Squirrels are among the most popular guests in our gardens. Here's everything you need to know about these tiny rodents and how to attract them.
Squirrels actually live in coniferous and mixed forests and spend most of their time there. From time to time you can also watch the cute animals in your own garden. In search of food, the busy animals jump from tree to tree and are exciting to watch. Their cute shape with the long, bushy tail and the red ears also make the squirrels popular guests in the garden, who are gladly welcomed. Here we tell you what you should know about squirrels and how you can attract even more squirrels to your garden with clever garden design.
Characteristics of Squirrels
Squirrels climb over twigs and branches as skilfully as artists and daringly jump up to five meters from tree to tree - the small animals ensure lively activity in the garden and are therefore extremely popular objects of observation, especially with children. Their bushy tail and their reddish-brown color are considered to be special distinguishing features. The former serves as a balancing stick for their daredevil climbing activities, but also provides cozy warmth in winter and is suitable as a shade provider in summer. The red-brown coat, on the other hand, is not a clear sign of a squirrel: brown-black and gray squirrels are common, as is the well-known fox red. Even pure white variants occur occasionally and are not, as is often assumed, albinos.
You cannot tell the squirrels apart from their relative, the North American gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) by their color alone. In fact, the gray squirrels are significantly larger and stockier, and - in contrast to the European squirrel - they do not have brush ears. In Germany, however, only squirrels are native to this day - other European countries are already struggling with the invasive gray squirrels, because they are often more assertive than squirrels and thus threaten their population.
What do squirrels eat?
Squirrels eat nuts, every child knows that. Unfortunately, this statement is not entirely true - in fact, squirrels are omnivores and eat a variety of other things in addition to nuts and seeds. Fruits such as apples (Malus) and grapes (Vitis vinifera) are also high on the food list of the small rodents. But bird eggs, insects and snails are also eaten by squirrels when the right opportunity arises. Unfortunately, scarcity of food is one of the main problems that squirrels have to deal with in their lives. Especially for the hibernation, the animals have to hoard large amounts of food, which they rarely find. Fortunately, as a gardener, you can counteract this problem.
Plants for a squirrel-friendly garden
The simplest and at the same time most natural way to ensure an optimal supply of food for squirrels is to provide suitable forage plants in your own garden. Classic squirrel-friendly plants are of course walnut trees, above all the walnut tree (Juglans regia) and the hazelnut bush (Corylus avellana). The energy-rich nuts of both trees are perfect food supplies for hibernation and are cracked open by the squirrels with incredible skill. In fact, such nut trees in the garden often prove to be a real squirrel magnet, because they are often used by different squirrels at the same time.
But not only walnuts and hazelnuts ensure a richly set table in autumn, numerous other plant species are just as well accepted by the squirrels. Fruit trees such as apples and pears (Pyrus) are particularly popular with small rodents because they love the delicious fallen fruit. Beech (Fagus) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) are not only beautiful deciduous trees in the garden, but also provide plenty of food thanks to beechnuts and chestnuts. Even conifers are very popular with squirrels, because the seeds in the cones are a good source of food.
Feeding the squirrels
If you don't have a large garden to plant trees for the squirrels, you don't have to go without feeding them. In fact, squirrels are just curious and not very shy, sothey accept human feeding very well. This phenomenon can mainly be observed by people who already feed birds in their garden. Whether sunflower seeds or fat balls - no feeding place is safe from the nimble squirrels. However, you can feed the little rodents better and more specifically if you hang up a homemade squirrel feeder - this not only ensures that only squirrels really get the food, but also that the birds can devote themselves to their meal in peace.
When installing a squirrel feeder, make sure to place it as high up in the tree as possible and out of the reach of predators such as cats. The automatic feeder can be filled with nuts and sunflower seeds, but also with corn kernels, pine nuts or raisins. Although the small rodents like to eat fresh fruit, it has no place in the feeding box - the risk of rot or mold forming is too great. If you are attracting multiple squirrels to your feeder, it may be worth adding another feeder well away from each other to avoid bickering.
