Is it irresponsible to feed squirrels in your yard?

Wild animals should never be encouraged to depend on humans. You could cause overpopulation. The squirrels could breed and build nests in your attic if they believe you’re a reliable food source. They could chew through your internet wires and you’d have to go without midget porn for a night.

OP I've fed squirrels for years, and now opossums too. Neither have become dependent or overpopulated. I enjoy watching them eat, and I'm sure they bring you great pleasure as well.

I believe it is okay to feed ONE local squirrel. But only when s/he regularly comes to your railing/deck/whatever and holds out its little paws.

You get into a little game where they take the peanut...they go stash it....then they come by for another.

I quit at 4 (peanuts). And only for "my" squirrel.

That's awfully cute R3. I have had no more than five come to my deck over the last twenty years. Some years it is only two, some three. They don't live very long, and I have never had them try to nest in my house, roof, etc.

It's funny, just as I was putting out a piece of brioche left from breakfast for "my" little opossum, I saw this thread.

Avoid giving them the salted or roasted peanuts or they'll want a beer.

Help keep wildlife wild and healthy. Wildlife Services encourages you to avoid feeding wildlife such as ducks, geese, gulls, raccoons, deer, squirrels or coyotes. One way you can help reduce wildlife conflicts with people is by not feeding wildlife near human populations and in parks.

Wildlife Services experts are often asked to assist with wildlife damage problems related to animals that have been accidentally or intentionally fed by people. Feeding wildlife can lead to a number of serious problems

Human food is not healthy for wild animals, and they do not need food from humans to survive. Wild animals have specialized diets, and they can become malnourished or die if fed the wrong foods. Also, animals cannot distinguish food from wrappers or foil and can get sick eating these items.

Feeding leads to public health concerns. Too many animals in one place increases the chance of disease transmission to people and among other wildlife.

Animals accustomed to people often lose their fear of people and can become aggressive. Those that become too aggressive may have to be destroyed to protect people and property.

Birds gathering near or on airports can become victims of bird-aircraft collisions, potentially causing flight delays, damage to aircraft, and loss of human life.

Animals fed along roads tend to stay near roads, increasing the chance of vehicle-animal accidents.

Large concentrations of ducks and geese can pollute nearby waterways, backyards and athletic fields. Some waterfowl species drop up to a pound of feces every day!

Indeed R5, squirrels suffer terribly from hypertension and hyperlipidemia --- LDL levels through the roof. Try to feed them low sodium treats and non-saturated fats that will boost their HDL.

I have literally seen morbidly obese squirrels, so yeah, it's not the greatest idea.

R6/R7 I'm sure you mean well, but your fears are greatly exaggerated. A few nuts aren't going to hurt the squirrels. I've never attempted hand feeding them, and they're quite skittish.

Feeding wolves, raccoons or coyotes is completely another matter.

HOW DARE YOU FEED THE GREAT GREY MENACE!! THEY ARE INSIDIOUS VILE CREATURES WHO MUST BE WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

LOOK AT THEM!!!

THEY DO NOT FEAR ME!! DESCENDANT OF WOLVES!!

I COULD TEAR THEM APART WITH MY SHARP TEETH!

YET THEY JUST STAND THERE CHATTERING AND SCAMPERING UP THEIR TREES

I WILL CATCH THEM AND TEAR THEM LIMB FROM LIMB

DO NOT FEED THEM OP

DO NOT FEED THEM

[quote] [R6]/[R7] I'm sure you mean well, but your fears are greatly exaggerated. A few nuts aren't going to hurt the squirrels. I've never attempted hand feeding them, and they're quite skittish. Feeding wolves, raccoons or coyotes is completely another matter.

Those are guidelines from the US Dept of Agriculture. Write them and tell them that they don’t know what the fuck they’re taking about. You’re an expert because you feed squirrels nuts.

As R1 said, you shouldn't feed squirrels. They'll start asking for peanuts and before you know it they will demand you get them a car

I feed them arsenic....seems to discourage return visits

This thread has been an eyeopener... I had no idea so many people feed disgusting vermin like squirrels and opossums.

I've been feeding and watering about a half-dozen stray cats for several years. Sometimes I wonder if it is cruel to keep them alive when the winters are so brutal here.

I just can't stand to see them hungry. I live check-to-check myself, but I think a person should give what they can (I also feed the birds).

