I have tried sticky goo on the pole, hoods, and other physical methods with limited and eventually no success. The squirrels always eventually figure out a way to hop, skip or jump to the feeder. They don't just eat the seed, they destroy the feeder sometimes.

I've tried various versions of hot pepper off the store shelves to no avail. Then earlier this year I found the real stuff. Capiscum in "Squirrel Away".

Beware, this stuff is very potent and you must be very careful when using it. I had to use about twice the recommended amount to get results. I realize that there are some who think using this method isn't good for a variety of reasons.

But everything else has failed. This succeed extremely well. The idea is to discourage the squirrels and break their habit of going to the feeder. After about two weeks, they abandoned their attempts to get to the feeder. So now I only use it if I have squirrels returning, which so far they keep their distance.

So I am not exposing the birds to ongoing amounts of it, which, even if they are not affected much.

More information:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/tree_squirrels.htm

http://www.wildbirdsuets.com/squirrelaway.htm
You can get it a most hardware or garden stores.

Doug
Seattle, Northgate