Squirrels

[Hazell B]

Anyone got the ordinary grey squirrels in their garden or a nearby park?

Do they do much damage to trees? Do they breed like rabbits? Are they a pain in the backside I'm best keeping off my hazel nut hedge or would they be okay? Do they hibernate?

I ask because our dog met his first ever squirrel the other day (in a city park down south) and he was so captivated by them running up trees backwards that we took him to York's Museum Gardens the following night to watch the tame ones running about. It blew his mind so much we're considering getting some rescue ones from the RSPCA (we have a suitable hedge, trees, etc) just so we can watch him watching them. He wouldn't hurt them, by the way, just watch and try to make friends. He's not like Veruca Salts in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory :p :

So, are squirrels as bad as rats on the pest scale, or a nice addition to the garden?

[CCFanatic]

Let me come over with my 20-gauge and I'll cook you up some good squirrel stew. Sound kind of red neck, but I say it on a menu at Anthony Bourdains Restaruant.

[Hazell B]

I believe people when they say squirrel's tasty (and cheap :p : ) but still I say no thanks to the furry-tailed rat menu :s

Actually, that's partly why I asked on here - the only fair place I know! If I ask rural people they say squirrels should be shot, if I ask the RSPCA they say they are brilliant country feral 'pets'. All I get are biased answers and I'd quite like the truth.

[CCFanatic]

I hate squirrels. I have a bird feeder outside my bedroom window and like to watch them when I am bored. But many times a squirrel will climb up to it and eat the bird seed.

[Hazell B]

I hate squirrels. I have a bird feeder outside my bedroom window and like to watch them when I am bored. But many times a squirrel will climb up to it and eat the bird seed.

That's my main problem - I feed the birds too. In a few weeks I take over a pet food business, so would add sqirrel food to the bird feeder selection anyway, but will they breed like mad as a result, and force the birds out? Nobody can tell me.

[CCFanatic]

That's my main problem - I feed the birds too. In a few weeks I take over a pet food business, so would add sqirrel food to the bird feeder selection anyway, but will they breed like mad as a result, and force the birds out? Nobody can tell me.

To answer that last question from your first post, I think they are decent animals. There was this one that hung around my grandmothers home for almost 5 years. She would feed it everyday at noon. It was wild, and would go right up to her and take saltine crackers out of her hands.

[Blancvino]

That's my main problem - I feed the birds too. In a few weeks I take over a pet food business, so would add sqirrel food to the bird feeder selection anyway, but will they breed like mad as a result, and force the birds out? Nobody can tell me.


Like them, hate them. If you feed the birds you WILL have squirrels. You can TRY to give them corn or peanuts but they eat all the black oil sunflower seeds first. The 20 guage is your only defence if you don't want them around.

[Hondo]

Even at homes where people feed the little rodents, they don't seem to be overrun with them so my guess would be that they are somewhat territorial and once the young ones are old enough, they move on and establish their own range. I have 2 acres of woods behind me and the wildlife population seems to stay the same with no particular species gaining the upper hand. Sweetie enjoys chasing them and the rabbits.

[leopard]

Squirrels usually live on coconut tree and coconut is their favorite meal. Although sometimes naughty it looks funny and is not disgusting and some have take care of it as pet.

I found it around ;)

[janneppi]

The most i've ever seen on my parents bird feeding tray was three squirrels at a time, and if that happens, they become much more fun to watch than birds ever will. :)

[Eki]

So, are squirrels as bad as rats on the pest scale, or a nice addition to the garden?
It's a matter of opinion, I guess. I like squirrels and would like to have them in my garden.

[Hondo]

You can have a lot of fun trying to squirrel proof your feeders and then watching the ingenious little devils get to them anyway. They are clever.

[Daniel]

AFF has lots of squirrels outside his place. Squirrels are cool :) I prefer them to birds. Unless we're talking birds of prey which are pretty darn cool.

[leopard]

birds are birds flu contagion :( :)

[janneppi]

There is a angry squirrel in my parents summer cottage, it hisses at people if they come too close, two months ago it began hissing my brother who did'tcare for it and threw a small rock at the squirrel to scare it away, much to his and his sons surprise the rock actually hit the damn animal. :D

Shut it up aparently. :)

[A.F.F.]

