Bird Feeder Help & FAQ

Nearly every case is placement. Hang any PestOff feeder at least 18 inches from any vertical surface (wall, fence, post or tree trunk) and at least 5 feet off the ground, so a squirrel cannot reach the ports from a foothold or jump onto the feeder from above. A Roamwild hanging bracket or the PestOff Bird Feeding Station gives exactly that clearance.

If the feeder is already placed correctly and squirrels still get seed, email a photo of your setup to info@roam-wild.com. Our team will check the hang and, under the PestOff Promise, make it right.

Feed sunflower hearts (also sold as sunflower chips). Songbirds such as cardinals, chickadees, titmice and finches prefer them, they are highly nutritious, and there are no shells to spill. Once birds find a reliable source they return daily. We do not sell seed in the US; any wild-bird store or hardware store carries 100% sunflower hearts.

Site the feeder in a quiet spot away from heavy foot or vehicle traffic, with cover nearby, and hang it at least 18 inches from any vertical surface. Give a new feeder one to three weeks; birds take time to trust it.

The PestOff feeder slows starlings down but is not fully starling-proof: a European starling weighs about 2 to 3.6 oz, close to the weight at which the ports close. In the United States the European starling is an introduced species and is not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so you are free to exclude it. The PestOff Deer/Starling Proof Cage Accessory ($22.99) stops starlings and grackles reaching the ports while songbirds pass through. Feeding sunflower hearts rather than a mix containing suet or dried mealworms also makes the feeder far less attractive to starlings.

The PestOff tube is polycarbonate and cannot rust; the baffles and perches are steel. In coastal areas salt air can cause surface rust on metal parts sooner than expected. Rinsing the metal parts monthly helps, and many customers touch up with a metal spray paint. If you do not live near the coast and a metal part has rusted on a recent purchase, email info@roam-wild.com and we will arrange a replacement part.

We recommend removing the lower assembly from the tube and soaking it in hot water for 10 minutes before giving it a good scrub. To help you with the process, we have a video that demonstrates this. You can check it out here.

Here are the steps to slide the metal collar up the tube to access the tube release tabs:

1) Locate the pips around the edge of the metal lower collar.

2) Locally release each pip so it clicks over the plastic retaining flange.

3) Slide the metal collar up the tube to expose the green tube release lugs.

4) Press each tube release lug in and lift the tube away from the lower assembly.

You can also watch this video for more help on removing the lower metal collar. If you have the suet feeder then please watch this video.

We hope this helps you keep your feeder clean and in great condition for the birds to enjoy.

It can be frustrating but perseverance is key! Do you have other busy feeders in your garden?

Please follow steps below - It can take some time for the little birds to build confidence with a new feeder.

• Hang both your old feeder and new PestOff feeder next to each other - 1 foot apart.
• Fill your new feeder with 100% sunflower hearts. The little birds will go crazy for this.

Let the old feeder run out (do not refill) and then hopefully the little birds will simply hop onto your new PestOff Bird Feeder.

This is likely due to the seed shield not being inserted correctly please watch this video for installation instructions.

If there are a few scattered seeds on the ground then this could be a seed issue - by feeding a mixed seed the birds can be fussy and only eat what they like and shovel the rest on the floor. Cleanest feeding is just offering sunflower hearts as this is by far their most preferred food.

If you are feeding a mixed seed then we would recommend switching to sunflower hearts only. This is because larger birds such as crows and magpies are most attracted to anything that contains traces of suet or mealworm.

Believe it or not songbirds can be very fussy eaters, however they go crazy for sunflower hearts so it will no doubt not bother them if you do stop feeding a mixed seed; the only bothered birds will be the larger ones!

It can take some time for the birds to build confidence with the feeder.

We would recommend to try feeding suet pellets and dried mealworms in one side and then mixed and sunflower hearts in the other side.

Make sure that the feeder is on a window as close to other busy feeders as possible and near to bushes where birds can sit and look at it. To get the most out of your Arch Window Feeder Watch This Video

To ensure that your PestOff Bird Feeding Station is as stable as possible we advise to firmly place the ground stake into the ground as far as possible so that the stabilisers are barely visible above surface. You may wish to get a second person to help you.

Bird Feeding Station Assembly - Watch This Video

Seed is not included with any Roamwild feeder. For the PestOff range we recommend 100% sunflower hearts or black oil sunflower seed, which attract the widest range of songbirds and spill less than mixed seed. The PestOff 2.0 for Peanuts takes peanuts and dried mealworms, and the PestOff 2.0 for Nyjer takes nyjer (thistle) seed for finches.

The ports are set so songbirds keep feeding. A northern cardinal weighs about 1.5 to 1.7 oz and a blue jay about 2.5 to 3.5 oz, well below the weight of a squirrel (14 to 21 oz for an eastern gray squirrel). BWD Magazine's test found the PestOff lets cardinals and red-bellied woodpeckers feed while excluding grackles, mourning doves and squirrels. If a port closes under a cardinal, check that the feeder hangs freely and that the perch is not resting on the anti-squirrel ring or any surface, then email a photo to info@roam-wild.com.

Each PestOff port has its own spring, so a squirrel on one perch closes only that port and the bird on the other keeps eating. Multi-port feeders that hang all their ports on one spring (often six ports) close every port at once. Two independently sprung ports means two birds feed at a time; if you have a busy yard, hang two feeders 18 inches apart or add the 8 lb Mega PestOff.

Every two weeks, and weekly in hot or wet weather or if you see a sick bird. Cornell Lab's Project FeederWatch research found that scrubbing away debris and then soaking in a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) removes far more Salmonella than soap and water alone. Rinse thoroughly and let the feeder dry completely before refilling. The PestOff separates by hand without tools; see the disassembly videos below. Wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards, as the CDC advises.