Winter feeding / Roundup
Suet Plugs and Log Feeders
A vertical log is the closest a feeder gets to how a woodpecker actually eats, and it inconveniences starlings for the same reason.
Buy the log and one small pack of plugs first, and check the diameter matches before buying a case. A drilled cedar log with pressed suet plugs is the suet format starlings handle worst, because a vertical log demands exactly the posture woodpeckers and nuthatches use all day and starlings are poor at. It is also the tidiest suet format — no crumbs, no mesh, nothing to freeze shut. Its one real weakness is squirrels, which can work plugs straight out of a log, and the fix for that is a baffled pole rather than hot pepper.
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Quick picks
Ranked, with the trade-off named. Tap a row for the full write-up; the price button goes straight to Amazon.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kettle Moraine Large Cedar Suet Log FeederA drilled cedar log, which is the entire hardware requirement for this format. Cedar is the right material — it weathers for years untreated, and there is nothing mechanical to fail in cold. | The log to put the plugs in | $28.00 · See it on Amazon |
| 2 |  Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Peanut Suet PlugsThree peanut suet plugs, sized for a standard drilled suet log. The format's whole argument is that a woodpecker clinging to a vertical log is in a natural posture, and a starling on the same log is not. | The plug to start with | $7.48 · See it on Amazon |
| 3 |  Wildlife Sciences Suet Plugs Variety, 16 packA variety pack, individually wrapped. Worth it for one specific reason: flavor preference at a suet log is genuinely yard-specific, and guessing wrong on a case of thirty-six is an expensive way to learn. | Finding out which flavor your birds want | $21.99 · See it on Amazon |
| 4 |  Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Insect Suet Plugs, 12 packThirty-six insect-suet plugs. Insect formulations are the ones woodpeckers and nuthatches respond to most strongly, and buying the case is how you avoid running out in the month it matters. | Woodpeckers, in quantity | $38.30 · See it on Amazon |
| 5 |  Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Hot Pepper Suet Plugs, 12 packHot pepper plugs, for the specific problem of squirrels pulling plugs out of a log. Capsaicin does not register with birds and does with mammals — a real effect, and the same honest caveat applies here as to hot pepper suet cakes. | A log in a yard with squirrels | $42.99 · See it on Amazon |
| 6 |  Birds Choice Upside-Down Suet Feeder, multi-cakeRecycled poly lumber, a roof, and room for more than one cake — the upside-down feeder for a yard where one cake lasts three days. | Multi-cake capacity in recycled poly that will outlive the cedar | $54.99 · See it on Amazon |
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The picks in full
Top pick The log to put the plugs in
Kettle Moraine Large Cedar Suet Log Feeder
A drilled cedar log, which is the entire hardware requirement for this format. Cedar is the right material — it weathers for years untreated, and there is nothing mechanical to fail in cold.
Specifications
- Material
- Cedar
- Holds
- Suet plugs
Trade-offs
- Cedar weathers for years without treatment and will outlast any plastic feeder here
- No moving parts, no mesh, nothing that jams or freezes
- Vertical format suits clinging birds and inconveniences starlings
- Kettle Moraine is a long-standing maker of exactly this kind of thing
- Does nothing except hold plugs — no seed, no cake, no versatility
- Costs more than a wire suet cage that holds a standard cake
- Squirrels will work plugs out of a log given time, and there is no mechanism to stop them
- Confirm the plug diameter matches before committing to a case of plugs
Who it is forAnyone committing to suet plugs.
Skip it ifSkip it if you already run a cage suet feeder and it works. This is a parallel format, not an upgrade.
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Where these specs came from
No. 2 The plug to start with
Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Peanut Suet Plugs
Three peanut suet plugs, sized for a standard drilled suet log. The format's whole argument is that a woodpecker clinging to a vertical log is in a natural posture, and a starling on the same log is not.
