Some people will find a problem with just about anything.

One man learned that after bringing a small bird feeder to his new apartment.

At first, he checked the local rules, cleared it with the landlord, and made sure to keep the area clean.

Still though, another tenant started complaining about squirrels and the mess she claimed it caused.

Now, his landlord wants him to stop feeding the birds, but he doesn’t want to listen.

Read on to see what you think about this situation.

Drama over a bird feeder.

I moved into a place (half-basement) almost 3 months ago.

From my last place, I brought with me my little bird feeder—an upright one on a pole.

There’s no property manager here, but one of the long-term tenants collects rent cheques for the LL. He said he thought it was illegal, but I checked the city (Montreal)’s bylaws and, yes, it’s illegal to feed animals/birds, but bird feeders are an exemption. So long as they’re out of reach of squirrels, that is.

When he met the landlord, he made sure the feeder was okay.

A few weeks after I moved in, the real LL came by to introduce himself, and I covered that topic. He seemed fine.

The old tenant guy had expressed some concern about the bird seed husks attracting ants, so I make sure I sweep up every 2–3 days, and I’ve sprayed around the periphery.

I’ll add that it’s entirely in my little porch area, and no other tenants are affected by it. The other tenants I’ve spoken to have zero problem with it at all.

There’s only one person who really has a problem with it.

All that said, the tenant guy’s GF seems to have a problem with it. She contacted my upstairs neighbour’s GF, who told her BF, who told me (sigh).

We both rolled our eyes, and I sent a text to the LL saying, “Hey, that completely legal and not-breaking-the-lease subject came up, but I’m not bothering anybody.”

A few weeks later, I got a text back saying, “Could you stop? I’m getting many complaints… about squirrels and other animals(!?)”

I see a couple of squirrels a week sniff around for leftovers, and “other animals”? No clue.

At this point, he refuses to get rid of it.

Well… no. I’m not going to get rid of the dumb, harmless bird feeder that I watch from my desk.

If it comes up again, I’ll tell them I’ll contact the Landlord-Tenant Association for their input. And maybe point out that she and her boyfriend break an actual law by smoking within 9 m of the apartment entrances.

Oh, the Karen GF also has a problem with a second-story guy’s flower boxes and that (gasp) some petals fall to the ground below. The horrors!

Yikes! All that drama over a bird feeder.

Let’s see what advice the fine folks over at Reddit have on this subject.

Good point.

That would not be good.

Here’s another reader explaining why others don’t like bird feeders.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a barn owner who wants to evict a tenant who promised to build stalls but never did.

And he probably will.

It’s easy to understand why he enjoys watching the birds, but feeders can create problems for everyone else.

Even when you clean up the seed, they can still attract squirrels, insects, and other animals that neighbors don’t want around.

And since he lives in a shared building, he probably should’ve asked the landlord before even putting it outside.

At this point, keeping it after several complaints will likely cause more trouble than it’s worth. He should consider getting rid of it for now.