I do, I do, I do :wave:


AFF has lots of squirrels outside his place. Squirrels are cool :) I prefer them to birds. Unless we're talking birds of prey which are pretty darn cool.

Oh.. anyway, I totally agree with Daniel. Also, our Nelly agrees with us. She likes to watch them behind the window. :)

[Hondo]

There is a angry squirrel in my parents summer cottage, it hisses at people if they come too close, two months ago it began hissing my brother who did'tcare for it and threw a small rock at the squirrel to scare it away, much to his and his sons surprise the rock actually hit the damn animal. :D

Shut it up aparently. :)

He probably though it was food and was trying to catch it. Just like people, there are squirrels a few cards short of a full deck in the brains department.

[Daniel]

I do, I do, I do :wave:



Oh.. anyway, I totally agree with Daniel. Also, our Nelly agrees with us. She likes to watch them behind the window. :)
If you ever come to the UK go to Warwick Castle. I don't know if it happens every day but they had a birds of prey display. They had a bald eagle, a fish eagle, a vulture and other birds.The birds flew so low over your head that you could feel the air coming off their wings :D Better than watching stupid little tweeting birds! Or squirrels for that matter :p

[gadjo_dilo]

The boyfriend of one of my colleagues saved a squirell from a dog's fangs. Then he tried to comfort it and caressed it. But the squirrel was still scared and bit his finger so intense that he had to kill it. The doctors said they've never had such cases until him and forced him to do some rabies injections. I saw its fang and never thought that such a small animal could have such teeth.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

We have Grey Squirrels in our back garden. While they are cute to watch running in the trees the little sh1ts have a taste for out strawberries. :mad:

[Eki]

We have Grey Squirrels in our back garden. While they are cute to watch running in the trees the little sh1ts have a taste for out strawberries. :mad:
I guess squirrels are lazy just like everybody, so try putting a net on the strawberries and some freely available food the squirrels like nearby. I'm sure they'd choose the freely available food instead of trying to get the strawberries under the net.

[A.F.F.]

If you ever come to the UK go to Warwick Castle. I don't know if it happens every day but they had a birds of prey display. They had a bald eagle, a fish eagle, a vulture and other birds.The birds flew so low over your head that you could feel the air coming off their wings :D Better than watching stupid little tweeting birds! Or squirrels for that matter :p

We have an island called Seurasaari here in Helsinki. Lots and lots of very friendly squirrels who are totally after your nuts. (there, I said it :D ) Anyway, every now and then it's fun to play Ace Ventura and shock those japanese tourits who are there with their cameras. Just stand in Jesus position hands wide open, squirrels running all over you. Ooooh haka, jakunamata, hai.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I guess squirrels are lazy just like everybody, so try putting a net on the strawberries and some freely available food the squirrels like nearby. I'm sure they'd choose the freely available food instead of trying to get the strawberries under the net.

We did, but they are smarter than you think!

[Daniel]

We have an island called Seurasaari here in Helsinki. Lots and lots of very friendly squirrels who are totally after your nuts. (there, I said it :D ) Anyway, every now and then it's fun to play Ace Ventura and shock those japanese tourits who are there with their cameras. Just stand in Jesus position hands wide open, squirrels running all over you. Ooooh haka, jakunamata, hai.
I've done the jesus position with birds. It's fun for them to be eating seed out of your hands. There I said it :p

[Tomi]

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/9/9/26/f_Seurasaari5m_416000a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/9/9/26/f_Seurasaari5m_416000a.jpg&srv=img01)

From Seurasaari

[Daniel]

Nice pic Tomi. Red squirrels are very rare here (in Finland too) so rare I've not even seen one :mark:

[LotusElise]

AAWWW! Wee red squirrels as well. They're not as common here and much cuter!

We used to get a lot in our garden a few years ago and they seemed to co-exist with the birds quite well. Occasionally they'd bully smaller birds off the food platform, but the blackbirds used to do that too. I never saw any interfering with nestboxes either, as some Coutryside Alliance types will have you believe. We only had trouble with cats. They can be a bit of a nuisance with young veg crops though if you don't use netting on your vegetable patch.