Specifications
- Quantity
- 3 plugs
- Flavor
- Peanut
Trade-offs
- Vertical log format naturally favors woodpeckers and nuthatches over starlings
- Cheapest entry into the format, so trying it costs very little
- Plugs push in and stay put — no cage, no mesh, nothing to freeze shut
- Far less mess under the feeder than a crumbling cake
- Needs a suet log feeder, which is a separate purchase
- Three plugs do not last long once woodpeckers commit
- Plug diameter is a standard that not every log honors — check before buying in bulk
- Peanut still draws starlings, even if the posture works against them
Who it is forA first try at the log-and-plug format.
Skip it ifSkip it if you do not own a suet log. The plugs are useless on their own.
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No. 3 Finding out which flavor your birds want
Wildlife Sciences Suet Plugs Variety, 16 pack
A variety pack, individually wrapped. Worth it for one specific reason: flavor preference at a suet log is genuinely yard-specific, and guessing wrong on a case of thirty-six is an expensive way to learn.
Specifications
- Quantity
- 16 packs
- Packaging
- Individually wrapped
Trade-offs
- Variety removes the guesswork about which flavor your woodpeckers actually prefer
- Individually wrapped, so the rest stay fresh while you work through them
- Enough quantity to be a real supply rather than just a sample
- You will end up with flavors your birds ignore, which is the cost of the information
- Costs more per plug than a single-flavor case
- Individual wrapping is a lot of packaging to deal with
- Still needs a log feeder
Who it is forSomeone new to plugs who does not want to commit to one flavor.
Skip it ifSkip it once you know what works. Single-flavor cases are cheaper per plug.
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No. 4 Woodpeckers, in quantity
Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Insect Suet Plugs, 12 pack
Thirty-six insect-suet plugs. Insect formulations are the ones woodpeckers and nuthatches respond to most strongly, and buying the case is how you avoid running out in the month it matters.
Specifications
- Quantity
- 36 plugs (12 packs of 3)
- Flavor
- Insect
Trade-offs
- Insect suet is the strongest draw for woodpeckers of the plug flavors
- Thirty-six plugs is a genuine winter's supply for one log
- Better per-plug price than buying three at a time
- A large commitment to a format you may not have tested yet
- Needs cool sealed storage like any bulk fat product
- Still requires a log feeder
- Insect formulations usually cost more per plug than peanut
Who it is forA yard with established woodpeckers and a log already hanging.
Skip it ifSkip it as a first purchase. Buy one pack of three, confirm your log takes the diameter, then buy the case.
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No. 5 A log in a yard with squirrels
Pine Tree Farms Log Jammer Hot Pepper Suet Plugs, 12 pack
Hot pepper plugs, for the specific problem of squirrels pulling plugs out of a log. Capsaicin does not register with birds and does with mammals — a real effect, and the same honest caveat applies here as to hot pepper suet cakes.
Specifications
- Quantity
- 36 plugs (12 packs of 3)
- Additive
- Hot pepper
Trade-offs
- Addresses the log format's one real weakness, which is squirrels extracting plugs
- Birds are unaffected by capsaicin, so there is no cost to the species you want
- Case quantity, so a winter's supply in one purchase
- A deterrent rather than a barrier — determined squirrels still work at it
- Capsaicin dust is unpleasant; handle with gloves and keep it away from your eyes
- Most expensive plugs here per unit
- A baffled pole solves squirrels properly and hot pepper does not
Who it is forA suet log that squirrels have already found.
Skip it ifSkip it if you can simply move the log onto a baffled pole. That is the real fix.
#ad how we are funded · price as of October 3, 2026
No. 6 Multi-cake capacity in recycled poly that will outlive the cedar
Birds Choice Upside-Down Suet Feeder, multi-cake
Recycled poly lumber, a roof, and room for more than one cake — the upside-down feeder for a yard where one cake lasts three days.
