Squirrel Facts and Diversion Feeding
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Squirrel Facts!
People watch and feed squirrels almost as much as they do the birds! Whether you think squirrels are adorable little fur balls, or think of them as “tree rats”, squirrels are extremely interesting animals! Here are a few fascinating facts about them.
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Squirrels have been around for a long time--a squirrel’s habit of gathering and storing food for the winter has allowed the species to survive for more than 35 million years! And to compensate for wear and tear, their teeth never stop growing. That’s why squirrels seem to chew everything—they gnaw on things to keep their teeth “filed down." Squirrels even grind their teeth in their sleep! And contrary to the opinion of some birders, a squirrel's stomach is not a bottomless pit. They need about a pound of food per week and enjoy a varied diet of bugs, nuts, fruit, seeds--and corn!
Ecologically, squirrels are important re-seeders of trees and woodland plants, busily burying their stash of nuts and seeds in preparation for winter. A squirrel can hide as many as 10,000 nuts each fall and can find his buried food under as much as a foot of winter snow. Some of these nuts and seeds are not retrieved and grow into plants in the spring. Squirrels' winter survival is dependent on remembering where he has deposited his caches. And what's fascinating is that the portion of his brain that controls memory actually grows by 15% in fall; so it’s believed that squirrels really do remember where they stored all those nuts.
Squirrels can jump a distance of up to 20 feet while in the trees and can fall up to 100 feet without hurting themselves. They have long, muscular hind legs and short front legs that work together to aid in leaping, and their hind legs are double-jointed. This helps them run up and down trees quickly. They'll use their tail both for balance and as a parachute as 
they leap from tree to tree. They have 5 toes on their back feet and 4 toes on their front. A few more facts: squirrels can be found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, the word "squirrel" originally came from the Greek words meaning "shadow tail" and the hibernating arctic ground squirrel is the only warm-blooded mammal able to withstand body temperatures below freezing.
they leap from tree to tree. They have 5 toes on their back feet and 4 toes on their front. A few more facts: squirrels can be found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, the word "squirrel" originally came from the Greek words meaning "shadow tail" and the hibernating arctic ground squirrel is the only warm-blooded mammal able to withstand body temperatures below freezing. Diversion Feeding
Now that you know a little about squirrels, you may be asking, “Yes, but how do I keep them off my bird feeders?” Well, first keep your feeders away from anything squirrels can jump from--count on them being able to jump at least 10 feet horizontally and 5 feet straight up vertically. So, your feeder needs to be up on
a pole, at least 5 feet above the ground, and if necessary, employ a pole baffle to keep squirrels from climbing to the feeder. And then try diversion feeding--it really works! This is simply feeding squirrels in a different part of your yard with foods they like better than bird seed—and that's mostly corn and peanuts. Offer these as a critter block you can just place on the ground, or in a special squirrel feeder. Some corn on the cob feeders can be extremely entertaining, for both you and the squirrels! So, just keep bird feeders up high and away from jumping-off places and give your squirrels another place to munch. Squirrels are much easier to like when they aren't raiding your birdfeeders! And even if you're not a squirrel lover, perhaps you will come to find these creatures the interesting and resourceful little animals they are!
a pole, at least 5 feet above the ground, and if necessary, employ a pole baffle to keep squirrels from climbing to the feeder. And then try diversion feeding--it really works! This is simply feeding squirrels in a different part of your yard with foods they like better than bird seed—and that's mostly corn and peanuts. Offer these as a critter block you can just place on the ground, or in a special squirrel feeder. Some corn on the cob feeders can be extremely entertaining, for both you and the squirrels! So, just keep bird feeders up high and away from jumping-off places and give your squirrels another place to munch. Squirrels are much easier to like when they aren't raiding your birdfeeders! And even if you're not a squirrel lover, perhaps you will come to find these creatures the interesting and resourceful little animals they are!- Posted at Monday, November 3, 2008 08:50 AM
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Ah, the years of the squirrel wars, when I expended much energy to deter these furry rascals from my personal custom blend of seed at the feeders. I have some lovely fat grey squirrels, who are great great great grandparents by now. They watch my efforts to deter them with a gentle amusement. I remember years ago when I purchased my Absolute II feeder, and put it up with relish as they observed me from the surrounding trees. I walked away with a sense of smug satisfaction, and then watched the events from my living room. A large squirrel came out of a nearby tree, cautiously approaching the feeder. He climbed over the feeder several times, to my delight, apparently stumped. Then, placing his delicate feet with great care, he found that if he balanced just so, he could avoid the spring on the landing bar, and enjoy the contents! I looked out in awe...the process had taken my squirrel less than two minutes! I understood at that moment that I may be blessed with the Albert Einstein of squirrels, so I have relented my prohibition, released my aggravation, and I go with the flow. The truth is that my squirrels are perfectly happy with dried cob corn, and pretty much leave the feeders alone when there is an alternative. I am delighted to have a small family of red squirrels nearby, and provide for them as well. We are now Switzerland. The war is over. All are fed.