I don't think there's enough space in gardens to have massive squirrel populations.

[Tomi]

http://img38.picoodle.com/img/img38/9/9/26/f_seurasaari2m_2564cc5.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/9/9/26/f_seurasaari2m_2564cc5.jpg&srv=img38)/9/26/t_seurasaari2m_2564cc5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

1 more Daniel

[Eki]

Nice pic Tomi. Red squirrels are very rare here (in Finland too) so rare I've not even seen one :mark:
Red Squirrels are the only squirrels in Finland. So if you've seen squirrels in Finland, you have seen Red Squirrels.

[Daniel]

Red Squirrels are the only squirrels in Finland. So if you've seen squirrels in Finland, you have seen Red Squirrels.
Wasn't all that close to the squirrels to see :)

[Eki]

I saw some strange looking squirrels in San Diego. I think they were California Ground Squirrels.

http://mirror-uk-rb1.gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/places-and-sights/_more2003/_more05/US-CA-San-Diego-squirrel-in-grass-MY.jpg

[Daniel]

They grind squirrels up in the US? :eek:

[Iain]

I remember seeing a red squirrel in Germany outside my Uncle's house when I was 2 and a half years old. Don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh/fur since!

Talking of birds, I saw a flock of Grouse the other day when hillwalking. Now that was cool. :cool:

[Caroline]

Been watching grey squirrels in our school grounds today - they are totally unfazed by the children. They are not really considered a problem as there really is enough food to go round for them and the birds. The birdfood we put out last week has been untouched by the squirrels and if we were worried we could try out one of those squirrel proof bird feeders. The pesky seagulls are more of a menace.

[Eki]

Been watching grey squirrels in our school grounds today - they are totally unfazed by the children.
I once saw a squirrel running around in a circle and a small child running after it. The squirrel could have easily run to a nearby tree, so it was probably just playing with the kid.

[gm99]

We have an island called Seurasaari here in Helsinki. Lots and lots of very friendly squirrels who are totally after your nuts. (there, I said it :D ) Anyway, every now and then it's fun to play Ace Ventura and shock those japanese tourits who are there with their cameras. Just stand in Jesus position hands wide open, squirrels running all over you. Ooooh haka, jakunamata, hai.

I can only confirm that: I went to Seurasaari three weeks ago and as I sat down on a bench, I suddenly felt something jumping on my shoulder - when I looked I spotted this squirrel (photographed after it had gotten off my shoulder again).

I was truly amazed that they are not shy at all - we do have squirrels here in Austria, but they usually disappear quickly once you get too close to them.

Well, at least now I know who the lunatic with the outstretched hands was :D
(just joking, the only forum member I met was Woodeye, and that was at a pub and not at Seurasaari - even though it was the same day ;) )

[BDunnell]

I remember seeing a red squirrel in Germany outside my Uncle's house when I was 2 and a half years old. Don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh/fur since!

Yes, how does one see a squirrel, flesh or fur? Like it.

I find seeing red squirrels a great pleasure, because you know you've seen something a bit unusual. Inevitably, my last red squirrel sightings have been in Finland; Helsinki, to be precise.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

My brothers farm on the Cumbrian Pennines is infested with red squirrels

[Hazell B]

If you feed the birds you WILL have squirrels.

I don't wish to be rude, but I know we don't currently have squirrels thank you. There's also pretty much a zero chance of them appearing as the nearest ones are over two miles away along a treeless riverbank. No trees except mine in our areas, it's a silt flat.

Most farming areas in the bottom two thirds of the UK have no squirrels - they're a garden and town animal here now. We don't have enough suitable trees and hedges for them in agricultural areas, plus foxes here are more than plentiful enough to take out new colonies.
Towns and cities are brimming with them, though, thanks to parks with old enough vegitation and people feeding them. That's why I asked in here, as I've no experience of them at the stables.

