I've had my feeder set up since march. Everytime I go to fill it up with cornI take my 4 wheeler which obviously scares off any game. Last Sunday though I snuck up to the location hoping to catch a glimpse of some deer but instead I counted 7 squirrels and 5 crows feasting on the grub. Any (legal) ideas to get rid of the critters that are eating the food intended for the deer? Squirrel season comes in only 1 week before archery season does here in WV so i'm notgoing to get the chance to weed them out. I don't want to be walking all over my "sacred ground" just a week before deer season. Any ideas? Has anyone else had this problem? thanks!

Best shut the feeder down until about Labor Day. There is too much food out therefor a feeder to work well.Get a feeder control unit that you can set for an evening feeding only. The morning feeding is usually wasted except in the winter time.

I wouldn't be surprised if 70% + of the corn put out for deer isn't consumed by coons, squirrels, birds, etc.

In my oak stand feeder I have sat and counted more than 20 squirrels eating all at once. I do beleive in seasons so they are safe for now. When time comes I got a nephew and a nice 22 that shoots cb caps like a dream. I am going to put him in that stand all weekend and pay him 2 bucks a squirrel. i hope he doesnt bankrupt me.
Crows: Get an owl dummy. It holds the off for a while. But you have to change its position every now and then or they know it is a fake.

GIVE IT TIME, I FEED IN TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN WV. BOTH PLACES HAVE NATURALLY THINNED THEMSELVES OUT. ONE HAS A MONSTER HAWK THAT HANGS OUT ALL DAY AND THE OTHER HAS A GOOD OWL THAT GETS THE JOB DONE. I WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

Put a camera there and see if you have any deer, I bet you will be suprised that it's not all varmints!!!!

Thanks Guys! I guess I'll just have to take care of the critters when their respective seasons come in. I currently have my feeder spitting out the corn at 7 a.m. My reasoning was to maybe get the deer in the habit of feeding during the day, what are your thoughts on that? Should I maybe set it to feed in the evening instead? Thanks for the help

Deer are grazing animals. If you feed one time per day, the first few deer on the site will eat everything. I Feed 3 times per day, in small amounts. there are better things than corn availible in the forest for antler grow during the summer months. I put large amounts of corn out during the winter and sweet feed. What part of Wv are you from?

I'm in Logan. I may tell it to feed a few times a day as well. My main reason to feeding them so early in the summer is to keep them on my property as much as possible. The more they wander off the more likely they'll get poached. I also have a few of the trophy rocks around my feeder. It dosent seem like they're messing with it much but I'll find out for sure when I get my camera setup.

If you need to take them out i suggest sitting in a tree near by and picking them off with a bow. Far less noisy and good practice for when season rolls around. I would make sure to do it well before season though.