My mother likes to feed birds. She used to leave a handful of peanuts on her deck for the blue jays. They would pick up the peanuts by clutching the shells within their beaks and shake the peanuts (kind of like how a person shakes a gift box to try to guess what is inside). They'd keep doing that until they found the peanut they thought was heaviest, and then they'd fly away with it. A neighbor complained that either a squirrel or bird took off with a peanut (still in the shell) and dropped it in her yard, where her dog swallowed it. The dog had to go to the vet to have the peanut removed. After that, my mother bought shelled peanuts for the birds.

My parents fed a friendly squirrel. When they had a guest come over to chat in the yard outside, the squirrel would come over and lie a few feet away, kind of like a cat or dog. He even had a favorite spot he liked to lie: on top of one of the wheels of the riding lawn mower. He'd lay on his stomach, bending his body to fit the curve of the wheel.

[quote]r6 Wildlife Services encourages you to avoid feeding wildlife such as ducks, geese, gulls, raccoons, deer, squirrels or coyotes.

Are occassional car rides okay?

Some say quirrels are like rats or raccoons with better outfits.

Not everybody likes squirrels, birds, etc. If you live in a remote area, do what you like. But if you have neighbors close by, they might not all appreciate squirrels getting too comfortable in the neighborhood.

[quote]r15 I had no idea so many people feed disgusting vermin like squirrels and opossums.

they were so friendly, they were just part of the family, always welcome

I don't think the Dept of Agriculture info applies to squirrels. It’s more like, for moose and such. I used to have squirrels that would come in if the windows were left open. I didn't encourage that. I live in a city, so I like squirrels. They are the only nice wildlife we have, besides birds.

Once a rabid squirrel attacked a neighbor lady. It was weird because she was often described as quite squirrelly herself. I think whatever animal you most resemble, you are at greater likelihood to be attacked by.

[quote]r7 Human food is not healthy for wild animals

Hear, hear!

I have seen with my own eyes strange mutations in the young of wild animals that got too much human food in their systems.

[quote] I don't think the Dept of Agriculture info applies to squirrels. It’s more like, for moose and such. I used to have squirrels that would come in if the windows were left open. I didn't encourage that. I live in a city, so I like squirrels. They are the only nice wildlife we have, besides birds.

Help keep wildlife wild and healthy. Wildlife Services encourages you to avoid feeding wildlife such as ducks, geese, gulls, raccoons, deer, squirrels or coyotes. One way you can help reduce wildlife conflicts with people is by not feeding wildlife near human populations and in parks.

Wildlife Services experts are often asked to assist with wildlife damage problems related to animals that have been accidentally or intentionally fed by people. Feeding wildlife can lead to a number of serious problems

OP - I think the behavior of your cat is not good. The squirrel is in the cat's territory and the cat does not like that.

R15/R20 Opossums aren't vermin, they're marsupials. They're the only ones indigenous to N. America. They do not carry rabies, (their body temp is too low to allow rabies to survive) but clean up vermin on properties, and can be a valuable part of one's ecosystem.

I've been feeding a baby whose mum has died. My BF and I think we saw her alongside the road, struck by a car near his street. The mum had been with the little one each time we saw them. It's rather sad to think he's alone now at the start of winter.

To everyone else finger-pointing, squirrels eat nuts. No one here is advocating ordering pizzas for them!

I have a feeder in my backyard. If I don't put peanuts in it on the regular, those little fuckers come right up to my door and look in like, "What the fuck, Lady! We are hungry!" Never been able to get one to take it from my hand though. One of my greatest pleasures is sitting by my window and watching the squirrels. They often chase each other around my yard all pissed off that one of them got a nut. I find them highly amusing.

if they get into your house (they love getting into attics), the damage is not covered by your homeowner's insurance

DO NOT FEED THEM! I post from experience. I made the mistake of feeding a couple of squirrels in my yard. One built a nest in one of the trees on my property. When the young squirrels left the nest I trained one to come to me for food. So far so good. Well whenever I was in my yard that fucking squirrel would be at my feet wanting a treat. One day I was talking with my neighbors, the squirrel heard me, ran along the roof and jumped on me. Squirrels have fucking sharp claws to climb trees and when you hold a treat in front on their nose they can’t see it very well and end up biting your finger. This pet turned into a nuisance really quickly. And feeding one squirrel turns into feeding all the family and their friends. I had squirrels everywhere. Chewing on the eaves of my house, eating fruit off my trees. I had to buy a Have a Heart trap and started trapping them and taking them to a park far away from my house. What I thought was a Disney moment turned into a nightmare. Don’t feed them. You’ll regret it.

Always get your peanuts at a wild bird store. Human peanuts have salt and bad fats. Also NEVER feet honey roasted nuts of any sort to wildlife. Honey is not good for them.

