# Homemade Varmint Gaurds



## Pistol58 (Oct 9, 2009)

Anyone ever made some? If so Im looking for some tips, or what kind of wire you used? Im making two or three this weekend. Hoping to make big round ones, with little hinged doors to get to the timers.


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## Woodrow (Jun 17, 2004)

I have made one. I like everything about it except there were a couple design flaws that have been/will be corrected. 

I bolted 4 short pcs of pipe to the side of the barrel so that they extended about 1.5 feet below the feeder. I used that pipe as the corners of my cage by attaching the wire to it. I cut some 1x1's from treated lumber to complete the box and then used it to frame a door with hinges to get to the timer. There ain't nothing but humans getting in and it is really easy to get in too (some of the commercially made ones are a pain to open up), but the flaws are: 

I used wire with squares that were a little too small - corn can fit through it (I tested that before actually building it), but what I didn't realize is that when thrown not all of the corns passes through, some of it just bounces off the sides, so it just falls straight down through the bottom causing the corn to not be spread evenly. I've since cut some bigger holes, which has helped, but the other problem (bigger problem) is that I shouldn't have used the 1x1's at the top of the cage...they're right in line with the spinner plate! They really aren't needed, I just got carried away when building it trying to make it ultra sturdy, so all I need to do is go take them out...just didn't have time last time I was at the lease. 

For the wire I used some of the stuff you can pick up in the gardening section of home depot or lowes...not chicken wire...the squares are probably a 1/2" to 3/4" - I can remember which. 1" x 1" is proabably about right. 

The bigger/wider the cage the better in my opinion.


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## Pistol58 (Oct 9, 2009)

Gotcha. I appreciate the input....that sounds like a serious varmint cage you had built there bud...

Im thinking just using wire to attach it to the legs, and not use any screws or washers...we'll see how it works....


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

I think Academy sells add-on guards for drum type feeders. I used them before and they were great for *****/squirrels. Just make sure your tripod is staked and the drum is high enough to clear the hogs if you don't have pens http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=content&target=products/outdoors/hunting/feed/feeder_accessories


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## Pistol58 (Oct 9, 2009)

I have two feeders, ones a 55 gallon drum, the other one is one of the 30 gallon remington plastic barrells thats a cone or funnel at the bottom. Will those cages at Academy work for both? Thats why I was going to build them. If I had to build one, I might as well build two....


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## jjtroutkiller (Jan 28, 2005)

Pistol58 said:


> Will those cages at Academy work for both? Thats why I was going to build them. If I had to build one, I might as well build two....


 The cages at Academy will only give the something to hang on to while they spin you feeder like a DJ.
Build your own, you can get the cage clips and wire at TSC and make the cage the diameter of the barrel.


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## Pistol58 (Oct 9, 2009)

Dude, thats a funny picture.....dang ***** have an assembly going on your feeder.....complete with a decoy to distract the buck.....


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## jjtroutkiller (Jan 28, 2005)

We have a slight **** problem, I need to dig it up but I actually have a pic of a dozen or so ***** on the feeder at one time.

One of my feeders that has the guard from Academy on it now has the spinner from the motor laying in the bottom of the cage, headed out there this weekend to make some bigger guards.


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## ZenDaddy (May 22, 2004)

I've had limited success with the square wire box varmint guards Academy sells. The problem is they give the racoons a solid base to cling to while the reach through the wire bars and spin the feeder. In my case the simply broke the spinner plate emptying 55G of corn on the ground.

I've gone to an approach where I put funnels on the legs and those "Shark" carpet strip like devices you can buy at BassPro. This keeps racoons off the legs. I've put some chicken wire around the wire boxes I bought at Academy. However, it prevents the feeder from throwing corn very far.

So the million dollar question is how does this work? I'll tell you next time I come back from the Lease!


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## woodsman08 (Dec 17, 2009)

I just bought a set of the Shark Teeth too. Anyone have any luck with them?

http://www.bossbuck.com/products/parts/sharkteeth.html


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## 8pointsrbetter (Nov 21, 2008)

I use the guards from Academy as well, and they work fine with my feeder, granted there are no ladders the ***** to climb up on. I mount my feeder to a thin piece of metal found at Home Depot or Lowes, then I mount the guard to the outside edge of the metal plate. The sharp edges on the cut plate seem to help as well to keep them off.


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## ledfordtm (May 7, 2006)

*Homenade Cage*

I made these for all our feeders. They are heavy duty. The racoons can still still reach in but the distance to the spinner is to big for them to reach it. I had the academy cages but all they where good for was giving the racoons something to grab on to while they spun out all my corn.


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## Jock Ewing (Mar 26, 2006)

If you don't make them yourself as Woodrow suggested, I highly advise just purchasing one of the large round cages that are the same diameter as the 55 gallon barrell. They are large enough where, unlike the smaller square ones you buy at Academy, ***** cannot reach the spinner plate when hanging on it.

They cost twice as much as the square small ones, but they are worth it. I had the small ones on my feeder and ***** just hung on it and spinned the plate (according to my game cameras). Once I replaced them with the larger ones, no more *****. I went from needing to fill my feeder every four weeks to only needing to fill it every 8 weeks. So it:

(a) pays for itself with reduced corn use;

(b) eliminates all the darn game cam pics of *****;

(c) drastically reduces the likelihood of you showing up to an empty feeder; and

(d) lessens the likelihood of damage to your feeder as ***** cannot reach the mechanism.

