How to Deal With Squirrels
Squirrels are one of the most common urban mammals, but not many people take the time to understand their squirrel neighbors. While a squirrel can be a pest and problem, gaining an understanding of squirrels is the best way to deal with them.
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Instructions
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Understand squirrel vocalizations. They are extremely vocal animals who express everything from contentment to alarm through their voices. Generally, soft noises like "prrip" express happiness, while more emphatic pronunciations indicate excitement. Squirrels making these sounds may be open to interaction with you. An angry squirrel shouts "bgrrrk" loudly and should be left alone.
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Recognize squirrel body language. A waving tail indicates excitement, and a still tail indicates relaxation. A squirrel will express her curiosity by inching towards something, often clutching a paw to her chest when she pauses.
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Interpret erratic running as a defense mechanism. A squirrel who runs erratically towards or away from you is feeling threatened. He hopes to confuse you so you will change direction and not chase him.
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Realize that squirrels are not actually tame animals, even if they approach you. Squirrels that are fed by humans are conditioned to lose their fear. To them, you look like a food source rather than a predator. Though you can feed some squirrels by hand, they generally don't want to be touched.
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Know that a squirrel can see you even if he is sitting with his back to you. This is because of the placement of his eyes. So sneaking up on a squirrel whose back is towards you isn't going to work.
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Stay out of the squirrel's personal space. If you try to approach a squirrel, she may feel threatened and bite. To interact with a squirrel, even if you want to feed her, let her approach you.
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Feel safe in knowing that a healthy squirrel has no interest in attacking humans, even if he seems to be approaching you aggressively. After all, humans give handouts. If a squirrel is acting strangely, though, stay away from him to avoid a problem.
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Tips & Warnings
Feed squirrels corn, whole grain products and nuts. Avoid raw peanuts, though, as they can make a squirrel sick.
If you have a squirrel problem, consider trapping the squirrels. But keep in mind that if you trap a female squirrel in the spring or early summer, her babies will die in the nest.