Anyway, thanks for the general advice folks. We'll probably keep asking other people then speak to the RSPCA in spring (it seems mean to introduce them to a fairly bleak area when it's just getting cold) about them loosing some rescued wild ones on our patch. The hedgehogs we got seem to be a success, so we figure why not try some other animal :)

What were then names of the squirrels on Mark and Lard? Craig and David, was it? :p :

[Tomi]

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/9/9/26/f_261800x600m_c12e6be.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/9/9/26/f_261800x600m_c12e6be.jpg&srv=img01)

Birds are not also very shy in Seurasaari.

[Hazell B]

Tomi, that's impressive!
I'll avoid the " a tit in the hand ...." pun, though :p :

[Eki]

What were then names of the squirrels on Mark and Lard? Craig and David, was it? :p :
Chip and Dale?

[Hawkmoon]

Aren't grey squirrels a feral pest in the UK? Or is that the red ones? My cousin, who lived in the UK for a time, told me that the grey ones have pushed the native red ones almost to extiction.

[Iain]

What were then names of the squirrels on Mark and Lard? Craig and David, was it? :p :

Slim and Shady. :)

[LotusElise]

Aren't grey squirrels a feral pest in the UK? Or is that the red ones? My cousin, who lived in the UK for a time, told me that the grey ones have pushed the native red ones almost to extiction.

The red squirrel's main problem was habitat loss. The greys are far more adaptable, so suffered less when they were introduced. Where the two species co-exist, the greys will bully the reds as they are bigger, but they rarely co-exist now.

[tintin]

The red squirrel's main problem was habitat loss. The greys are far more adaptable, so suffered less when they were introduced. Where the two species co-exist, the greys will bully the reds as they are bigger, but they rarely co-exist now.

Indeed.
It is very rare to see red squirrels these days, which is a shame.

In fact Hazell, if you are so confident there are no squirrels within two miles of her house, you should get red squirrels rather than grey ones and try and help preserve a native species.


When I was in Toronto last month I saw black squirrels everywhere, and rather than living in pairs or small groups like the squirrels in Britain they were in much larger groups - tens or more.

There were also grey squirrels around, and they seemed to be happy living around the black ones. But they were only ever in pairs.

[BDunnell]

When I was in Toronto last month I saw black squirrels everywhere, and rather than living in pairs or small groups like the squirrels in Britain they were in much larger groups - tens or more.

Bloody black squirrels, going over there, running around in gangs...

More Daily Mail readers' letters tomorrow.

[Eki]

Bloody black squirrels, going over there, running around in gangs...

More Daily Mail readers' letters tomorrow.
Do they listen to rap music?

[Eki]

Black squirrels apparently have their own Russian Mafia:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4489792.stm

Russian squirrel pack 'kills dog'

Local people suggest hunger is driving squirrels to extremes
Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.

Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.

They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.

A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.

[Hondo]

Always keep your mouth shut when you're outnumbered.

[Hazell B]

Indeed.
In fact Hazell, if you are so confident there are no squirrels within two miles of her house, you should get red squirrels rather than grey ones and try and help preserve a native species.




They need far more woodland than I can offer, so it's not an option. I can't even grow what they like best as the soil's too warm here and it's too windy. Shame, but we did think of them first and when we looked them up in a book they proved impossible to keep.

Slim and Shady, thanks Iain.

[tintin]

It's National Red Squirrel Week this week...

[Hazell B]

... and I read today they're considering trying birth control pills for greys to slow them down and help stop them pushing out the reds.

Think I had best not add to the problem, after all.

[Donney]

Is there any relation with your recent experiences with less pleasant rodents? ;)

[Hazell B]

NO, but they are similar now you mention it .... :s

[allycat228]

are you not ment to report it now when you see a red squirell in the UK because they are rare? We have a few where we live

Didn't Jeremy Clarkson say that you should run over grey squirels?

[Caroline]

are you not ment to report it now when you see a red squirell in the UK because they are rare? We have a few where we live



Yes, sightings should be reported to the Wildlife Trust (I think in most cases) so that a picture can be built up showing where they are managing to survive in the UK.

Cute! http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/dorset/supportdwt/adoptasquirrel.htm