I bought the round feeder guards from DK Outdoor in Houston. Here is a pic:


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## jjtroutkiller (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh how I do hate me some *****.


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## km2006dmax (Nov 21, 2009)

Might call chuck at South Texas tripods. We use his guards down in the river bottoms, and the ***** are THICK in there. They seem to hold up very well.


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## MLK (Oct 5, 2009)

There is another option to cages. On our protein feeder I keep them out by getting some tubs of cheap axle grease and coating about an 18" section of the legs. This keeps them out of the feeders. You have to re-apply the grease as it wears off maybe twice a season.


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## Alexnillo (Jan 10, 2008)

I like JJ's **** shock and awe method.
We always had the ***** hanging on the cages too and spinning the plates.
Does anyone have pics of feeders with pvc on the legs?


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Jock Ewing said:


> If you don't make them yourself as Woodrow suggested, I highly advise just purchasing one of the large round cages that are the same diameter as the 55 gallon barrell. They are large enough where, unlike the smaller square ones you buy at Academy, ***** cannot reach the spinner plate when hanging on it.
> 
> They cost twice as much as the square small ones, but they are worth it. I had the small ones on my feeder and ***** just hung on it and spinned the plate (according to my game cameras). Once I replaced them with the larger ones, no more *****. I went from needing to fill my feeder every four weeks to only needing to fill it every 8 weeks. So it:
> 
> ...


Like he said, if the size of the varmint guard is big enough that they can't reach the spinner, the problem is solved. Also, this way the mesh size can be a little larger and allow the corn to get thown father by missing the guard more.


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## jjtroutkiller (Jan 28, 2005)

Alexnillo said:


> I like JJ's **** shock and awe method.
> We always had the ***** hanging on the cages too and spinning the plates.
> Does anyone have pics of feeders with pvc on the legs?


Buccee's had a couple of the larger varmit guards, we will see if they do any good in the next month.
BTW, I also replaced a couple of spinner plates this time around due to the square type cages.


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## mangomania (Nov 12, 2005)

My problem are the darn blackbirds. They fly up to the motor and keep peckin at it. Ive seen them drop 5 lbs of corn in 2 hours. Im gonna start using the spinner that hides after corn is fed.


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

Forget the cages just buy you one of the good spinners that close up.


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## banpouchi (Feb 21, 2011)

CHARLIE said:


> Forget the cages just buy you one of the good spinners that close up.


Or buy a Lamco varmit proof feeder. They will actually pay for themselves. I used Varmint cages the diameter of the barrel but the buggers still found a way to get corn out. About 4 years ago, I bought my first Lamco and the amount of corn for that feeder dropped dramatically. These are expensive but work well.

I have not used the plates that close up but would think that would work well also, if the mechanism does not foul.

I am sure I will get a bit of flack for this, but you spend 1000 to 5000 plus annually to hunt. Spend a bit more on your equipment and make hunting more enjoyable by not having to fight problems year after year. By using the Lamco's, my maintenance has dramatically decreased and this is not because they are new as all three I have were bought used. They are also safer as you can fill from the ground, no ladder needed.

This is just an opinion. I have no vested interest in Lamco, it is just what I use. I am sure there are some other brands that are doing the same.


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## Shooter (Jun 10, 2004)

*Spinner Plates*

I've had good luck using these spinner plates Elusive Wildlife Technologies. They make them of both 1/4 and 1/8 inch motor shafts.


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## thomas78 (Nov 10, 2008)

On our rebuilt feeders I bought the 1x1 mesh roll at Lowes. You can make two large cages that will go around a square feeder or drum, it would be the same size as the pre-made ones already pictured. Only difference is the roll with make two for $14. Will agree that we have some Lamco feeder and their cages great, also Bucceess sells the new spin tech plate that is 1/2 the cost of the eliminator plate.


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## EIGHTSKATE (Feb 19, 2016)

Get an eliminator plate have two of them I have been using for two years with no issues.
Did see someone using the White rubbermaid utility shelving and cutting them to make a cage seemed like a good idea.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

woodsman08 said:


> I just bought a set of the Shark Teeth too. Anyone have any luck with them?
> 
> http://www.bossbuck.com/products/parts/sharkteeth.html


We have them...they dont work. They do not care about getting cut.


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## teebo (May 19, 2010)

*varmit guard*

seen it all and tried most of em. cages, pvc, sharks teeth and nothing worked. until - bout 4 years ago went to these.




 no more ***** period. cameras might show one eating under the feeder every now and then, but no pics of any more climbing on the feeder. they just give up. best money ever spent on feeders
good luck

teebo


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## JDT4430 (Aug 8, 2010)

I agree with the eliminator spinner plate. We put one on my dads feeder 3 years ago and have no issues with losing corn any more. Just a word of advise though if you do not feed year round make sure to test the spinner before filling with corn. Just push the test button like any other time and make sure the plate opens up. This past season after filling his feeder we found out that the plate had seized up and was not moving and we had to pull the feeder off and plug the hole in the feeder. All it took was a little lube and a few gentle taps from a hammer an several test spins an it was working like new again. Money well spent now I just need to buy one for mine.


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## steverino (Mar 8, 2006)

*Idea!*

I bet It's Catchy could make us some that would not rust and would be durable. Look at his traps! Oh, I need to contact him to get him to make me a few crab traps!!!


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## trout250 (Aug 24, 2005)

we got our wire at lowes 1" sq mesh made same size as the drum , used self taping screw and fender washers to attach below funnel. this stops cat squirrels.birds and *****. also have some eliminator feeders.


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