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Honestly, the squirrels are not a problem now. They only eat what has dropped. The feeders I have are squirrel proof anyway from pre-cage times. I have never seen rats in the garden, and even when I didn't have the cage. I most certainly would have noticed them. I do have a little family of mice which I have zero problem about. If they stay outside, that's fine with me. Plus, local cats keep that population down. There are rats everywhere in London, there is plenty of food rubbish out in the street to keep them happy. So, I guess you could fit extra bars to the cage if you wanted to, but then you run the risk of the birds not getting in. They like to be able to fly in and out easily, which they do.

Safe

Ahh, the old "it's only three days" chestnut. I do hope you realise the big metal walls, stages, tents, toilets, lighting, sound equipment, refreshments, concessions etc don't just magically appear & disappear overnight? You know it all has to be transported in & erected, constructed? And that when stuff is constructed, like on a construction site, it's quite noisy & distracting? Banging, crashing, shouting, heavy plant moving around - beep beep beep reversing signals, engines revving - pneumatic tools? For 8 to 10 hours a day, every day? And that it tends to go on for two or three weeks before an event, and a week after when they take it all down again? I'm sure my boys' GCSE prep won't be affected by any of that, especially if we close the windows (before someone suggests that as a resolution). I'm sure it won't affect anyone at the Harris schools either, actually taking their exams with that background noise.

Sorry to hear, horrid news, it was different in the Horniman area as not damaging the panels, although as said before do not want to speculate. The police need pretty good quality CCTV images, the ring door bell ones were too far away to have a good definition. Do keep on at the police, it is so un-joined up and I found when I tried to get Southwark and Lewisham to liaise about the scooter crash scam.

Thanks for the good discussion, this should be re-titled as a general thread about feeding the birds. @Penguin not really sure why you posted, most are aware that virtually all land in this country is managed, and has been for 100s of years, but there are many organisations, local and national government, that manage large areas of land that create appropriate habitats for British nature, including rewilding and reintroductions. We can all do our bit even if this is not cutting your lawn, and certainly by not concreting over it. (or plastic grass, urgh). I have simply been stating that garden birds are semi domesticated, as perhaps the deer herds in Richmond Park, New Forest ponies, and even some foxes where we feed them. Whoever it was who tried to get a cheap jibe in about Southwark and the Gala festival. Why? There is a whole thread on Gala for you to moan on. Lots going on in Southwark https://www.southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/ecology-and-wildlife I've talked about green sqwaky things before, if it was legal I'd happily use an air riffle, and I don't eat meat. And grey squirrels too where I am encourage to dispatch them. Once a small group of starlings also got into the garden I constructed my own cage using starling proof netting, it worked for a year although I had to make a gap for the great spotted woodpecker to get in. The squirrels got at it in the summer but sqwaky things still haven't come back, starlings recently returned. I have a large batch of rubbish suet pellets so will let them eat them before reordering and replacing the netting. Didn't find an appropriately sized cage, the gaps in the mesh have to be large enough for finches etc, and the commercial ones were £££ The issue with bird feeders isn't just dirty ones, and I try to keep mine clean, but that sick birds congregate in close proximity with healthy birds. The cataclysmic obliteration of the greenfinch population was mainly due to dirty feeders and birds feeding close to each other.

Another recommendation for Niko - fitted me in the next day, simple fix rather than trying to upsell and a nice guy as well. Will use again

Looks great! but could it be possible to pinch the frames a bit tighter with some long nose pliers and add more struts to stop the tree rats getting inside? Also, the only issue with a mesh base is that it could attract rats towards your property.

Yes have on Ashbourne Grove last night - every tyre slashed and every panel scratched twice. Gathering CCTV and reported to the Police

I struggled with the parakeets literally decimating the bird feeders within an hour. I tried squirrel proof ones to see if they helped, but they jammed their claws in the mechanism to stop it closing. Then the pigeons managed to do the same. I spent a long time researching the best ideas and came across something on Pinterest. Someone had used a metal dog cage and attached it to a wooden platform. So that's what I did! Once set up, you just hang the feeders inside. Large birds like pigeons and parakeets cannot get inside. I get all the small birds, plus starlings. Not many thrushes or blackbirds around, so have no idea if they could get in. The squirrels do! It's amazing watching them slide through narrow gaps. I also covered the roof of the cage with a piece of plastic to keep the rain off, plus I am just about to replace the cage plastic base with something more mesh like. It can get a bit gooey after a while, so with mesh, all the dropped seed from the messy goldfinches, will go on to the ground where the pigeons can clear up. I even added a birdcam.