually, we made a lock/release of our own drilling a hole and using a screw, but...

3) The ports on most feeders are not protected all around by metal. Even when we solved the problem of squirrels getting in by removing the cap, they were able to hang onto the the feeder and chew around the plastic of the ports until gaining access to the seeds. They would make the hole bigger and bigger until the feeder was just pouring seed out for them. The Squirrel Solution 200 feeder has metal protection all around the ports that squirrels cannot chew through.

THIS FEEDER IS TRULY SQUIRREL PROOF....as long as you hang it so it as shown in directions. This is the important part!! It MUST be at least 18 inches away from any surface the squirrels can use to reach it. We have it hung as in the picture below (sorry, haven't planted spring flowers in the planter yet.) We did have to move the planter away from the feeder so as to maintain that 18 inch distance. The squirrels CAN get onto the feeder, jump or crawl up the Shepard's hook, but then if they jump onto it, the shroud closes. Once the shroud closes, they cannot access the seed. Oh they try--again and again--but eventually give up.

What is important is that--by hanging it at least 18 inches from their access-- they cannot reach the feeder by staying on the rail or plantar, stretching to the feeder. They would then access WITHOUT closing the shroud and possibly eat through the small area underneath that is made of plastic, or shake seed out of the feeder.

Up until now, there was one other feeder we tried that satisfied most of these conditions -- the Roamwild Squirrel Proof Wild Bird Feeder. The problem with the Roamwild is that, even though it kept the squirrels away, it did not attract the birds. The perches on the Roamwild feeder were just too small and birds did not come. We waited weeks --- and nothing. Birds just didn't come to this feeder.

4) The birds DO come to the Squirrel Solution 200 feeder. (If I had ONE improvement to make on it, I would like to see perches that were slightly larger. Cardinals seem to find feeding from the perch inconvenient. They will sit nearby the feeder and wait until other birds come, dropping seed--and then go to the ground to eat that seed. We have just added an attachment to extend one of the perches and the cardinals seem to be able to feed more comfortably with that extra little bit of perch.)

5) In fact, birds that usually would visit other feeder we have hung (goldfinches that would go to the nigel thistle feeder, woodpeckers that would go to the suet feeder, etc) come to this feeder frequently. We believe it is because of the yellow center stem allows for air flow, keeping the seed dryer/fresher than in other feeders. Just more yummy!

6) The funnel that comes with it is very helpful when filling with seed, as it fits the feeder tube exactly and has openings to accommodate the wires that hold the top. Much less seed spilling out when filling the feeder.

In summary...even though this feeder is more costly than the others, it gets the job done!

I have in the past purchased similar looking bird feeders . They were of a significantly inferior materials.
They normally lasted two years.
This Brome Squirrel Solution200 is a vastly superior product which is made to last. Squirrels do not get the bird seed and do not cause damage, which affected my earlier cheaper bird feeders. After over six years the plastic sealed spring assembly was becoming weak. I called customer service and they were quite friendly and extremely helpful. In less than one week, I received free of charge an entire sealed spring assembly.
I was quite impressed with their great customer service.

This squirrel-proof (up to a point) feeder has both a sturdy build and good seed capacity. I appreciate that Brome has used metal buttons to secure the lid since squirrels had chewed on and destroyed the plastic knobs on an older version I had owned. The metal ensures that they won't find a way to lift the top, and the metal cage prevents them from chewing their way to the seeds inside. The ports close well with the weight of an animal.

This feeder is long and needs to be placed far enough away from the ground/shrubs. I use a hook that extends beyond my deck railing. It doesn't keep the squirrels from jumping and wrapping their bodies around the feeder as they "land"; however, it makes it much more difficult. Let's face it "” squirrels will find a way to get to food. The trick is slowing them down substantially to allow more birds to feed. This feeder accomplishes that better than most.

I removed a half-star only because the first feeder I received had the cage mounted upside down, which made it impossible for the birds to access the ports and which opened the ports as soon as a squirrel applied its weight. I didn't realize the defect for several days "” after all, I had used this style of feeder before "” and only because the birds weren't feeding from it. This major defect suggests that quality-control may be lax. Check your feeder before you remove it from all the packaging.

I like that the feeder comes with a yellow plastic seed funnel that comes attached to the bottom and must be removed by pressing in the tabs. It makes filling much easier. Although I'm not wild about the yellow interior piece, it does make the seed level obvious at a glance.

This feeder is best for seed mixes and sunflower seeds. Bird lovers will appreciate how the seed lasts longer when you can prevent squirrels from getting to it.

"” Debbie Lee Wesselmann