If large birds and even smart sparrows are eating you out of house and home, try leaving the suet in the square plastic container (that some of them come in) and placing it in the slot. This way the unwanted birds have to catch on to the middle of the cage to get any suet. This trick also works in the closed cage suet feeders, by prevent larger birds from eating at the sides of the suet cakes that are nearest the cage walls.

thought it would discourage starlings from stealing the suet that I put out for the woodpeckers but they are stealing just as much. doesn't bother them hanging upside down.

I love an upside down feeder and my birds do also I have 6 at different locations. I think I run a Bird motel I have so many varieties

Bought this because it said it was starling proof. Our starlings love this feeder and can finish a suet cake within 1 day. Woodpeckers can't get near it!

don't get many starlings, but have alot of blue jays and grackles. Took them about a week to figure how to get to the food, but they do well now and finish it in 1-2 days. I have a caged suet feeder too, but the large woodpeckers can't get that one. I was really hoping this would be more of a deterent to the big birds, but it isn't.