Squirrel, an adorable rodent, can be found almost everywhere, whether it’s the countryside or city. It is pretty easy to find a squirrel, especially when living surrounded by trees and bushes. We might’ve also fed them sometimes by putting something they can eat around and no wonder, petting them also seems interesting. But how to touch a Squirrel? Squirrels have incredibly sharp claws that carry diseases like typhus and parasites like ticks. The sharp claws of squirrels can scratch anyone just by one touch. Petting a squirrel with bare hands can be a threatening act that’s not going to give any benefit afterward.
According to experts, we should put on thick rubber gloves before touching a squirrel. But in most cases, it’s better to prevent touching them anyway. They are wild animals.
Why should we not touch a squirrel with bare hands?
Squirrels are adorable, no doubt, but touching wild animals isn’t a great idea. Wild animals like rabbits and squirrels seem entirely harmless to handle, but they are wild animals who might have interacted with other wild animals. They are more likely to carry diseases. Furthermore, the sharp claws can harm the human skin even if we have food in our hands. The reason we stay away from these animals is, of course, because they are wild, and we must take that seriously. Even if we see any nest of squirrels in our house, we must call pest control and not touch it ourselves. Grabbing squirrels is also not such a good idea.
In the same way, touching the squirrel is harmful; grabbing the squirrel can be a call for trouble. An animal that had never been touched by a human before got picked up. The very first reaction of the squirrel will be panic. No squirrel is used to being held by a human until it is domesticated. So, it is much more rewarding just to let the situation be as it is. Feeding squirrels can be a great idea but without touching or grabbing them.
Are squirrels friendly to humans?
Squirrels can be friendly animals; it mostly depends on the area. Squirrels are curious by nature. They tend to understand their surroundings and what’s going on around them. If we encounter a squirrel in the city’s outskirts or hiking, the squirrels are more likely to go away. On the other hand, if we see a squirrel in a populous town or suburban area, we might find friendly squirrels. The only difference is about the habitats of squirrels, one in which they learned to live with the humans and the other where they barely see one.
Additionally, a study found that squirrels living in natural habitats are more alert than squirrels residing in urban areas. For beings like squirrels, the main goal is their survival. These wild animals focus on protection from predators and enough food for storage and survival. The squirrels staying in the urban area developed a sense that humans aren’t harmful. We can say that location is a significant factor that can affect the friendliness of squirrels.
If we feed squirrels, will they become friendlier?
Well, this is the most common question that we think of for most all animals. Even we want them to get friendly with us, and we start this by feeding them. When we provide animals, we are becoming their food source. This makes them more likely to come back to us. According to psychology, when animals connect something good for them to something else, they feel that both the things belong to each other; this makes them seek it more. Feeding a squirrel can make them feel that they can get or expect food from us or that we are a trustworthy food source.
As mentioned earlier, getting and storing food is a fundamental goal of squirrels. Let’s say if we feed a squirrel once, the next day or later, we might find the squirrel again at the same place, maybe, for the same purpose. This will continue, and with time, the squirrel will seem extremely friendly to us as they are getting both protections because we are not harming them (and we should not either) and providing them food whenever they reach us. Feeding squirrels will make our house and us friendlier to squirrels. For nature lovers, this might be a good thing because, in this way, they can get squirrels around them quickly.
If we feed a squirrel or squirrels regularly, they become friendly to us and our property. What might happen then? Is it safe? Squirrels can bite or chew the electric wiring that is dangerous for both squirrels and us. If we have any PVC pipe, squirrels can even chew it as well. They can also chew the sides to enter the attic of the house. For some time, feeding squirrels might be amusing and adorable, but it can affect us negatively both with the issues we’ll face on our property and financially. It might be sad, but feeding squirrels is better only if it’s done for some time. Making squirrels depend on us is not such a good idea.
Conclusion
How to touch a squirrel? So we can understand that we must not touch the squirrels, and if we are doing it, we have to make sure that we do it with protection and safety. They can harm us not just by their claws but also by the diseases they carry. Not only humans, but squirrels can also even cause harm to our pets (if we have them in our house) by causing infections.
If we want to handle a squirrel in any way, we must do it with safety (not unless it is essential) or call experts to do the same. Even if we find babies of squirrels, we should not try to hold and touch them because they are able enough to harm us or run away for survival. The best we can do is to let the natural beings stay the way they are. Feeding might be a good idea, but that is also within a limit. Beings like squirrels are not safe around humans, and even if they are, it’s better to let it be the way it is. That’ll be good for both humans and squirrels.