R12 You need to calm down. You sound a bit too judgemental and hateful toward an anonymous stranger in a city far, far away from you. And for what? Because I give a few walnuts and other mixed nuts to some squirrels?

Get a fucking life you troglodyte! I've been feeding them since I was a child, fed them my whole life. Nuts are part of their natural diet, and a few here and there isn't the crime against nature you perceive it to be. If I want to spend my retirement giving a few nuts out, I will do.

There are definite pros to feeding your squirrels fatty foods. They will be too lethargic and unattractive to one another to be mating and waking you in the middle of the night to their disgusting sex noises.

We actually had a pet raccoon when I was about four. I don't remember her, but there's pics of my parents cradling her, etc. My dad grew up on a farm, and had had pet does etc. when he was little. When he served in Vietnam he tamed a spider monkey from the jungle that became his unit's mascot.

But anyway, when I was little he saw this young racoon wandering in circles by the side of the road by her squashed mother, and (thinking she'd been tossed around under a vehicle, too) he figured she would also die. But he had a load of warm laundry in the car and tucked her in the laundry basket so she could have a peaceful death.

When he got out of teaching his class she was much more alert, so he brought her home. My mother in hindsight thinks this was insane, with three small kids in the house, but she lived inside (basically) for the winter...then she moved to a tree outside the kitchen window. She would come in at night and sit on my father's shoulder while he stayed up late grading papers. So she transitioned into being only his "friend," though she also liked to play with our 3 hound dogs (!!) that she'd spent the winter with.

Obviously there are MANY things wrong with this scenario. The Department of Agriculture would NOT approve!!!

OP's Indian name is

Ends In Tears

[quote]r29 if they get into your house (they love getting into attics), the damage is not covered by your homeowner's insurance

We are now at the point of the thread wherein someone reports seeing a gang of squirrels raping and eating a dead squirrel.

A post above reminds me of my dad's small apple tree. It was a tiny apple tree, only about six feet tall, and in the spring, it would only produce about 20 apples. The squirrels liked to climb in the tree. Everyday, my dad would walk near the tree, and one of the apples would be lying on the ground. It would have just one bite mark in it. The squirrels would pick an apple, take one bite, decide they didn't like it, and abandon the apple on the ground, where my dad would have to pick it up. He couldn't understand why, if the squirrels didn't like the apples, they continued to pick a new apple each day. "You know, I didn't like these apples yesterday, the day before that, or the day before that....but maybe it will taste better today."

^^ your poor dad misunderstood.

It was sheer, calculated bullying!

totally irresponsible to feed them in your yard.

what kind of anti social asshole doesn't invited them inside for a sit down at the dining table?

[quote] [R12] You need to calm down. You sound a bit too judgemental and hateful toward an anonymous stranger in a city far, far away from you. And for what? Because I give a few walnuts and other mixed nuts to some squirrels? Get a fucking life you troglodyte! I've been feeding them since I was a child, fed them my whole life. Nuts are part of their natural diet, and a few here and there isn't the crime against nature you perceive it to be. If I want to spend my retirement giving a few nuts out, I will do.

Sir, I posted government guidelines. You took that as some sort of personal attack and you continue to attempt to make this personal. It’s not. I posted government guidelines and you are offended. As I previously stated. You should take your hurt feelings up with the US Dept of Agriculture. Tell them that you know better than they do.

Girls! Cunts! Tearing us apaaaart!

And Now, back to subjugating oneself on behalf of yet another European invader of these vast tracks of American land.....

R41 It's not a matter of my knowing better, it's a matter of I'll do as I please on my property and my BF's property. When you pay my property taxes, and the BF's mortgage and property taxes, then maybe we'll do as you and Dept. of Agriculture suggest! (you'd better have lots of money)

Abiding by those guidelines in Forest Preserve Territory, National Parks, Wildlife Preserves, etc. is what these website guidelines are first and foremost meant for. Not for you or the Dept. to tell me what to do on private property.

Re-read your post in its entirety... it's a bit over the top...

Those are guidelines from the US Dept of Agriculture. Write them and tell them that they don’t know what the fuck they’re taking about. You’re an expert because you feed squirrels nuts.

OP, your squirrels also eat candy, pizza, black tar heroin, and squash.

I think spoiling fauna every once in awhile is healthy. Just make sure you pee in at least one compost pile in the coming year. Balances stuff out.

Did y'all know you can repurpose doll beds for cats, pugs, etc?

Think how thrilled the little squirrels and opossums would be to find these lining all the edges of our decks just for them!

[quote]r41 I posted government guidelines

[italic]THE GOVERNMENT LIES ! ! !

