Squirrels. You either think they’re adorable or a nuisance.
I’m not sure why squirrels are so polarizing but they really are! If you fall into the “they’re so cute!” camp, you’ve probably got a bag of peanuts at the back door ready to feed them when they come peering into the window.
While your intentions are so very good, we’ve got some bad news for you. You shouldn’t feed the squirrels. Firstly, they might become dependent on your generosity and stop looking for food on their own. They also might lose a certain healthy fear of people. While you’re a safe human, your neighbour down the street might not be. It’s important for wild animals to keep a safe distance from humans. Speaking of that neighbour down the road, they might really resent your generosity when the squirrels start digging up their garden beds to hide a nut or two or three. Moreover, many people are allergic to nuts – sometimes dangerously so!
So, what can you do to help the furry friends in your backyard? Plenty!
#1. Give them water
Everybody needs to quench their thirst. If you’ve got a bird bath, you’ve probably noticed that squirrels will come by from time to time to get a sip. If you don’t have a bird bath, a simple shallow dish will do! Just make sure you clean them out regularly to keep them sanitary! Please make sure you don’t offer water to squirrels or birds during the winter months as it could do more harm than good to these little creatures.
#2. Keep your cats indoors
Cats don’t only go after birds outside. Plenty of our feline friends will hunt squirrels as well. If you’d like to learn how to teach your cat to become an indoor cat, read this!
#3. Plant these shrubs
Squirrels don’t only eat nuts, you know! They’ll forage on all sorts of stuff including berries and parts of shrubs. Some of their favourites include native wild cherry, red osier dogwood and hawthorn. When the spring arrives, consider planting one or all of these shrubs on your property!
#4. Plant a deciduous tree
If you’ve already got a leafy tree on your property, you won’t need to plant one! Squirrels like the Eastern Grey Squirrel build their nests high up in deciduous trees. They build their nests with leaves, vines, grasses and twigs. They also offer a lovely snack! Oak, hickory, beech and maple trees offer yummy buds to chow down on! In the spring, Red Squirrels drink the sap of Sugar Maple trees.
#5. Put up a birdfeeder
A birdfeeder will satisfy more than your backyard birds through the winter months. Squirrels are active through the cold weather too and so they’ll happily chow down on birdseed that’s fallen to the snowy ground.
#6. Plant a coniferous tree
Not only do pine and spruce trees offer tasty snacks for squirrels, these coniferous trees and others offer a safe place to get away from predators and build a nest too! Coniferous trees are great spots to build a strong nest filled with grasses, feathers, bark, mosses and more.
April Overall
April is the Editor of Wildlife Update, CWF’s e-newsletter and WILD magazine, the Canadian Wildlife Federation's children’s publication. When she’s not writing for CWF, you’ll probably find her playing with her daughter Nora.
6 comments
Hi April, I enjoyed your brief article re squirrels and agree with your assessment of them being so polarizing in the opinions of humans. I used to love them, so much so that when I hurt one, accidentally, because he had chewed a hole in my hiking backpack to get to my “stash” of nuts, I could not forgive myself for a very long time. They are one of the most tenacious and resourceful wild critters I know. I lived off grid for many years and it was a challenge to prevent them from not only making nests everywhere in and around my buildings, but occasionally damaging my property, like chewing holes in my window screens; and not because I was feeding them. So, now that I live in the city I muse at them, thankfully thinking back at the war that is now over. What I really wanted to say, LOL!, is that all your suggestions of providing help to squirrels in our backyards contradict your right opinion of not giving them nuts. Water, et cetera, may not cause any headaches for neighbours, yet it will still attract them to your backyard, which is not their place anyway, and may not proof to be that helpful for them after all. Squirrels know no boundaries and like another wild critter I know of, the northern flicker, can/will become very difficult to eradicate. Me and my family, two adult sons living in two different cities, have had the same, and serious, experiences with squirrels. My humble advice? Keep them out of your backyards, they are wild animals!
Hi Joe! Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed the article and I agree. Squirrels are incredibly resourceful and they’ve adapted to urban life masterfully! It’s pretty impressive honestly. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts with us!
People should be aware that the shell of raw peanuts can harbour a fungus that is harmful to squirrels. While some people say roasted peanuts are okay, they should only be a snack as their nutritional value is low. As a previous comment noted, it is probably best to let them forage for their food. Tough to do when they are so darn cute!
Did squirrels ever hibernate over the coldest months?
Tree squirrels do not hibernate, they are active year-round. To help them get through our cold winters, squirrels will spend more time in their dens. They also use food that they cached away earlier in the year. They also build up their fat stores in the fall to help them through.
Like the squirrels. They are fun to watch and gp into my willow tree holes and they pack peanuts up to them. They chatter but its nice to hear. I shelled peanuts and put in tree and took some great pictures of them eating. Fun to watch.