Attracting squirrels to the garden

Squirrels are becoming more and more trusting. The cute rodents with bushy tails are no longer uncommon in home gardens. As before, young and old enjoy watching the nimble climbers. When the gardener lures them into the garden in a targeted manner, humans and animals benefit equally, because the squirrel's habitat is increasingly disappearing. The animals are very grateful for food or a safe shelter. This guide shows you the best tips for attracting squirrels.

The habitat

Sciurus vulgaris usually lives in parks or forests. However, the expansion of housing estates is increasingly decimating this natural habitat. Accordingly, the rodents have no other option than to colonize tall trees in private gardens. They build their nests, also called goblins, as high as possible to protect them from enemies. Typically, in addition to its main paddock, in which it sleeps, an animal also has up to eight other nests, which serve as an alternative or place for feeding.

Note: The chances of attracting Sciurus vulgaris are higher on a plot of land near a forest than in the city.

Choose a safe location

If you want to lure the cute animals into the garden, you must first ensure their safety. The gardener should build a finished shelter at a sufficient height to make access more difficult for cats and martens. Open water points such as rain barrels should be covered with a net or a lid. Otherwise the animals risk falling into the barrel while drinking and drowning. Pesticides and blue grain fertilizers are also toxic to fur animals.

Attract squirrels

There are a handful of ways to make the garden attractive to the little rodents.

Nest boxes

While it may surprise some gardeners, it's not uncommon to have a squirrel in one nesting box to be found. However, so that the animals do not rob birds of their breeding ground, the gardener can build his own squirrel scoop:

• Use untreated softwood such as pine, beech or maple
• Impregnate wood with weatherproof glaze
• a thickness of 1.5 cm is optimal (use a jigsaw)
• the base is around 26 x 26 cm
• the roof should protrude beyond the floor slab
• the height corresponds to 30 cm
• Drill holes with a diameter of 7 cm (use a compass)
• Round off cut edges
• especially important: two exits
• one of them points down and is near the main trunk
• as desired with straw, moss, thin branches. Lay out hay or dry leaves
• Attach the Kobel to a tree at a height of 5 m

Offer food

The nimble animals are constantly looking for food. They eat up to 80 g of food a day. The omnivores are not picky. Still, they prefer nuts and seeds. But they also gratefully accept fresh fruit, berries, tree bark, twigs or buds. In summer, melon is a refreshing change that immediately supplies the animals with water. Moldy foods such as leftover bread, on the other hand, are not suitable as feed. Consumption could lead to severe diarrhea.

Those who offer nuts should also take the young animals into account. Their teeth are poorly developed, so they rely on cracked nuts. The squirrel food available on the market often does not meet the animals' preferences at all. It is better to put together the food supply yourself. If you don't want to invest any money, just dry the corn on the cob and place the individual grains in the feed bowl. In addition, the following are suitable:

• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts
• cucumber
• Raisins
• Apples (bite-sized pieces)
• pear
• Carrots (bite-sized pieces)

Note: Squirrels are also nest predators. Occasionally you help yourself to the clutch or young of domestic birds. When settling here, the gardener should therefore also think about bird protection.

planting trees

Another way to attract squirrels is to have a natural garden that automatically provides food. According to experts, planting fruit-bearing trees is even better than offering loose food. Useful plants are:

• Chestnut trees
• Hazelnut bushes
• Apple trees
• Strawberries
• Book
• Oak trees

Note: Sciurus vulgaris buries its food supplies in the earth. It is not uncommon for the tree fruits to germinate and soon appear as young shoots on the surface of the earth. Squirrels thus make an important contribution to the survival of forests. In the middle of the lawn, however, this behavior can lead to annoyance.

Automatic feeders

In addition, the trade also offers special automatic feeders that only squirrels have access to. However, experts advise only setting them up in winter, when the animals can hardly find any food. If more than two animals visit the garden regularly, the gardener should hang up two of these machines to avoid food envy.

Note: In addition to solid food, a water source is also important. This should be available to the rodents all year round.

Imitate squirrel sounds

If the method isn't quite as promising as the tips above, the squirrel caller should also be mentioned. The utensil has a wooden or metal end and a rubber end. The gardener taps the latter on the palm of his hand. The resulting sounds are reminiscent of the call of a squirrel. Alternatively, rubbing two screws together produces similar sounds. Squirrel callers cost between 10 and 30 euros in specialist shops.

What else does the gardener have to consider?

Even if squirrels become more and more trusting over time, the gardener should never lure them by hand-feeding them. On the one hand, the animals can transmit the dangerous Hanta virus. On the other hand, they lose their natural instinct to flee and are no longer prepared for dangers in the great outdoors.

Sciurus vulgaris gives birth twice a year. It is therefore very likely that you will find a sick or weak young animal at the end of January and the end of August. The gardener should first warm it up. He should leave the exact treatment to the veterinarian. There are special rescue stations for animals in need of help.