Yeah, it not easy to make it squirrel proof, but also not impossble. A pole that is too slippery to climb amd too high to jump up, and far enough away from trees and fences, should do the trick. But of course it will make it harder for you to get up there to refill the feeder ect., if its 12 feet up. Unfortunatly, we don't always land on our feet if we fall down from a hight... :)