Attract squirrels 🐿️ & settle in the garden

Squirrels are one of the most popular guests in our gardens. Here's everything you need to know about these small 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

Skilled as artists, squirrels climb over twigs and branches and daringly jump up to five meters from tree to tree - the small animals keep the garden lively and are therefore extremely popular with children observation objects. 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.

From their relative, the North American gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) one cannot tell the squirrels apart by their color alone. In fact, the gray squirrels are significantly larger and stockier, and they - unlike the European squirrel - do not have brush ears. In Germany, however, only squirrels are native to this day - but other European countries have already started with them to fight invasive gray squirrels, because these are often more assertive than squirrels and thus threaten theirs Population.

What do squirrels eat?

Every child knows that squirrels eat nuts. 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. Especially fruits and fruit like apples (penalty)and grapes (Vitis vinifera) are also high on the food list for 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 easiest 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 for squirrel-friendly plants are of course walnut trees, especially the walnut tree (Juglans regia) as well as 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. Especially fruit trees like apple and pear (Pyrus) are popular with small rodents because they love the delicious fallen fruit. Book (Fagus) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) are not only beautiful deciduous trees in the garden, but also provide thanks beechnuts and chestnuts also for plenty of food. Even conifers are very popular with squirrels because the seeds in the cones are a good source of food.

to feed 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, so they do very well when fed by humans. 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, the small rodents can be cared for better and more specifically if you make your own Squirrel Feeder hangs up - this not only ensures that only squirrels 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 several squirrels with your feeder, it may be worth setting up another feeding station at a sufficient distance to avoid arguments.

Create watering holes for squirrels

Not only food is elementary for the squirrels - their water needs 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 comfortably. 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 Kobel can live in one habitat of the squirrels, which are used with varying degrees of frequency for sleeping and living will. A special feature of these kobels is the fact that each one basically has two exits - so the squirrels always have a chance to escape.

If you also want to offer 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 do not create a burrow in your garden despite a suitable location, you can use one help out with a simple trick: Many specialist retailers offer artificial roosts that you can attach in your own garden can. 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.

Eliminate 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: the small rodents fall too far when they are looking for water quickly into the half-filled rain barrel and cannot climb back up the smooth walls, which is why they are in it drown. 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 rain barrel 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 completely on pesticides and mineral fertilizers do without and instead use biological alternatives - these are not only much more environmentally friendly, but also harmless to 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 there is a kobel nearby and the young animal is unharmed, you should initially leave the young animal where it was found 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 give the squirrel a lukewarm hot-water bottle or with a heating pad, because especially young animals or sick squirrels are fast hypothermic. On the other hand, you should never feed them milk - it is better to offer the little patients some water.

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