INRE: @bunsenburner post Checkout some of the youtube videos of hummingbird disputes. Very comical.
The ground squirrels in my neighborhood are very destructive. They burrow under driveways and cause them to collapse.
I gave up on tulips between the deer eating the tops and the chipmunks and squirrels eating the bulbs.
I don’t like ANY rodents–they cause destruction and our house is made of wood. I don’t want any burrowing and gnawing or anything! The birds have to forage for themselves, we won’t feed them either, intentionally. It’s enough that we have trees that have fruits that they like to eat but have to work for.
My mom spends a lot of time sitting at the table, looking out the window. The birds have really perked her up- the squirrels too, for that matter. Today we had chickadees, cardinals, and mourning doves. The gymnast squirrel kept climbing the crisco-covered pole, and kept sliding back down.
I didn’t think we had so much wildlife until they ate every single satsuma off my tree. Blue jays and squirrels were the main culprits. Squirrels would take one bite and just leave it there and insects would come and hollow it out. B-stids!
You could do what a third grade classmate of my son’s did years ago when the class was asked to design a squirrel-proof bird feeder: she came in with an aluminum tray full of dirt and worms. Birds eat worms, but squirrels don’t.
We tried gelatinized baby oil, which worked for a while. Our squirrels didn’t care about peppers or baffles but we finally stopped them with slinkys strung on the rope suspending the feeder. Not only does it work, rain or shine, but it’s hilarious.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=58YaNjF0V08
Mean but funny. 
@BunsenBurner OMG … the slow motion! I just spit iced tea all over my keyboard. =))
After trying Crisco on the pole, various peppers (cayenne, chili, flakes, etc.) in the feeders, and a slinky, we have finally reached a compromise with our squirrels. I switched to an 8 ft shepherds hook with a slinky - my previous pole was 6 feet and the squirrels could jump from the ground. The squirrels have given up trying to climb the poles. I let them eat out of our other bird feeder that hangs across the yard, but our window view is wonderful each day. Cardinals, sparrows, chickadees and more feed in peace now. And it’s almost time to put out the hummingbird feeders!
Great to hear that the bushy tailed rats lost the battle over the feeder and do not spoil your morning view. 
Our hummers have been very active lately. We need to get a feeder for them because they are periodically checking out the plants on my kitchen window.
I put a slinky over our pole and in 2 days the darn squirrel was scampering up the pole as if the slinky wasn’t there. So I slid some mouse traps in the slinky. It’s day to day…
You know what I don’t get? I’m am scared to DEATH of a mouse or rat, but squirrels don’t bother me all. Go figure…
I just call it a wildlife feeder and call it a day.
I started naming the squirrels. The leader was called broken tail, very clever right? We have walnut trees so they occupy themselves mostly with that. We do hummingbird feeders. To me it’s not the squirrels I hate, it’s the groundhogs.
Why all the angst about squirrels? It’s the deer I hate.
You can hit a squirrel with your car and nothing bad happens to the car.
PSA: I live in NYC. My neighborhood has tons of squirrels and a fair number of tourists. The tourists feed the squirrels. They don’t have to deal with the results. We do. The squirrels now feel that any food in a human hand or near it is for them. They are jumping into strollers and grabbing food out of a toddler’s hand. Climbing up onto the outdoor tables at the local restaurant and taking people’s food. The local authorities tried to poison the squirrels. This was not only a risk to small kids–who’d ingest the poisoned bait–but it killed at least 4 falcons who ate squirrels who had ingested the poison.
So when you visit a city, please do not take a break on a park bench and feed the squirrels!!!
Deer deserve their own thread… cute pests.