Creating watering holes for squirrels
Not only food is essential for squirrels - their need for water must also be covered. However, especially in cities or residential areas, suitable water points are few and far between, which poses a major problem for the nimble animals. A bird bath can help here. In fact, squirrels like to use these to quench their thirst when they have the opportunity. Optimal are drinking troughs that have a wide, non-slip edge on which the animals can sit well. In addition, the bird bath should be slightly higher, as this increases the protection of visitors from dangerous predators.
Squirrels: Creating a habitat in the garden
Squirrels naturally live in forests, where they claim up to several hectares as their habitat. At night they retreat to their nest - the so-called Kobel - which sits high up near the trunks of old trees. The cute animals are not limited to just one home: up to eight roosts can be spread out in the squirrels' habitat, which are used for sleeping and living with varying degrees of frequency. A special feature of this Kobel is the fact that each one basically has two exits - so the squirrels always have an opportunity toEscape.
If you also want to give a squirrel a home in the garden, you should first make the garden as attractive as possible for squirrels. A suitable number of trees is of course particularly important for this. Since the small rodents spend a large part of their lives in treetops, they prefer gardens with as many climbing opportunities as possible. In addition, an adequate supply of food attracts the squirrel cat and promotes the attractiveness of their new home.
If the squirrels don't make a roost in your garden despite a suitable location, you can help with a simple trick: Many specialist retailers offer artificial roosts that you can attach in your own garden. When attaching, make sure that the Kobel is attached high enough on the trunk and cannot be reached by predators (especially cats). The artificial quarters are often well received by the squirrels and soon become a popular shelter. But some squirrels also like to occupy squirrel houses or even nesting boxes and offer them a warm place to stay that protects them from the weather and enemies.
Removing sources of danger for squirrels in the garden
In nature, squirrels are afraid of carnivores such as birds of prey, maggots or domestic cats. In the garden, however, there are other sources of danger that can bring the animals an early death. Rain barrels in particular pose a risk that is often underestimated: looking for water, the small rodents fall all too quickly into the half-filled rain barrel and cannot climb back up the smooth walls, which is why they drown in it. This can be avoided by covering the rain barrel with a lid or a close-meshed net as a precaution. If you prefer to have your water butt open, you can also put a branch or a board in at an angle - if the worst comes to the worst, the rodents can climb out of it.
In addition to the rain barrel, poisoning is a common cause of death for squirrels in the garden: blue grain or rat poison is extremely dangerous for the animals because they ingest the substances through their food and die a short time later. The squirrel cats like to mistake granular toxins and garden fertilizer in particular for seeds and eat them. In the best case, one should therefore do without pesticides and mineral fertilizers and instead use biological alternatives - these are not only significantly more environmentally friendly,but also safe for the lively squirrels.
First Aid for Squirrels
Every now and then an injured or helpless squirrel is found in the garden. Young animals that have fallen out of the ditch in wind and storms and cannot make it back in on their own are particularly often affected. The young animals show a unique feature: They actively seek help from humans by approaching them and even clinging to their pant legs. Contrary to popular belief, this behavior is not an indicator of rabies but an innate instinct.
If a kobel is nearby and the young animal is unharmed, you should initially leave the young animal where you found it and observe from a suitable distance whether the mother animal will fetch it back. In the meantime, it makes sense to consult with wildlife aid and discuss any follow-up steps. Injured animals, on the other hand, should be caught and nursed after consultation with the wildlife aid. Always use sturdy gloves and a towel when catching them, as squirrels can bite hard and transmit diseases. Until the animal help arrives, you should provide the squirrel with a lukewarm hot water bottle or a heating pad, because young animals or sick squirrels are particularly susceptible to hypothermia. On the other hand, you should never feed them milk - it is better to offer the little patients some water.
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