Bird Watcher Supply Shop
Squirrel Feeders & Food
Squirrel feeders and food. Feed the squirrels in your garden with these fun, humors feeders built just for them.
feeding squirrels
Those rascally squirrels! You either love them or hate them. They are amazing athletes, can jump ridiculous distances, are agile as the dickens and determined beyond being called stubborn. They raid bird feeders, chew them to bits, damage and destroy expensive feeding stations. No matter what you do squirrels are going to be a part of your wildlife refuge. It's easier to give in and work with them instead of going insane. We just love them for their tenacity and creativity and the little rotters have given us more laughs as we do battle with them trying to thwart their relentless attempts to access our wild bird feeders.
Feeding squirrels can be fun and entertaining along with helping to deter them from your bird feeding stations. What do squirrels eat? In the wild they eat mostly eat nuts, seeds, grain, fruits and berries. Their favorite food is nuts with sunflower seeds as the second favorite. The urban squirrel, such as what we are dealing with, will eat just about anything you put out. They'll eat table scraps, apple cores, chips and anything else you care to pull out of your pantry. Now this system isn't always what is best for them so use common sense – do not feed salted items, dyed foods, sweets or candy. Natural foods and feed blends are best if you are going to regularly feed squirrels with carefully chosen table scraps as the occasional treat. A blend of seeds, nuts and corn is preferred by them. This should be given on a ground tray or table feeder to avoid seed blends and foods from getting wet and moldy. Only put out small amounts of feed at one time so no food is exposed to the weather for any period. Of course we don't always make it easy on them all the time. We like to use mainly squirrel feeders that offer the little guys a challenge - they can be fun and humors while trying to get to that ear of corn.
Squirrel Feeder Placement
Be sure that you place squirrel feeders away from a house. Window feeders for squirrels are not recommended. You do not want them moving into your home! They do chew things at an alarming rat and can easily destroy screens, window sills and wood. Place squirrel feeders away from your bird feeding stations so that they don't monopolize bird feeders. If the squirrel feeder is available, hopefully they will leave bird feeders alone.
Place your squirrel feeder near shrubs or cover to provide them an easy escape should a predator suddenly appear. Hawks and domestic cats are a particular problem and squirrels need a place to hide quickly.
Water
Another thing to consider if you are adding squirrel care to your refuge is to provide water. Squirrels drink a lot so providing a ground bird bathwhich squirrels may drink out of is very attractive to them. We have found in our own backyards that the squirrels easily share ground bird baths with the birds.
Hand Feeding Squirrels
We recommend that you not encourage squirrels to take food from your hand. If a squirrel does this, let it be the squirrel's choice. While a squirrel might do this, they are still wild animals, nervous and can crack a walnut in their jaws. Respect this. Due to their nervousness they can suddenly change behavior and bit or jump – their claws can hang easily on trees and are very long. We are also not believers in taming wild animals as we feel that the animal is safer not being completely comfortable being handled by a human. The next human that handles that animal may not be as nice as you are. Keep them safe, keep them wary. We want to coexist with out wildlife friends but part of that coexistence involves respecting their wildness and what nature meant them to be.
On a note: Squirrels rarely carry diseases. They have been known to build multiple nests and move around every few days in order to avoid fleas and other parasites from building up in nests. We have lived with squirrels close up and they are fastidious creatures, constantly grooming themselves.
Backyard Squirrel Diversion Feeders - Include a squirrel diversion feeder in a backyard wildlife sanctuary! Don't always make it easy on the rascals and they will provide you with hours of laughs. After all, the squirrels have given you hours of grief trying to keep them out of your bird feeders.
Backyard Squirrel Foods - FFood squirrels prefer, best diversion feeding. A collection of specialty blended and squirrel tested foods which they will jump through hoops, or spin as the case may be, to get to. Corn on the cob, wildlife blends with peanuts and other foods which appeal to our bushy tailed friends.