Last updated: August 21, 2026
Squirrels are a puzzle to solve. Raccoons and bears are not. Both are heavier, stronger and smarter than the hardware, both work at night, and neither one is going to be outwitted by a better feeder. The answer for both is the same and it is not a purchase: the food is not out there when they come.
The difference between them is how urgent that is. A raccoon costs you a feeder and a night’s seed. A bear that learns your yard is a food source becomes a problem for the whole neighborhood and, in the end, usually a problem for the bear. This is one place where the wildlife agencies are unanimous and where the advice is genuinely worth following to the letter.
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Quick Answer
How do you keep raccoons and bears away from a bird feeder?
- Raccoons: bring the feeder in at dusk and put it back out in the morning. That alone solves most cases.
- Raccoons, second line: a smooth pole with a tall baffle and no climbing route from a fence or a roof.
- Bears: take the feeders down entirely for the months your state wildlife agency advises. Nothing else works.
- Clean up what is on the ground, and store the seed sack somewhere sealed and indoors.
Bottom line: for raccoons it is a routine, for bears it is a season. Check what your state wildlife agency advises for your area.
Why Hardware Is Not the Answer Here
A raccoon has hands. It can hold a feeder, turn a lid, unclip a hook and lift a lift off cage, and it weighs enough to bend hardware that a squirrel only climbs. A bear can remove the pole. There is no mechanism sold for a backyard feeder that meaningfully changes either of those facts.
What does change things is timing. Both animals are largely nocturnal at feeders, so a feeder that is indoors overnight is a feeder they never learn about. That is a habit rather than a product, and it is the most effective single thing on this page.
Raccoons: Bring It In at Dusk
The routine is simple. Take the feeder down at dusk, put it somewhere enclosed, and rehang it in the morning. Birds feed during the day and lose nothing; the raccoon arrives to an empty pole for a few nights and stops including your yard in its rounds.
Feeders that unhook by hand make this bearable. If yours needs a stepladder and both hands, either lower the arm or accept that you will stop doing it by the second week, which is how most people end up back where they started.
The Baffle Still Helps
A tall stovepipe baffle on a smooth pole slows a raccoon down as well, because it climbs a pole much the way a squirrel does. It will not stop one that has already learned there is food up there, but combined with the dusk routine it keeps the casual visitor from ever finding out. Our baffle guide covers the shapes and heights.
Raccoons: The Rest of the Yard
Feeders are rarely the only draw. Spilled seed under the pole, a garbage can with a loose lid, pet food left on a porch and fallen fruit all keep an animal coming back, and once it is visiting for one of those it will find the feeder eventually.
Catching the spill is the piece that overlaps with everything else. A wide drained tray under the feeder cuts the ground seed dramatically, which also handles the rodent side of the problem covered in our rodent resistant feeding guide.
Bears: Take the Feeders Down
In bear country this stops being a preference. State wildlife agencies are consistent and blunt about it: bird seed is dense, high fat food, bears learn where it is, and a bear that loses its wariness of houses often ends up being killed. The feeder is where that chain starts.
The specific window varies by state, so this is one to look up rather than guess. Vermont Fish and Wildlife advises putting feeders out only from December through the end of March. New Hampshire Fish and Game advises stopping bird feeding by April 1, and earlier in the southern part of the state. Your own state wildlife agency publishes the dates that apply where you live, and those dates are the ones to follow.
What Counts as Bear Country
More of the country than most people think, and the range has been expanding. If you have never seen one, that is not the same as there not being one, and your state wildlife agency is the place to check rather than a neighbor’s memory. Where bears are present, no feeder design and no pole height changes the advice.
What Works Against What
The table below is deliberately short on hardware, because that is what the honest answer looks like.
| Measure | Raccoons | Bears | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bring feeders in at dusk | Very effective | Not sufficient on its own | The core habit for raccoons |
| Tall baffle on a smooth pole | Helps | No effect | Combine with the dusk routine |
| Seasonal removal | Not needed | The only reliable answer | Dates from your state agency |
| Cleaning up spilled seed | Helps a lot | Important | Also handles rodents |
| Sealed indoor seed storage | Helps | Important | Sheds and garages are not sealed |
| Traps, poisons, repellents | Not advised | Not advised | Call the state wildlife agency |
Storage and Cleanup
A sack of seed in a shed or an open garage is an attractant in its own right, and both raccoons and bears can get into either. A sealed metal container, kept somewhere genuinely closed, removes that and keeps moths and damp out at the same time. Our seed storage guide covers the containers.
Under the feeder, rake or sweep up what has accumulated rather than leaving it to be found. On hard surfaces that takes a minute; on a border it is worth turning the mulch over occasionally. Switching to hulled seed reduces how much there is in the first place, which our no mess seed guide goes into.
What We Will Not Suggest
No traps, no poisons, no repellent chemicals, no electric deterrents and nothing greased. Trapping and relocating wildlife is regulated in most states and is often illegal for a homeowner to do, and poisons put out for mammals move into the hawks and owls that hunt them. None of it belongs at a bird feeding station.
If an animal has moved in under a deck or into a roof space, that is not a feeder problem any more. The contact is your state wildlife agency or a licensed wildlife control operator, and a sick or injured animal goes to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. We do not name methods, because the correct method depends on your state’s rules and on someone qualified assessing the situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to stop raccoons at a feeder? Take the feeder in at dusk and put it out in the morning. Raccoons feed at night, so an empty pole for a few nights removes your yard from the route. Hardware helps at the margins; the routine does the work.
Is there a bear proof bird feeder? Not for a backyard. Bears are strong enough to take down poles and open almost anything a homeowner can hang. In bear country the answer from state wildlife agencies is seasonal removal, not a different feeder.
When should I take feeders down for bears? It varies by state. Vermont Fish and Wildlife advises feeders only from December through the end of March, and New Hampshire Fish and Game advises stopping by April 1, earlier in the south of the state. Look up what your own state wildlife agency advises.
Will a baffle stop a raccoon? It slows one down, since raccoons climb poles much as squirrels do. It will not stop one that already knows there is food up there. Use it alongside bringing the feeder in, not instead.
Can I just hang the feeder higher? Higher and further out helps against raccoons and does nothing against bears. It also makes the feeder harder to bring in each evening, which is the part that actually matters.
What if a raccoon family has moved in nearby? That is beyond feeder management. Contact your state wildlife agency or a licensed wildlife control operator. Do not attempt trapping or relocation yourself, since both are regulated in most states.
The Bottom Line
For raccoons, build the habit: feeder in at dusk, out in the morning, spill swept up, seed sealed indoors. A tall baffle on a smooth pole makes that routine more forgiving. For bears, follow the season your state wildlife agency publishes and take the feeders down entirely, because no hardware substitutes for an empty yard. Read next: our baffle shapes guide and the feeder pole guide for the setup that helps most.