"TREE" SQUIRRELS
Tree squirrels include the fox squirrel, the eastern gray squirrel, the red squirrel, the southern flying squirrel, and the northern flying squirrel. They are members of the rodent family and are very active year-round; the eastern gray and flying squirrel are often the main culprits if squirrel damage has occurred. These are the cute, animals with fluffy tails that most everyone likes to feed in the park. In reality, they are really are rats with a very fluffy tail. They will find a way into your home, attic, office, crawlspace, or garage, if you give them half a chance and a hole as small as 1". They will sometimes find their way into buildings through loose siding or ventilation screens. They will gnaw through wood siding or shingles to gain entry. They can crawl straight up a smooth wall and something as rough as stucco is like an elevator.
Damage
In residential areas, squirrels cause damage because of their tendency to gnaw on structures. They will chew siding and under eves to make openings for their nests. Because of their small size, flying squirrels are prone to making nests in attics and other areas they can get into. Many mountain cabins have groups of flying squirrels living in the closets and between walls. Once they have made a nest, squirrels will chew on insulation and the insulation around wires. This habit is dangerous because the bare wires may cause a fire. They also travel along power lines and may short out transformers. They chew on electrical wiring, creating a possible fire hazard they chew rafters or window trim or scratch through
drywall. They will bring nuts, seed, and fruit inside for storage, making a mess. On top of all that is the incredible noise. They are most active early evening and early mornings, meaning they can loudly wake up anyone that might be sleeping under them. If you are awoken early in the morning with the sounds that children might make playing tag or hide and seek in the attic, the odds are that you have squirrels living upstairs and not paying rent. The second most common complaint about squirrels is that they often take food at feeders intended for birds. Squirrels are adept climbers and can reach almost any feeder. In
addition, they frequently damage bird feeders when they enlarge openings by chewing on them or when they gnaw on perches.
General biology
All five-squirrel species nest in tree cavities, human-made squirrel boxes, or in leaf nests. Although squirrels prefer to nest in cavities, they will often construct their own leaf nests by making a stick frame that is then filled with dry leaves and lined with leaves, strips of bark, corn husks, or other materials such as your attic insulation. They often move into a structure in October or November and sometimes stay through March or April or depending upon climate, they may stay all year long. They may give birth inside of a structure in February or March and again in August.
Eastern gray squirrel
The color of Eastern gray squirrels varies greatly, from all black to silver gray with a white
	belly. Sometimes several color variations occur in a single population. They weigh between 15 and 24 ounces and are 16 to 24 inches in length. Gray squirrels breed in mid-December or early January and again in June. During the breeding season, noisy mating chases take place when one or more males pursue a female through the trees. When not breeding, the gray squirrel is solitary. They usually have two litters of one to eight pups. The young are weaned after they are two months old. The diet of the gray squirrel dictates its habitat. Gray squirrels can be found in any area that
supplies sufficient amounts of nuts and seeds to sustain the population. Urban backyards also have become prime habitat for gray squirrels. They will be glad to share your birdfeeder with the birds.
Fox squirrel
Their coats are variable in color. Some have a distinct reddish cast to their brownish-gray coat. Fox squirrel bellies are tan compared to the white bellies of gray squirrels. They are larger than gray squirrels, weighing 1.9 to 2.2 pounds, but they have the same body shape. Their breeding activities are similar to those of gray squirrels. Fox squirrels prefer oak-hickory habitat over much of their range.
Red squirrel
The red squirrel has a red-brown upper body and white under parts. They have small ear tufts in the winter and often have a black stripe separating the dark upper color from the light belly. The amount of red in their fur varies from rust-colored in winter to grayish-red in summer. They are smaller than both the gray and the fox squirrel, weighing 4 to 8 ounces, and are
	between 9 and 13 inches in length. Red squirrels prefer coniferous forests, but they also can be found in mixed conifer and hardwood forests or sometimes in hardwood habitats. They do not confine themselves to trees, and are commonly found on the ground. Red squirrels are solitary except during copulation. The breeding season is February through September. One to seven young are born in each of the two litters. The young disperse after nine weeks.
Flying squirrels
Flying squirrels are smaller than other tree squirrels. They are between 8 and 10 inches in length and weigh between 1.3 and 4.0 ounces. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two species of flying squirrels that occur; Red squirrels and Gray squirrels.
Both may be various shades of gray or brown above and lighter below. The most distinctive characteristics of flying squirrels are the broad webs of skin connecting the fore and hind legs at the wrists, and the distinctly flattened tail. They use this skin as a parachute when gliding from tree to tree. Flying squirrels can have two litters of two to four young each year. The young may stay with the mother through the
winter when the squirrels commonly group together. The southern flying squirrel will share mixed coniferous and deciduous forests with the northern flying squirrel, but it prefers mature deciduous forests with abundant nut-producing trees. They also travel along power lines and may short out transformers. The second most common complaint about squirrels is that they often take food at feeders intended for birds. Squirrels are adept climbers and can reach almost any feeder. In addition, they frequently damage bird feeders when they enlarge openings by chewing on them or when they gnaw on perches. Other squirrel activities that cause complaints from homeowners are not commonly a significant source of damage. For example, squirrels occasionally damage lawns when they dig to bury or search for nuts. They chew bark and clip twigs on ornamental trees or shrubbery planted in yards and gardens. In addition, squirrels may eat planted seeds, mature fruits, or grains such as corn.
GROUND SQUIRRELS
There are many species which are ground squirrels including the Thirteen Lined,
	the Belding's,the California,the Rock, the Franklin, the Richardson, the Columbian, the Washington and the Townsend.
	Though most people think of squirrels as animals, which live in trees, there are several species throughout the United States, which reside in the ground.These are not woodchucks, gophers or prairie dogs. These are close relatives of the grey and flying squirrels, which populate much of the country. Ground squirrels have
chosen to dig their homes and though they can still climb trees quite well, they don't live there. Ground squirrels can become a problem in the yard and around the home when their continual burrowing leads to flooding during heavy rains. Their presence brings fleas and other insects or even worse, the transmission of disease. Ground squirrels will readily eat our gardens fruit and vegetables as well as our nuts and flowers. If left alone, they will quickly populate to levels, which can cause mass destruction in little time. They will even move into our homes if given the chance.
Damage
The ground squirrel's preference for insects and field mice may provide some benefit to the agricultural community. However, large concentrations of these ground squirrels in pastures, fields, and gardens loss of forages and crops. They dig up newly planted seeds, clip emerging plant shoots, and pull over ripening wheat, barley and oats to eat the grain. They will readily feed on commonly grown home or truck garden vegetables, often damaging much more than they consume. Many species of ground squirrels will invade golf courses, parks, lawns, athletic fields, cemeteries, and similar wide-open grassy sites. Their burrowing and feeding activity can cause major economic and aesthetic damage in such places.
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