Before we answer how to attract squirrels, we should know more about squirrels. The squirrels are the most adorable rodents that we often see spinning and rolling on the branches of trees and in lawns of our backyards. We often see squirrels in the spring and fall seasons. Because spring and fall are their breeding seasons and they are looking for nesting places that are safe and near to food sources.
Squirrels have bad repo because of their activities as they ruin the soil beds of the backyard and carry various pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The life goal of any squirrel is to eat, eat, and eat! and if they are not eating, they might be sleeping or running as there is no in-between in squirrels’ life. So they often lift bird’s feed from their feeders. They chew house electrical wiring as well. That is why, for several people, squirrels are pests, and they try to remove them from their place as soon as possible.
But with few creative restrictions in some areas and permission in other places, these tiny rodents can live harmoniously in your territory. Hence, you will get marvelous wildlife sight in your backyard.
Consequently, if you want to attract these cute little chipmunks to your lawn, you need to lure them. But how to attract squirrels is a difficult task itself. One big reason is that these chipmunks are very fast, and they travel large distances between trees within seconds. That is why the visibility of the squirrels is often like a glimpse of a cute fur ball running from one point to another.
How to Attract Squirrels to Your Backyard?
Provide Natural Cover
How to Attract Squirrels to Your Backyard? To attract squirrels to our backyard, one can do several actions. For instance, if we decorate our backyard lawn with natural things like shrubs, hedges, ornamental lofty grass stands, and piles of wood pieces, we can easily lure these tiny and cute creatures to our backyard garden. Because squirrels like the natural environment and due to their curious nature, they will surely try to explore these decorative covers.
Squirrels often avoid open and wide spaces because they feel unsafe. So, if you create dense vegetation encompassing your backyard to provide them cover, they will feel safe, and ultimately you will soon see them playing around your house.
Plant Trees That Are Squirrel-Friendly
How to Attract Squirrels? In your backyard, you can plant fruit-yielding trees. As we have discussed above that squirrels live for food, that is why it is obvious they will attract to every place where they can find food. Other than food-producing plants, you can also plant trees with dense branching system as squirrels love to spin and run around branches. Along with that, easily accessible barks is another luring factor. Squirrels enjoy climbing, running, and jumping. The trees that cater to all the needs of these small critters are ideal places.
Some squirrel-friendly trees are willows, pines, mulberry, hackberry, elm, spruces, aspens, conifers, deciduous trees, etc. These trees not only attract squirrels but, with their colorful and fragrant flowers, add beauty to your backyard as well.
Offer Little Squirrels Food
The tried and tested way to attract squirrels is to offer them food, as we all know they live for food only. The ideal way to do so is to spread some nuts, corn, or seeds on the ground of your backyard. If you do not want to put nuts on the grass of your backyard lawn, you can hang corn cobs on the branches of the trees.
You can transform you bird feeders into squirrels’ feeder as well. Fill your bird feeder with hickory nuts, walnuts, acorns, etc. Soon you will see squirrels in your lawn’s feeder because squirrels love nuts. Some of the most favorite nuts of squirrels are walnuts, peanuts (roasted peanuts only, do not give squirrels raw peanuts), beechnuts, and hickory nuts.
Refill the feeder when squirrels finish the nuts. Because squirrels will consider your backyard lawn a continuous source of food, and ultimately they will often come to your nut’s feeder. Hence, you will get the wildlife sight.
Avoid the Traps
The worst thing for the squirrels is falling and drowning in small places. So, if you want to attract squirrels to your backyard garden, place wooden planks on your ponds and pools. The wooden planks will provide support and help squirrels to come out from the water if they fall accidentally in the water. On the top of the gutters, place wired covers. These tips are effective to attract birds as well.
Offer Squirrels shelter
As we have discussed earlier, squirrels love burrows and cavities with wide openings and narrow endings. If you place a nesting box like the cavity, squirrels will surely come to make a nest there.
Appreciate them by far distance
Squirrels are adorable and cute little creatures. But never try to touch or catch them because squirrels carry pathogenic bacteria and viruses like rabies. The cute looking squirrels can bite you as well, and their bite wound is deep. Therefore, enjoy their sight only and never get close to them.
Final thoughts
How to Attract Squirrels? Attracting squirrels is an achievable task though it requires lots of effort. You can make your backyard garden squirrel friendly with some natural add ons and food sources. But it is significant to keep squirrels confined to the gardens only as squirrels are the species of the rodent family and carry infectious diseases as well. To do so, you need to prune tree branches that are entering your kitchen window or coming near to other windows of the house.
The pruning will keep squirrels confined to the garden area only. Otherwise, it is easy for them to break their boundaries and enter your house through the roof or windows. Seal the wall cavities, broken windows, or corners of the doors because such places will provide an easy entry into your house. The last thing is to keep your garden’s squirrel feeder full, so they would not try to explore your house, and you will amuse with their speedy spinning glimpses, their nesting, and all their activities.