R41 I also forgot to add FUCK YOUR GOVERNMENT RIGHT IN THE ARSE! I'm not American, nor am I about to take orders from such a government.

But the GOVERNMENT.... Shut it!

What is the difference between feeding squirrels and feeding birds? It's the same concept. You can buy squirrel feeders that have spikes to put corn cobs on so they can chew off the corn. They are going to nest in your trees anyway. They do also love to eat the pumpkins in the fall. We also ended up with some morbidly obese ones after that.

They eat bird eggs & nestlings. The more squirrels you have, the fewer birds.

I'd like to feed the deer in my yard in winter but their metabolism resets to digest brush in winter. If you feed them corn, you kill them.

We've been feeding the squirrels in our back yard for decades. Typically in the form of peanut butter sandwiches or peanut butter on crackers. Occasionally they will get bold, and be standing right outside of our back screen door or kitchen window looking up at us when they want more. There are also multiple nut trees in our neighbors yards, including a buckeye tree. So we see tons of squirrels around here.

R50, I forgot to add, they apparently love strawberries too. When we had a garden they would devour them. It was kind of silly, because their faces would be stained red, like they were Cujo or something.

[quote]r48 What is the difference between feeding squirrels and feeding birds?

I don't know ... but I do know you can do birds a favor by leaving bits of yarn, string and laundry lint around the garden. Building a nest is quite tiring, and some nice cast-off bits to work with without making them go hither and yon is appreciated.

I always feed squirrels. To fatten them up for squirrel melts.

Presentation is so important. It’s not like you just throw random shit at them. No! You nonchalantly pass a spot. Look left,then right. Place balanced nutrient-rich protein/fat/carb snack carefully on a railing. Run away.

It is the old tradition.

A few nuts won't hurt but you should really not give them peanuts.

What’s the absolute best food for squirrels?

Nuts still in their shells! In particular, a variety of walnuts, hickory nuts, white oak acorns, beechnuts make for a great squirrel diet.

Since the shelled versions of these nuts are rarely for sale on a retail level, you can visit a nearby forest and pick up a variety and then dole them out in a squirrel feeder throughout the year.

The Squirrels in my garden go crazy for Hazel/Filbert nuts in the shell.

Why in the shell? They eat shells?

They do grind up the shells and eat them, but more importantly they gnaw on the nutshell to keep their teeth short and sharp, that's why peanuts with their soft shell aren't very good for them.

“Poor Madge - so very old and depressed. Even her squirrels neglect their dental hygiene.”

I always think of squirrels in the parks and people feeding them and waiting for them to get bit by a rabid one. No bueno

House Hunters: Jack’s a squirrel orthodontist and Jill shoots black tar. Let’s see what they can buy with only $1.4 million in this hot Louisville market!

[quote] [R41] I also forgot to add FUCK YOUR GOVERNMENT RIGHT IN THE ARSE! I'm not American, nor am I about to take orders from such a government. But the GOVERNMENT.... Shut it!

[quote] [R41] It's not a matter of my knowing better, it's a matter of I'll do as I please on my property and my BF's property. When you pay my property taxes, and the BF's mortgage and property taxes, then maybe we'll do as you and Dept. of Agriculture suggest! (you'd better have lots of money) Abiding by those guidelines in Forest Preserve Territory, National Parks, Wildlife Preserves, etc. is what these website guidelines are first and foremost meant for. Not for you or the Dept. to tell me what to do on private property. Re-read your post in its entirety... it's a bit over the top...

[quote] [R12] You need to calm down. You sound a bit too judgemental and hateful toward an anonymous stranger in a city far, far away from you. And for what? Because I give a few walnuts and other mixed nuts to some squirrels? Get a fucking life you troglodyte! I've been feeding them since I was a child, fed them my whole life. Nuts are part of their natural diet, and a few here and there isn't the crime against nature you perceive it to be. If I want to spend my retirement giving a few nuts out, I will do.

Are you by any chance on any medications (psychotropic)? Something is clearly not right.

My (now deceased) next door neighbor used to collect nuts in a nearby cemetery, and feed them to the squirrels. Now, I have buckeye and black walnut saplings coming up all over my yard. I have nothing against feeding squirrels. You might even name one Darryl. When me parents were still alive, we'd feed the ducks (and geese and swans) at the same local cemetery. But I've read about the problems with feeding waterfowl: people tend to feed them bread, which isn't healthy for them, and pollutes the water in the ponds where they reside. Instead, I would drive to the next county and buy a big bag of duck chow from a farm supply store, and feed them without guilt.