Updated at: 06-06-2023 - By: Jane Brody

While it may appear straightforward to drive a simple pole with a spike into the ground, there are quite a few challenges that must be addressed.

You can only properly install a bird feeder pole into a lawn or turf area by using your own body weight to press the pole firmly into the ground. If you want to avoid a leaning pole, a width of more than 1 foot is ideal. First, remove the pole if necessary so that you can drive the spike into the ground, and then reassemble the pole.

In Ground Bird Feeder Pole

Consider the safety and security of your bird feeders while deciding where to plant the pole in the ground.

You should look for an open area on the grass or turf where you may easily pierce the ground with a stick.

Take the completed shepherd’s hook or bird feeding station pole and firmly pierce it into the ground at a 90-degree angle.

Because feeder poles may be broken down into component parts for transport, only the spike end needs to be driven into the ground. After driving the pole spike at least a foot into the ground, you can proceed to screw the remaining components together.

It shouldn’t take much to figure out how to attract birds to a pole-mounted feeder, and it certainly won’t do any harm to drive the pole deep into the ground if that’s what it takes to keep the feeders from looking like they’re dangling dangerously close to the pavement.

To prevent squirrels from ascending the pole, you’ll want to install a squirrel baffle as high up the pole as space allows.

As of right now, the ground is too hard to successfully impale a pole into it.

In the summer or hotter climes, you can soften the grass or turf with a pail of boiling hot water instead of waiting for it to rain.

Simply impale pole in ground

A bird feeder pole is best installed by impaling it into a patch of lawn with somewhat soft turf.

It’s best to wait until the ground has softened from recent rain before impaling the pole, but it’s doable with some effort and timing.

Metal poles used for shepherd’s hooks or bird feeders are usually designed with a spike at the end so that they may be driven into the ground. If there is no spike available, a blunt end will have to do, but the process is otherwise the same.

Poles for bird feeders are no wider than half an inch, so a solid metal pole may be pushed in by anyone.

The next step is to use your own body weight to press the pole all the way into the ground and into the location you’ve picked.

Forcing the pole in at an angle other than 90 degrees will result in an uneven hole in the ground, which could cause the bird feeder pole to droop over time.

Slide 1 foot down minimum

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The pole of the bird feeder only has to be driven into the ground an inch or two unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise.

With a pole insert a foot deep, you can be assured that the bird feeder pole will remain perfectly straight during the many years it will be in use.

Top-heavy, overloaded bird feeders at the very top of a metal pole will cause the pole to lean over and be difficult to straighten up.

If the pole begins to lean, it will dig a deep hole that will need to be reinforced with gravel or the bird feeder will need to be moved.

If you can force the pole a foot into the ground from the start, it will go in much more easily beyond that.

Be aware that bird feeders need to be hung at a height of 5 or 6 feet from the ground before they can be used, and that you can impale the pole into the ground by forcing it in farther than the required 1 foot if you choose.

The bird feeders could be damaged if the metal pole was inserted too deeply into the ground.

Hammer in lower end

Metal poles can be impaled with a single spike or with three or four spaced out spikes for greater stability.

However, many of you may have trouble hammering a metal pole into the earth.

In order to help you drive the pole into the ground, I suggest you obtain anything that can serve as a hammer or mallet (if you don’t have any other equipment).

A fully completed pole would be nearly 6-7 feet tall, making it difficult to pound it into the ground because its upper end would be out of reach for most people.

If this option were to become accessible, you would have to dismantle the pole. In many cases, the spike can be detached from the pole, allowing it to be driven into the ground separately from the remainder of the pole.

In this case, you can drive the pole into the ground by hand, with a hammer or mallet, or even by shoving it with your feet.

If you must drive the pole into the ground with a hammer, mallet, or other heavy object, make sure to wrap the end of the pole with a cloth to prevent it from being damaged.

Soften turf in boiling hot water

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Unfortunately, the earth will be far too tough to puncture with a bird feeder rod.

I’m referring to the grass or turf in your yard, since you can’t possibly have a metal pole installed in concrete.

Some locations may be too difficult to impale, even with a spike on the end of the bird feeder pole; in such cases, all you have to do is wait for it to rain.

Why wait when you can just hammer the pole into the ground by pouring a pail of hot water on it? When the top layer softens, the water can penetrate deeper, letting a pole go all the way through.

If you soak the area too much, the impaled pole will fall over and you’ll have to hold it up or balance it until the grass dries out.

One or two bowls of boiling hot water can be used to soften the grass or lawn, and then five minutes can be spent waiting for the moisture to soak deeper into the soil.

Conclusion

To firmly embed a bird feeder pole into the ground, just use the pole’s pointed spike to pierce the grass or sod.

In order to break through the top layer of soil, you must use a screwing motion to grab the pole in the center and force it downwards.

If the pole for your bird feeder comes apart into one or three pieces, disassemble it so that you may use just the spike end to drive into the ground with your foot or a hammer and then screw the other pieces back together.

To keep the pole from toppling over, you’ll need to impale it into the ground to a depth of at least 1 foot; if the instructions call for additional depth, then impale it at that depth or deeper.

The pole of the bird feeder should be pushed into the ground at a right angle of 90 degrees to prevent the hole from becoming too wide and the feeder toppling over.

If driving the pole into the ground by hand proves impossible, a hefty wooden post can be used as a hammer, or a hammer or mallet can be wrapped in linen to prevent the pole from being damaged.

If you absolutely must try to drive the pole into the ground because the grass or lawn is too hard, soften it by pouring bowls of boiling hot water over it.

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