How to Create a Bear‐Proof Bird Feeding Station

Cricket67

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posted on 7 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Do black bears live in your area? It can be frustrating (and scary!) to see these critters hanging around your bird feeding stations after they wake up from hibernation. Try not to worry, though—with the right tools and supplies, you can bear-proof your bird feeding station. We've covered everything you need to know, so you can feed the birds without any bears interfering.

Steps

Pick two trees.

They should be about 10 to 50 feet (3 to 20 m) apart. They need to be at least 4" in diameter at the height for attacking the wire. The desired height for attaching the wire should be at least 8' -- higher for wider tree spacing to allow for droop.

Mount the angle brackets to the back of the winch.

Keep the angle away from the handle and parallel to the drum. You may need to drill holes in the bracket to fit the winch hole pattern.

Mount the winch to one tree with the direction control on the bottom.

Use lag bolts to mount the winch.

Put the eye bolt into the same tree as the winch.

Use a ladder to accomplish this task.

Mount the other eye bolt in the other tree.

Mount it at approximately the same height as the first eye bolts. (The picture shows wire with thimble and clamp, and eye bolt. A Quick Link was not used, but is recommended.)

Install the thimble in the free end of the wire.

Use one or two cable clamps to install the thimble.

Connect the thimble eye to this last tree's eye bolt.

Use a Quick Link to make this connection.

Unwind the wire completely.

Thread the loose end through the pulley or disassemble the pulley to insert the wire. Keep in mind that if you do not have a pulley that disassembles, this is a crucial step!

Move the ladder back to the tree with the winch.

Using the other Quick Link, attach the pulley to the eye bolt above the winch.

Attach the free end of the wire to the winch drum using one cable clamp.

There is no strain on this attachment, so one clamp is very adequate.

Wind the loose wire onto the drum.

Maintain some tension on the loose wire as you wind it. Add one or more S-hooks to roughly the middle of the wire before getting the wire taut. Place a feeder or other weight on the hook for ease in lowering the wire. Two people are helpful, but not critical, at this step.