Quick Summary
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus is a proven, reliable and durable product that is well-accepted by most birds. With room for five pounds (2 kg) of bird seed and six feeding ports you’ll be feeding lots of birds for a long time. It IS a squirrel proof bird feeder under almost all conditions, and comes with a truly excellent warranty.
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Conclusion:
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus is an excellent product backed by an amazing guarantee (which should help you feel better about the price.) The vast majority of users are delighted with this product and many say they love it enough to have several of them.
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Brome Squirrel Buster Plus Bird Feeder Review
Skirt drops to close feeding ports
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus bird feeder was built to make little furry monsters lose their little furry minds!
How it works: when a squirrel puts its weight on the perch, the green skirt on the feeder drops down to cover the feed ports - leaving the squirrel to wonder what happened to the tasty food that was right there!
You might have more fun watching the squirrels try to figure this out than you do watching the birds!
With six feeding ports, there’s room for a lot of birds to come, and many Brome Squirrel Buster Plus owners report that cardinals and other birds take to this feeder immediately.
However, quite a few report that cardinals won’t go near it, or give up trying to feed from it. If you've got your heart set on attracting cardinals, the Arundale Sky Cafe would probably be a better choice.
Who is this product for?
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus was designed to combat (adult) gray squirrels, so if you're having trouble with gray squirrels, this product is a good choice for you.
The closing mechanism is adjustable for different weights, so if you want to focus on the smaller songbirds, you can easily prevent bigger birds from feeding.
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus is also a pretty great all-around bird feeder. It holds so much food that you'll enjoy not having to fill it up every day or two.
As with all effective squirrel resistant bird feeders, the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus is expensive. However, should you have any problems with it, Brome bird care will replace the feeder and pay the shipping - for life!
What's included
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus comes with an optional "cardinal ring" which is meant to help cardinals use the feeder. This is a circular perch that attaches to the "stick" perches normally found on tube feeders.
However, cardinals have short, stiff necks, which means they can only feed facing pretty much directly forward.
As you can see in the photo there's not much room for the cardinal to move forward, which is probably why many won't used this feeder.
How to use the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus
You'll need to assemble the Squirrel Buster Plus before you can use it, but the instructions are clear and no tools are required. Here's a video that walks you through the assembly process:
The closing mechanism is factory-set to hold 3.5 ounces or 100 grams, and Brome recommends that you leave it that way for the first little while.
If you find you need to adjust the weight trigger higher or lower, you can do this easily. It's also easy to make the "stick" perches a little longer or short to suit different kinds of birds.
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus can either be hung from a tree or hook, or mounted on a metal pole with an outside diameter of one inch. You'll need an adapter to place the feeder on a pole.
Note that neither the adapter nor the pole are included with the feeder.
If you’re a handy DIYer, cheap electrical conduit piping will also work if it stays vertical.
Pro Tip: If you decide to go with metal pipe buy the adapter first so you can try it on the pipe to be sure it will fit. (A lot of people have purchased the wrong size pipe by mistake.)
Amazon carries a great 5-piece feeder pole kit made by Erva. It’s a bit pricey, but it does get great reviews.
Placement
You can place this Brome Squirrel Buster Plus anywhere that has 18” clearance both vertically and horizontally. This prevents squirrels from reaching the food with their front paws while keeping most of their weight off the feeder.
Capacity
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus’s generous five-pound capacity means you’re also going to love not having to refill your feeder every day (unless you’re feeding a huge flock of birds. ) That makes this feeder attractive even if you don’t actually need a squirrel proof bird feeder.
Filling
Pretty much any kind of seed will work in the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus. It doesn’t have compartments so you can only use one kind or mix at a time.
You’ll need to take the feeder down to fill it, but the lid opens easily for refilling and is easy to put back in place.
If you want to offer something other than seeds, Brome also makes a squirrel proof feeder designed for shelled peanuts, and another one for suet.
Cleaning
You'll have to take the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus apart to give it a thorough cleaning, Brome recommends using vinegar instead of bleach for cleaning but bleach will disinfect, vinegar won't. Grapefruit Seed Extract is non-toxic and 10 to 100 times more effective than bleach.
We don't recommend putting any bird feeder in the dishwasher, ever.
Related: 60 (Sickening) Reasons NOT to Clean Your Bird Feeder in the Dishwasher!
Other
Brome claims this feeder is “chew proof”, but couldn't provide any substantive basis for this claim when I asked. Although most owners report no troubles, a few have experienced significant squirrel damage with the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus.
Alternatives to the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus
Arundale Sky Cafe - read our review - a great feeder for cardinals and all other birds
Woodlink Caged 6-Port Seed Tube Feeder - read our review - great for smaller birds & spaces
Brome Squirrel Solution200 - read our review - same great quality & guarantee
People who own the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus say
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Conclusion
The Brome Squirrel Buster Plus is a proven, reliable and durable product that is well-accepted by most birds, holds a large amount of seed and stops all but the most determined squirrels. Even if you’re not battling squirrels this feeder is a good investment.
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