link didn't seem to work earlier...

Here is a link that might be useful: corn cob holder

I gave up trying to use special holders for the cobs. I had 2 that looked like huge screws that you would screw into the cob. I hung them from separate trees and within 2 days both holders were gone. The first day the only thing left were the cobs. I searched high and low and never found the holders.
I don't mind too much. I love watching their antics. They are so entertaining.

Even if you can squirrel proof something, good luck keeping the raccoons from ripping apart! They might be what stole the holders, ellyd. They're smart, very strong for their size, and they can use their front paws to manipulate things the way we use our hands. I used to have a large wooden and plastic bird feeder that had a wooden lid held onto it by a piece of string run through two sides of the lid, so that the lid could slide up the string to refill the feeder, then slide back down to keep the food sheltered from rain. The squirrels chewed a little hole in one of the plastic sides to get directly inside the feeder and eat. The raccoons, though, quickly figured out how to lift the lid up and slide it to the side so they could reach in and scoop out the seeds.

I have two of the corn cob holders they sell at Walmart, they have a wood base & place for the Squirrel to sit & the whole corn cob is exposed, easy to get to. Have one corn cob feeder and one Squirrel Snack Box [also from Walmart] in two different trees & have never had Squirrels remove the whole cob. In one tree I have to replace the corn almost every day but not the other, it lasts longer but the empty cob is always there.
I have a Possum that visits every night & eats his share too.
Wonder if you have a Raccoon visitor, think they'd be more likely to take the whole cob than a Squirrel.
Can't help but defend the Squirrels, love those little guys... :-)

Note: Since I put up a couple of Squirrel feeding stations they never bother my bird feeders

I never really knew I had raccoons here before until I saw them a few months ago. You are probably right about them stealing the holders! They never touch the suet or the bird feeders but I keep finding peanut shells in my birdbath in the morning. I don't where they're coming from but I bet I know who's putting them there!

Thanks everybody. Nice to hear everyone's stories. And no, I'm quite certain it was a squirrel that took the entire corn cob. I can't imagine there are raccoons or anything like that in Manhattan. I've certainly never seen any. :--)

There are indeed raccoons in Manhattan. The link is to a report of rabies incidents, and it shows every animal found to be rabid in each of the five burroughs. There were 8 rabid raccoons found in Manhattan between 1992-2004; and certainly, there are many dozens more raccoons in Manhattan than just those 8 that turned up with rabies. Raccoons are one of those species, like oppossums, that are excellent at living in suburban/urban areas because they're such generalists and they're good at finding hiding places during the day. I wouldn't be surprised if you have oppossums living in Manhattan, too, but no rabid oppossums were found in Manhattan during the time period of this report.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rabies in NY

Raccoons in Manhattan! Who'da thunk? Are they capable of scaling walls? Whatever did take my entire corn cob would have had to be pretty agile, as it was suspended from the top and inside side of my cinderblock walls, so they would have had to do a bit of jumping/turning/climbing to get over the obstruction I built on the top of my walls, in order to then access said corn cob.

Raccoons are incredibly nimble, even though they don't look like they would be. Especially when there's food involved. :)

Do a search on this forum for raccoons; there are lots of threads about the things raccoons have done to get to food on people's properties. Some of the stories are pretty funny.

I began putting corn cobs out for the squirrels in my backyard a few years ago. They will take the cobs and strip them of kernels and run around the property burying them in flowerbeds and the lawn for winter feed.
Lo and behold, in the spring, we have corn coming up in our flowerbeds, vegetable garden and lawn!

I've never planted corn because it's notoriously difficult to grow in our local backyard gardens. But the squirrels are obviously excellent farmers!

We always let several stalks grow to full size for decoration and humor. We address the squirrel/bird feeder problem by just keeping a lot of feeders full. They seem to work it out as to who gets filled. If the squirrels are raiding the feeders for sunflower seeds, then the doves are hanging out below to catch all the seeds that fall onto the ground.

Always a good show!

Oh goodness, it didn't even occur to me that they might decide to bury the entire cob!! I hope they didn't do it in one of my potted plants! Burying an entire cob in a potted plant would obviously require a bit of digging... and might be sufficient to kill the poor plant. Thank god the weekend is here, as I will be spending it not only finishing up my winterizing chores, but also I have to cover the tops of all my pots with that plastic black mesh chicken wire type stuff, in an effort to prevent the critters from digging up the soil! :--) But you're right. No matter what, always a good show!

I have corn growing right now with little ears of corn too!
I put a mixture of Song Bird food & Squirrel food in the Squirrel feeders, the Squirrel food includes whole kernal corn & I'm guessing that's what they planted.
When it first came up I had no idea it was corn but let it grow next to the back fence including some on the other side of the fence. Couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed the little ears of corn! I'm leaving it for now but bet the ears of corn will disappear before I get to try any.

I have peanuts coming up in my flower beds & containers but I can thank Mr BlueJay for that, I've watched him plant them many times, guess he wants to make sure we don't run out of peanuts... :-)

Yippee...you've probably already heard about a product called the "squngee". Its a corn holder on a bungee cord for the squirrels..they have an absolutely hilarious video on their web site of squirrels eating the corn thats attached to this bungee cord...I know I'll never buy this thing, but the video is worth a look...turn on your speakers..theres music, too. They are located at: www.squngee.com

Kathy