Quick Answer: The Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone II is the best safflower bird feeder for most yards — its weight-activated perches shut off access to anything heavier than a bird, and its 8-pound hopper is explicitly rated for safflower alongside mixed and sunflower seed. Safflower’s hard shell and bitter taste mean squirrels mostly leave it alone (Bird Watching HQ estimates about 90% won’t touch it), while cardinals, jays, chickadees, and doves eat it happily — and it works in almost any hopper, tube, or platform feeder you already own.
Switching to safflower is one of the cheapest, lowest-effort upgrades in backyard birding: you don’t buy a new feeder, you just change what’s in it. The seed itself does the work of filtering out squirrels, grackles, and starlings while leaving the songbirds you actually want to attract, particularly cardinals. That said, a few feeders are built to make the switch even more effective — either by adding weight-activated squirrel defense on top of the seed’s natural advantage, or by simply holding more of it so you’re not refilling every other day. Here are the ones worth buying, plus what to know about the seed itself before you fill up.
Safflower by the numbers
- About 90% of squirrels avoid it. Bird Watching HQ, which tracks backyard-feeder behavior, estimates that roughly nine in ten squirrels won’t eat safflower because of its bitter, hard-shelled coating — though the site notes some individual squirrels will eat it anyway if nothing else is available.
- Cardinals, jays, chickadees, nuthatches, grosbeaks, titmice, doves, and house finches eat it. According to Bird Watching HQ’s feeder-behavior notes, that’s the core list of regulars you can expect at a safflower feeder, with cardinals among its biggest fans.
- Grackles and starlings mostly skip it. Lyric Wild Bird Food and House Digest both note that nuisance flock birds like grackles and starlings generally avoid safflower, making it a way to discourage them without excluding songbirds.
- It costs more, but not by much. Black oil sunflower seed commonly retails around $1.25 per pound in bulk, while safflower typically runs closer to $1.50-$1.75 per pound — a modest premium for a seed that fewer pests are stealing.
Our top picks at a glance
| Feeder | Best for | Style | Capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone II | Best overall | Weight-activated hopper | 8 lb | ~$40 |
| Woodlink Going Green Large Premier | Best large capacity | Recycled-plastic hopper | 5.5 lb | ~$80 |
| Droll Yankees Big Top | Best adjustable squirrel guard | Dome-protected hopper/tube | 3 lb | ~$90 |
| Perky-Pet 391 Metal Tube Feeder | Best budget | 6-port tube | 1 lb | ~$24 |
1. Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone II — Best Overall
Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone II Country Style Feeder
- Weight-activated perches close feeding ports the instant a squirrel (or anything heavier than a bird) lands.
- 8-pound hopper is rated for mixed seed, black oil sunflower, hulled sunflower, or safflower.
- Metal construction with a locking lid and adjustable weight sensitivity for different pest sizes.
Filling any feeder with safflower already discourages most squirrels, but pairing the seed with a weight-activated design closes the gap for the stubborn ones Bird Watching HQ warns about. The Squirrel-Be-Gone II’s perches drop and seal the ports under extra weight, so even a squirrel willing to try safflower gets shut out mechanically. Its 8-pound capacity is explicitly listed as compatible with safflower by the manufacturer, and the metal country-house body holds up through a full winter of refills. It’s the feeder we’d recommend to anyone making the safflower switch specifically to solve a squirrel problem.
Curious which visitors are actually showing up once the safflower is out? Try Kindle Unlimited free and pull up a regional field guide to cross-check the cardinals and jays against the birds you expected — safflower draws a slightly different crowd than a plain sunflower mix, and it’s worth knowing who’s new.
2. Woodlink Going Green Large Premier Hopper — Best Large Capacity
Woodlink Going Green Large Premier Hopper Feeder
- 5.5-pound hopper means far fewer refills for households that feed heavily.
- Body is built from up to 90% post-consumer recycled plastic — it won't rot, crack, or fade like wood.
- Wide feeding ports handle safflower, sunflower, or mixed blends without clogging.