Posted by Londonderry Lisa on Thursday, November 6, 2008 10:48 AM
Lisa,
Great story! Thanks for sharing this amusing post with all of us.
Posted by Michelle on Thursday, November 6, 2008 01:44 PM
Oh yes the squirrel wars, how we all know them well. I took to using the deck mount poles on the outside sills of my back windows (where I sit most of the time) to hang my 4 feeders & suet. I also have a window feeder in one kitchen window near the other feeders (birds can't see in but we can watch them). Now these are all on the 2nd story of the house and I figured those squirrels can't get the seed now! HA HA Those darn things climbed right up the vinyl siding and then walked across the window screens balancing until they grabbed onto the feeders! One of them even took to jumping from the roof down onto the top of that window feeder, then squeezed inside it. Wow!! They're just like Spiderman to be sure. Finally I took my old Cardinal No-No metal basket feeder, filled it with cheap sunflower seeds and hung it on the huge Spruce between the house & garage. Well, that did the trick. Diversion feeding really DOES work! They sit for a long time picking the seeds out of the metal mesh feeder and now I add some corn and peanuts to a platform feeder there too. They love it and they haven't bothered my birds for months! Plus I gained BlueJays and Nuthatches who love the corn and seeds under the tree!! Now that the squirrels don't bother them I have 17 different kinds of birds coming to the feeders!! Now if I could only figure out how to keep them squirrels out of my heated bird bath......
Posted by Barb in NH on Thursday, November 6, 2008 03:54 PM
I had a different problem this summer. We have had 60 chipmunks in the last 2 summers -- I know because we use a Have A Heart trap and re-locate them away from our gardens. They would eat the petals off my daisies and dig up my lilies and other plants and eat the roots and leave them up-ended. Well this summer I had one little genius. He was tiny and didn't seem to grow and it took 2 months for him to trip the trap for re-location. No other chippie could do what he did. He'd run up the feeder pole, sit on the extension arms holding my feeders, jump to the feeder and eat and eat and eat. At first I thought he was getting help at the start from my pot holding geradiums. But I moved them and he'd just go up the pole amyhow. Never saw anything like him. None of the others could do that. He could get in any feeder placed in any position. Finally I got a big baffle from Duncraft -- waited too, too long as my birds needed those feeders out there. We live at 9000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. Well the chippie got caught a day after the baffle came. We don't have squirrels thankfully. I saw one come down to the townhouse above us, but he's not come here yet.
Posted by BEVERLY CANNATA on Thursday, November 6, 2008 07:27 PM
i feed the squirrels with a cob feeder. they always take the cob out and take off with it.i enjoy watching them eat the corn. i decided to put a cap on the corn holder. i put a pop can bottom on the top held down with twist ties. i put a whole on both sides of the can bottom and attach it with the twist ties and they have not stolen a corn cob since i did this. one win for me after mumerous losses.how about that.
Posted by rich sivulich on Friday, November 7, 2008 07:42 PM
We also have had many squirrel wars but the wars were between my husband and me. I wanted them fed along with the birds. I could be quite cavalier about it because I didn't have to refill the five bird feeders. We had a small army of squirrels and they could empty a large feeder in a day.
My husband would chase them off and I would mediate on their behalf. As our seed budget continued to increase I began to come to my senses and realized that diversion feeding was a sensible response to my guilt (not feeding them) and my husband's aggravation (adding more and more of his time to fill bird feeders).
I'm glad we came up with a solution because after viewing the Duncraft squirrel photo contest we both saw the beauty of this intelligent species.
Posted by Jackie Lessard on Sunday, November 9, 2008 05:41 AM
I am of the group that loves to feed the furry little dudes. The only problem is I don't have a single squirrel since I moved to Ocean City. Bummer. I keep hoping. I enjoyed these pictures.
Posted by Mollie on Friday, November 14, 2008 04:54 PM
These stories took me back to the 1940's when nylon stockings were hard to get. My Aunt kept yelling that someone was stealing her nylons from the clothesline - When she caught the culprit it was a squirrel! We have a Duncraft squirrel proof feeder, but just recently had to get another pole to raise it higher. The deer have been going through about 20 lbs. of seed a week. We love the deer, but now they too are feeling the economic crunch!
Posted by Barbara on Monday, November 17, 2008 10:25 AM
Help!!! I decorate with a corn stalk on my front porch and this fall I have had a squirrel eating the corn leaving a stripped corncob on the stalk and wreaking havoc with the cornstalk plus leaving a mess. My husband took all of the corn off the stalk (we keep in a can to feed the squirrels) but, unfortunately, I have a beautiful Indian Corn display with 3 ears of corn with a bow hanging on the shutters near our cornstalk and the squirrel has climbed up the shutter and eaten 1/2 of one of the three Indian Corns. I've had to take the Indian Corn down but I have always hung it on my shutters in the fall for decoation. How can I keep the squirrel from coming back. This is the first year we have ever had this problem.
Posted by Pat on Monday, November 17, 2008 10:31 AM