Going nuts (or at least storing them): squirrels at work

It’s not often that you can go outdoors and travel more than a few yards and not see a squirrel. If you don’t see one, you might hear one nearby as it vocalizes in an effort to ward off a perceived threat.

Another sign of a squirrel’s presence is a pile of nut shell fragments or bits of pine cones, which are usually leftovers from a squirrel snack. The main diet of squirrels is seeds and nuts, but they will also eat buds and leaves, especially in the spring. People who maintain bird feeders have devised all sorts of methods to keep squirrels from eating all the bird seed.

During the fall, squirrels store food for the winter by burying acorns or other nuts in holes they dig in the ground. Grey squirrels prefer to set up scattered caches of nuts by burying them one at a time in random places. A squirrel will rub the nut on its face immediately before burying it. This deposits its scent on the nut, enabling it to scent out the nut even in mid-winter under a blanket of snow. Red squirrels also cache food for the winter; however, the red squirrel prefers to cache all its food in one location, typically, a hollow log. Many tall oak and other species of trees have started out as unclaimed squirrel caches.

Squirrels also cause garden damage by digging up bulbs. Daffodil and other narcissi bulbs are usually immune; squirrels don’t like the taste. Bulbs such as tulips and crocuses, however, are high up on the menu. Many gardeners place chicken wire or other mesh over bulb plantings. This prevents squirrels from digging up the bulbs, and the plants will grow through the mesh in the spring. There are many other remedies that could be used to prevent damage; the White House even came up with a remedy. They put out several large boxes of peanuts for the squirrels during the fall and winter, and found that their bulb damage was significantly reduced.

Whatever your interaction with these furry critters, try to enjoy, and don’t let them drive you nutty!