Specifications
- Capacity
- Multiple standard cakes
- Dimensions
- 11.75" x 8.75" x 4"
- Material
- Recycled poly lumber
- Roof
- Yes
- Color
- Taupe with green roof
Trade-offs
- Poly lumber does not crack, split, fade or rot — it will outlast several cedar feeders
- Multiple cakes means fewer trips out in weather you would rather not be in
- Roofed and upside-down: weather protection and starling exclusion together
- Wipes clean, which cedar never really does
- Heavier than cedar, so it needs a solid hanger
- Plastic-looking up close, whatever the finish
- Multi-cake capacity is wasted on a quiet yard, and unused suet goes rancid
Who it is forA busy yard that is tired of refilling a one-cake feeder every other day.
Skip it ifSkip it if a single cake currently lasts you a week. Loading four cakes into a slow feeder just means three of them go off before they get eaten.
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Why the format works
Posture, and nothing else. It is the same principle that makes an upside-down suet feeder work, applied differently.
A woodpecker spends its life braced against a vertical trunk with its tail as a third point of contact. A log feeder asks for precisely that and nothing more. A starling, which feeds comfortably from a flat surface and awkwardly from anything else, finds the same log much harder work. The result is a feeder that filters by behavior rather than by mechanism — no cage, no weight trigger, nothing that can jam or freeze, which in a northern winter is a real advantage over moving parts.
It is a softer filter than an upside-down feeder — a determined starling will still get something — but it is remarkably effective for how simple it is. Upside-down against cage suet feeders covers the harder-edged versions of the same idea.
The diameter trap
The one thing that genuinely goes wrong with this format, and it is worth a paragraph of its own.
Plug diameters are not standardized. Logs are drilled to a size, plugs are pressed to a size, and they do not always agree across brands. A plug that is slightly too wide will not seat; one slightly too narrow falls out or gets pulled free by the first squirrel. Buy one small pack first, confirm it seats properly in your log, and only then buy a case of thirty-six. This is the single most common way people waste money here.
How we judged these
How we picked
- Plug diameter against common log sizes, flagged prominently, because mismatch is the way money gets wasted in this format.
- How effectively posture filters starlings, which is the entire argument for choosing a log over a cage.
- Untreated cedar, since it is in long-term contact with fat and weathers for years without finish.
- Nothing mechanical, because anything that can jam or freeze is a liability in a northern winter.
- Cost per ounce of fat against cakes, stated plainly rather than buried.
- Squirrel vulnerability, which for loose plugs in a hole is whole-plug loss rather than gradual nibbling.
- A small pack available before a case, so the diameter can be tested cheaply.
- Live price and availability, refreshed daily.
We have not tested any of these. What we did instead: read the manufacturers’ own listings, compiled the published specifications, computed the running cost at a cited electricity rate, and refreshed the prices daily. The full method is published.
The squirrel problem
A log has no mechanism, which is its strength against weather and its weakness against mammals.
There is nothing in a drilled log to stop a squirrel simply pulling a plug out and carrying it away. Unlike a cake in a cage, which a squirrel has to work at through mesh, a plug is a loose object in a hole. Yards with squirrel pressure lose plugs rather than lose nibbles.
Hot pepper plugs exist for this, and capsaicin genuinely does deter mammals while leaving birds unaffected — birds do not register it. But as the hot pepper suet page sets out, it is a deterrent rather than a barrier, and the honest answer is the same as it is everywhere else on this site: put the feeder on a baffled pole with clear space around it, and the problem goes away properly rather than partially.
Where a log loses to a cage
Three situations, and it is worth knowing them before you buy into a second format.
- Capacity. A log holds a handful of plugs. A cage holds a cake, and a double cage holds two. For a busy yard with several woodpeckers, a log needs attention more often.
- Cost per unit of fat. Plugs cost more per ounce of suet than cakes do, and the log itself costs more than a wire cage. You are paying for the format.
- Versatility. A cage takes any standard cake — no-melt, hot pepper, woodpecker formulations. A log takes plugs and nothing else.
Against that, the log wins on tidiness, on weather resistance, on having nothing to freeze or jam, and on lasting — a cedar log outlives any plastic feeder in this category by years. It is a good second suet station rather than a replacement for the first.
