Woodpeckers of all types are attracted to easy-to-use and attractive suet logs. In this video, Wayzata Store Manager Melissa Block, shows how to fit standard suet plugs into holes of varying sizes by simply heating them a little.
Transcript:
Hi I’m Melissa I’m the manager or our Wayzata All Seasons Wild Bird Store and today I want to talk about using Suet logs to feed the Woodpeckers in your backyard. There are quite a few options for feeding suet, suet logs is one of them and it seems to be very popular with the birds. We have ones that are made out of birch, they’re made locally. This is another longer made of preserved wood and we have them made of recycled plastic. All of the holes seem to vary a little bit, so we’re going to show how to put the plugs in so they fit each hole.
The easiest way to do this is—this is the way I do it— is I cut open the package so I can get at the logs and to put them in the microwave for, you know like 30 seconds, or even, if it’s a sunny warm day you can just sit them out in the sun for a few minutes, so they could soft enough that when you push your finger in you can manipulate the suet dough. Just put the suet in the microwave, I do it for about 30 seconds, or like I said you can just set it out on a sunny day— set it all on my driveway, set it on a deck railing— and that makes it pretty easy to manipulate to fit into the holes.
Okay, it’s all ready, it’s very soft. Now go put it in the plugs! Once the plugs are soft enough, sort of like cookie dough, you can just shake them into the sides, manipulate them into size, slide them into the hole, and you put it in this and then here it becomes technical, you have to squish it in to the suet log. You want the suet to adhere to, like, the complete inside of the hole.
After you have filled all the holes squishing them in so it adheres to the inside of the suet log you can just hang it in a tree and it’s ready to go. It feels very natural for the woodpeckers to use this feeder. Suet plugs come in a variety of flavors: there’s a roasted peanut, there’s plain, a no-melt that’s good to use during the warmer months, and sunflower. There’s also, if you have problems with squirrels, hot pepper suet plugs. Birds have very few taste buds so it doesn’t matter to them, but the squirrels don’t like it at all.
If you have any questions about using a suet log or the suet plugs, please stop in at any one of our five stores we’ll answer your questions.