Greybeard,
Our suet feeder (little cage) hangs at an angle, almost upside down. Foils the starlings; they don't like hanging underneath to eat. And the little dowel in the peanut butter is too short for them to sit on. Our pole is hooked to a fence charger, so no squirrels. And there are a lot of them, with 2 acres of oak and walnut.
Pat B