> > I've been putting out peanuts
> > for the Jays and squirrels in an effort to keep them out of the other
> > feeders, or at least slow them down, as they are making it harder for
the
> > little guys to get access to the sunflower seeds. This strategy works,
> but
> > ....... I'm spending much more on the jays and squirrels than the birds

Squirrels are cachers. An industrious squirrel can stash many times more
peanuts than he could ever eat in his brief squirrel lifetime if you make it
easy for him. You'll have peanuts sprouting all over your yard next spring.
Try setting out the peanuts but making them more time-consuming per peanut
for the squirrel to get. The squirrels will probably still go for the
peanuts over the bird seed (if you don't make peanut access too hard), but
you might reduce the number they're able to cache.

Kelly Cassidy