If you are lucky enough to live in a part of the country that is home to a variety of bird species, then we are sure that you do everything you can to get those little guys to visit your backyard or garden. After all, there’s nothing more amazing than sipping your morning coffee and getting to watch robins, bluebirds, and woodpeckers fly by!

It’s no secret that one of the easiest ways to attract birds is by offering up some seed. Even though this method usually works like a charm, it also comes with quite the caveat—SQUIRRELS!

Sure, these little rodents can be cute, but they tend to lose all of their charm when you see them getting into that feeder and stealing all of the bird seed that was meant for your feathered friends.

It’s a problem that YouTuber Robert Krampf found himself dealing with, until he came up with a smart solution! Instead of simply folding and allowing his resident furry thief to gorge on his fill of seeds, the handy guy hatched a brilliant plan.

Krampf grabbed a bottle of ordinary Vaseline and used it to slick down the pole that led to the bird feeder. His idea was that the pesky squirrel would simply “slide” off the greasy pole before he got a chance to get to the top.

Not surprisingly, Krampf’s strategy ended up working like magic—every time the little guy attempted to climb up to steal more bird seed, he would quickly slide down before he could manage to get more than a foot off the ground. Why haven’t we thought of that?!

squirrel sliding down pole in gardenRobertKrampf

Now, if you are concerned about the well-being of this particular squirrel, then know that you are not alone. Plenty of viewers have loaded up the video’s comments section with accusations of animal cruelty—some are even worried that this little guy is going to starve now that he doesn’t have access to the bird seed.

Luckily, conscientious Krampf has addressed the peanut gallery and re-assured them that the rodent is doing just fine. He writes:

For anyone who is concerned about the squirrel, he still raids our other two feeders and the vegetable garden. The tiny amount of Vaseline used is non-toxic, the kind used for lip balm. He quickly learned that this feeder was not worth the trouble, so we have not put more on the pole, and the birds are delighted to actually get some of the bird seed.

Phew! At least we can all rest easy knowing that the free-loading squirrel isn’t going hungry!

Now that you know all about the backstory behind this hilarious clip, it’s time that you watch the foiled bird seed robbery attempt for yourself. Just click on the video below to see this silly guy finally learn his lesson. Not a bad idea, if you ask us!

What do you think of this opportunistic squirrel? Do you have the same problem in your garden? How do you keep squirrels away from your bird seed?