How to Live with Squirrels

By Sania Mathakutha
Staff Writer

Image courtesy of www.freewebs.com/playingsquirrels.

Standing by your kitchen door one morning, you notice a gray squirrel in the yard, busily tucking fallen leaves between his throat and chest.

“Ah, he’s making a nest. Isn’t that nice?”

Carefully tending its load, the squirrel hops over the tree outside your window and scrambles out of sight. But what was that “thump” on the roof? You hear the sounds of little toenails scrambling across the shingles, and...oh no! A rustling in the attic! You rush outside and find a neat little hole chewed in the lattice vent of the roof peak. Your attic has become a squirrel den.

“For two days I could hear some noises coming from between the walls in my kitchen. It might have been a baby squirrel looking for food. It has been quiet lately; I hope he didn’t get stuck and die. I will know when I start smelling something,” laughs Mrs. Applegate of Stratford.

There are two common types of squirrels in the U.S.: abert (grey) squirrels and pine (red) squirrels. Grey squirrels are distinguished from red squirrels by their grey fur, smaller ear tufts and their larger, more robust build. Grey squirrels sit with their large bushy tail arched over the back. Female squirrels produce a litter of about three young in the spring or late summer, after a gestation period of 42-45 days. The young are weaned after 10 weeks and are independent at 16 weeks.

Living with squirrels can be challenging. “I knocked one over with my car one day. Believe me, it was an accident. There was nothing I could do. I think they are cute; I like them,” says Amina Hajji, a nursing major at HCC.

Squirrels are fun to watch until they start damaging plants and property. They rank high on the animals reported to be yard and garden pests. They dig up bulbs, uproot potted plants, monopolize bird feeders, dig holes in the lawn and steal tomatoes and other fruits. They find flower gardens very attractive. Sometimes they shed bark on tree branches - or gnaw on sidings and get into the attic. Large patches where bark has been removed should be coated with tree-pruning paint. Occasionally they chew electric wiring and causes short circuits and sometimes fires.

When squirrels target a particular plant or steal fruits and vegetables, you may be able to foil them by building a fence or cage over the affected plants. Offering an alternative source of food such as corn, nuts or sunflower seeds might distract the squirrels from bulbs and other valuable plants. However, alternative feed as well as bird feeding may also increase the number of squirrels that visit the yard. In some cases it might be best to eliminate feeding altogether.

In general, squirrels carry no diseases that are easily transmitted to humans. They are subject to rabies; however, rabies in squirrels is very rare. Any squirrel that is exceedingly aggressive, lethargic, has trouble moving, or is immobile should be avoided.