Definitely not squirrel proof. Squirrel climbed off to get sunflower seed.

This guy rocks! The squirrels have chewed the lid, chewed the stainless wire rope hanger, but have not accessed the sunflower seeds inside. It also is tough. We managed to knock it off our deck railing (16 foot drop onto gravel) a couple times and dented it a bit, but still fully functional. The squirrels give up each year, until a new litter comes along and tries. Once they learn then they too give up trying.

I still love this feeder so much after 7 years that I just bought two more. I tried several other "squirrel proof" feeders before this and they were all a complete waste of money. This feeder, on the other hand, is still working after squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and even bears have all taken turns at it. Major Pros: (1) It absolutely does what it promises and prevents the squirrels from emptying all the seed in a matter of hours. And that's not for lack of trying. I have pictures of the silly squirrels trying to chew their way into the feeder from all directions, but they have since learned and don't even bother to try anymore. (2) It has held up year after year, through all four seasons. Major Con: The bird perches are held in place by cheap plastic clips that are easily broken. It really only takes one squirrel to try hanging from a perch to snap the clip and cause the perch to fall from the feeder. The work-around is to simply hold the perches in place using zip-ties. Unfortunately, it's an extremely annoying thing to have to do to all four perches. In fact, we left one of the perches off entirely to give the squirrels a harder time holding onto the feeder and the pole at the same time. Nonetheless, I recommend this feeder to everyone I know who loves feeding their birds but has a problem with squirrels.

We purchased two of these bird feeders and were initially satisfied with the product. The loosening of the retention screw as previously noted not only results in the bottom of the feeder coming off, but also the loss of the perches. On one of our feeders we have lost three of the four perches, but cannot return the device as we are outside of the 30 day return window and there are no replacement parts available. Very disappointed in this product, especially for the cost.