Which plugs
Flavor preference at a log is genuinely yard-specific, which is why the variety pack earns its place despite costing more per plug.
Insect formulations are the strongest general draw for woodpeckers and nuthatches, for the same reason insect-led suet cakes beat grain-led ones. Peanut gets the fastest adoption and brings starlings along with it. Hot pepper is for the squirrel situation described above. If you have no idea which your birds want, the variety pack buys you that information for a modest premium — and then you buy the case of whichever won.
What we would skip
What we would skip
A case of 36 plugs before testing the diameter
Plug diameters are not standardized across brands. A plug that does not seat in your log is thirty-six plugs of wasted money. Buy one pack of three, confirm the fit, then commit.
Suet plugs without a log
There is nothing else to put them in. The plugs and the log are one purchase in two parts, and buying plugs first is the commonest order-of-operations mistake here.
A log as your first and only suet feeder
Lower capacity and higher cost per ounce of fat than a cage and cake, and it takes nothing but plugs. Start with a cage, add a log once suet is established and starlings are the problem.
Hot pepper plugs instead of a baffle
Capsaicin deters most squirrels and does not affect birds, which is real, but it is a preference and not a barrier. A baffled pole with clear space around it solves the problem properly for less than a case of hot pepper plugs costs.
A painted or treated log
Untreated cedar weathers for years and is what you want against suet and bird contact. Treated or painted wood is a finish you did not choose to put next to food.
Expecting a log to feed your whole yard
The format works precisely because it demands a clinging posture. Cardinals, juncos and sparrows cannot use it at all, and for them nuggets in a tray or seed is the answer.
Where this fits
A log is a second suet station for a yard that already feeds suet and wants to reach woodpeckers more and starlings less. If you are starting from nothing, a suet cage and a good cake is the cheaper, higher-capacity first purchase. If starlings have already taken over, an upside-down feeder is the harder answer. And suet nuggets are the format for the birds that cannot cling to any of this.
Questions people actually ask
- Do suet log feeders keep starlings away?
- Largely, and by posture rather than by mechanism. A vertical log demands the bracing stance woodpeckers and nuthatches use naturally and starlings manage poorly. It is a softer filter than an upside-down feeder, but effective for how simple it is.
- Are suet plugs a standard size?
- No, and this is the trap. Plug diameters vary between brands and logs are drilled to different sizes. Buy one small pack, confirm it seats properly in your log, and only then buy a case of thirty-six.
- Which suet plug flavor is best?
- Insect formulations are the strongest general draw for woodpeckers and nuthatches. Peanut gets adopted fastest and brings starlings with it. Flavor preference is genuinely yard-specific, which is why a variety pack is a reasonable first purchase.
- Will squirrels take suet plugs?
- Yes — a plug is a loose object in a hole with no mesh in the way, so squirrels pull them out and carry them off. Hot pepper plugs deter most of them, but a baffled pole with clear space around it is the real fix.
- Is a suet log better than a suet cage?
- Not better, different. A log is tidier, has nothing to freeze or jam, lasts for years and handles starlings better. A cage holds more fat, costs less per ounce, and takes any standard cake. A log makes most sense as a second suet station.
- Which birds use a suet log?
- Woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees and titmice — the birds that can brace against a vertical surface. Cardinals, juncos and sparrows cannot use one at all, which is both the point of the format and its limitation.
Sources
Read next
- The Best Suet Cakes for Winter Birds
Seven suet cakes ranked on fat, no-melt behavior and who they actually attract, with pack-size advice.
- The Best Suet for Woodpeckers
Five suet cakes ranked on fat content and what is mixed into it, with the hot pepper option that keeps the cake for the woodpeckers.
- Upside-Down vs Cage Suet Feeders
Starling exclusion by geometry versus an open cage — which design your yard actually needs, and what each one costs you.
- Suet Nuggets and Pellets
Nuggets reach the birds a cage suet feeder excludes, at the cost of handing starlings an open dish. Which to buy and how to serve them.