Squirrel Food
Do you have squirrels in your garden? Squirrels love scurrying around the garden and can be a delightful sight, but they often steal the food put out for your birds. There are many ways you can help them coexist happily with your feathered friends, including putting out squirrel food in a specially designed squirrel feeder.
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What nuts do squirrels eat?
When we think about squirrels, the image that comes to our mind is often that of a squirrel holding tightly onto a cherished nut. But it’s more than a cliche: squirrels really do love nuts.
Of course, nuts are a wise choice when it comes to stashing some food away for the winter. And there aren’t many varieties of nut squirrels won’t eat. Here are a few of their favourites:
- Acorns
- Hazelnuts
- Walnuts
- Pine nuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Beech nuts
- Peanuts
They eat both shelled and unshelled nuts, with their dexterous paws and sharp teeth well capable of removing shells.
What else do squirrels eat?
Squirrels are omnivores, meaning their diet consists of both plants and meat. As mentioned, squirrels largely eat nuts, but are happy to dig in to seeds, grains and fruit including apples, pears and plums depending on the time of year and the availability of food. However, when they’re foraging for themselves, a squirrel’s diet may also include eggs, insects and even young snakes.
Early spring is the hardest time for squirrels because buried nuts are lost or begin to sprout and are no longer available for the squirrel to eat. During these times, squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees and can be quite destructive. In the garden, they will voraciously attack bird feeders and bird food. You can stop this by using special squirrel-proof bird feeders. You can also fit squirrel baffles or cages around them.
What will squirrels not eat?
Some garden visitors (like hedgehogs) can eat dog or cat food, but squirrels can’t. And unsurprisingly, junk foods and sugary snacks are just as bad for squirrels as they are for humans.
In addition, there are a few (just a few) other foods that squirrels naturally come across that they don’t enjoy. They won’t eat garlic or onion. Plus, they won’t touch bulbs like snowdrops, hyacinths or daffodils despite eating other flowers.
Help your squirrels by providing them with a well-balanced squirrel food. Ark Squirrel Food specially designed for them with a high percentage of the food they enjoy most, like hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts and sunflower seeds. Full of excellent ingredients and fortified with added calcium that is often missing from the urban squirrels’ diet, this will encourage them to leave your bird food alone. Find out more about calcium deficiency in squirrels.
If you are lucky enough to have red squirrels in your garden, we have Ark Red Squirrel Food, designed around the nutritional needs and preferences of this precious species. Our squirrel food can be fed from a ground tray or a squirrel feeder.
The wildlife in your garden needs water as much as food for drinking and bathing. We always recommend putting fresh clean water out every day of the year.
We can help, talk to us
If you are looking for squirrel-related products or would like some advice about squirrel-proofing your garden, please get in touch. Phone us on freephone: 0800 085 4865.