If you’re feeding a busy yard, the trade-off with switching to safflower is that it costs more per pound, so you want a feeder that doesn’t need constant topping off. The Woodlink Large Premier holds 5.5 pounds — well above most basic hoppers — in a body made from recycled plastic that shrugs off years of sun and rain without the rot or fade that eventually wrecks a cedar hopper. It isn’t marketed as squirrel-proof on its own, so pair it with a baffle if squirrels are aggressive in your yard, but for pure capacity and durability on a safflower budget, it’s the pick.
3. Droll Yankees Big Top — Best Adjustable Squirrel Guard
Droll Yankees Big Top Adjustable Dome Feeder
- Adjustable dome slides up or down to block squirrels while still letting birds land and feed.
- 3-pound capacity in a compact tube/hopper hybrid body.
- Made in the USA with a warranty against squirrel damage.
The Big Top adds a second, physical layer of defense on top of safflower’s natural squirrel resistance: its dome cover adjusts up and down on the hanger, so you can lower it until it blocks a squirrel’s reach while still leaving plenty of clearance for birds to perch and feed underneath. It’s a smaller feeder than the hopper picks above, at 3 pounds, so it suits yards with moderate traffic rather than a flock. Droll Yankees backs it with a warranty against squirrel damage, which is a reasonable hedge for the roughly one in ten squirrels that will eat safflower anyway.
4. Perky-Pet 391 Metal Tube Feeder — Best Budget
Perky-Pet 391 Blue Metal Tube Feeder
- 6 feeding ports with perches hold up to 1 pound of safflower, sunflower, or mixed seed.
- Powder-coated metal construction resists rust.
- Removable parts make it easy to empty and clean between fills.
You don’t need a dedicated “safflower feeder” to try the switch — safflower is close enough in size to a sunflower seed that it works in any standard tube feeder. The Perky-Pet 391 proves the point at around $24: six ports, a rust-resistant powder-coated body, and a 1-pound capacity that’s plenty for testing whether safflower thins out your squirrel traffic before you commit to a bigger, pricier hopper. It’s the feeder to buy if you want to see the seed work before spending $80-90 on the capacity picks above.
How to choose a safflower feeder
- Any feeder works — the seed does the filtering. You don’t need a specialty product; a hopper, tube, or platform feeder you already own will handle safflower fine. Buy new hardware only if you also want more capacity or extra squirrel defense.
- Add weight-activation for stubborn squirrels. Safflower stops most squirrels, but not all of them. A weight-activated hopper like the Squirrel-Be-Gone II covers the exceptions Bird Watching HQ warns about.
- Size the capacity to your traffic. Cardinals, jays, and doves that favor safflower tend to visit in numbers, so a 1-pound tube empties fast in a busy yard — step up to a 5+ pound hopper if you’re refilling more than twice a week.
- Expect a slower first week. Some birds take a few days to notice a new seed type in a familiar feeder. Leave the old seed to run out naturally rather than swapping cold turkey, so the transition doesn’t look like an empty feeder to your regulars.
- Pair it with your squirrel setup. If squirrels are already a serious problem, safflower is a supplement to, not a replacement for, a squirrel-proof bird feeder or a pole and baffle — see our guides for the full setup.
Safflower is one of several seed types worth stocking depending on who you’re trying to attract — see our best wild bird food guide for full blends, and our best bird feeder for cardinals guide if safflower’s biggest fan is the bird you’re specifically chasing. Want to actually see who’s eating it? Check our best bird feeder camera picks for an AI feeder that photographs and identifies every visitor.
The bottom line
Safflower is the rare backyard-birding upgrade that costs you almost nothing to try: fill your existing feeder with it instead of sunflower or mixed seed, and squirrels, grackles, and starlings mostly filter themselves out while cardinals, jays, and chickadees keep coming back. For a feeder built to close the gap on the squirrels that don’t get the memo, the Perky-Pet Squirrel-Be-Gone II is the best all-around buy. Feeding a busy yard, get the Woodlink Going Green Large Premier for capacity, add a Droll Yankees Big Top if you want an adjustable physical guard, or just test the seed first in a budget Perky-Pet 391 tube feeder you can upgrade from later.