I’ve watched squirrels eat a huge diversity of foods from mushrooms to insects, tree buds, bird eggs & even small mammals.
But there’s one major category of food that squirrels value above all else (and it’s a big part of why squirrels are so successful at surviving harsh winters).
Almost all food eaten by squirrels is seeds and nuts harvested from mast trees and shrubs. This includes deciduous nuts like acorns, hazelnuts, walnuts as well as seeds of coniferous trees like spruce, fir & hemlock.
For many individuals, these seeds and nuts account for more than 90% of everything a squirrel will eat in a given year.
These foods are incredibly important to squirrels because they can be stored through the winter in underground food caches. It’s also why fatty seeds and nuts are always the best foods for squirrel watchers who want to attract more squirrels to their yard.
Aside from their core diet, squirrels also eat a wide diversity of seasonal and opportunistic foods including:
Even though squirrel diets mostly consist of plants, they are technically omnivores (eating both plants and animals).
Springtime brings warmer weather blooming plants, and hungry squirrels looking for their next meal. As omnivores, squirrels enjoy a diverse diet of veggies fruits, nuts, fungi, eggs, and even small critters. Their springtime menu shifts with the changing seasons to take advantage of nutrients needed that time of year.
I’ve observed local squirrels for years, and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned about their spring dietary habits. There’s more to it than just acorns and random trash! Read on for a thorough breakdown of what these bushy-tailed rodents crave during spring.
Typical Spring Foods for Squirrels
When snow melts and new growth emerges, squirrels dine on spring’s bounty. Here are some of their go-to snacks once winter has passed
Nuts
Shelled nuts like acorns, walnuts, and hickory nuts are squirrel favorites. They provide protein, healthy fats, fiber, and important vitamins and minerals Other popular options are pine nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and beechnuts
Fruits
Sweet, juicy fruits are a scrumptious spring treat. Squirrels enjoy berries like blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Other fruits they’ll nibble on are cherries, pears, and wild plum trees.
Vegetables
Squirrels munch on veggies like corn, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, and lettuce. They’ll raid gardens and farms for fresh spring produce.
Flowers and Buds
Colorful spring blooms like tulips and daffodils attract hungry squirrels. They also chew on tree buds bursting with nutrients.
Fungi
Mushrooms and truffles provide squirrels with protein and nutrients like vitamin D and potassium. They’re a key part of spring foraging.
Eggs
Squirrels will eat bird eggs when the opportunity arises. They climb trees seeking nests with eggs to snack on.
Insects
Crunchy bugs like caterpillars, beetles, and ants satisfy a squirrel’s protein craving. They’ll even eat spiders, larvae, bees, and wasps.
Why Spring Foods Matter
The foods squirrels seek out in spring provide energy and nutrients needed that time of year. Here’s why their spring diet is important:
Preparing to Mate
Springtime brings squirrel mating season. The right nutrition helps female squirrels carry healthy litters.
Nursing Young
Female squirrels give birth from March to April and nurse their young through summer. Their milk supply relies on a nutritious diet.
Replenishing Nutrient Stores
Harsh winter months deplete squirrels’ nutrient reserves. Spring eating helps rebuild what was lost.
High Energy Needs
Longer spring days require more energy for foraging. The spring diet gives squirrels fuel for all that activity.
Boosting Immune Systems
Vitamin-rich springtime eats strengthen immune function after winter’s toll.
Aiding Metabolism
Spring foods provide amino acids that help squirrels efficiently metabolize nutrients.
How Squirrels Find Spring Foods
Squirrels use their keen senses of smell and memory to locate springtime snacks. Here’s how they do it:
Scent Tracking
Squirrels can detect food odors from great distances. They follow scents to locate nuts, fruits, and veggies.
Memory Mapping
Squirrels memorize where reliable food sources are located. They return to those spots annually.
Observational Learning
Squirrels watch each other to learn new food locations. They’ll follow other squirrels to find food.
Caching and Retrieving
Squirrels hide food in hundreds of “caches” then retrieve items later. Their sharp memory recalls cache sites.
Risk Taking
Hungry squirrels are more likely to take risks, like raiding bird nests for eggs.
Stashing Nearby
Squirrels hide food close to their nests so it’s easy to find. Their territories center around prime food sources.
Dangers of Springtime Squirrel Diets
While spring brings an abundance of squirrel foods, some items pose risks:
Pesticides
Squirrels foraging in chemically treated yards and farms can ingest toxic pesticides.
Poisonous Plants
Some flowers, mushrooms, and tree buds are poisonous if eaten in excess.
Predators
Being hyper-focused on food makes squirrels more vulnerable to animal attackers.
Auto Accidents
Foraging along roadways leads to many squirrel-vehicle collisions each year.
Metabolic Disorders
Eating discarded human junk food can cause obesity and diabetes in squirrels.
Injury
Bold squirrels will take foolish risks, like chewing live power lines, that can seriously harm them.
Communication Disruption
Noisy human environments make it hard for squirrels to properly communicate while foraging and mating.
Supporting Squirrels’ Springtime Needs
We share many neighborhoods with local squirrel families. Here are some tips to support their spring foraging:
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Provide fresh water daily
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Offer shelled nuts, fruits, veggies, and flowers squirrels enjoy
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Eliminate pesticide use in your yard whenever possible
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Keep pet food indoors so it doesn’t attract squirrels to unsafe areas
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Use humane traps if needed to safely relocate nuisance squirrels away from roads and other dangers
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Monitor your property for signs of nesting and block access to dangerous cables or equipment
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Report injured squirrels to wildlife rehabilitators
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Talk to neighbors about creating safer squirrel habitats together
With a little planning, we can help our neighborhood squirrels thrive on a nutritious natural diet this spring and beyond. What will you do to support your local squirrels today?
Perennial & Annual Seeds/Foliage
Ground squirrels are known for living in non-forested habitats, and live chiefly off the seeds and foliage of herbaceous plants like sunflowers and grains.
While some ground squirrels like chipmunks will still cache food, the vast majority of their food is eaten immediately to be stored as fat on their body which aids hibernation.
This page focuses mostly on tree squirrels, but if you live in a desert or grassland you are much more likely to have ground squirrels.
Larger ground squirrels like groundhogs/woodchucks are in a whole different category, focusing more on fresh vegetation like forbes and vegetables.
Dietary Associations With Different Types Of Squirrels
It’s interesting to note that depending on which seeds or nuts are most abundant in a landscape, it’s possible to predict which squirrel species you are most likely to have.
Different types of squirrels (like red and gray squirrels) will specialize in their own favorite types of nuts and seeds.
Let’s go through the favorite foods of squirrels first, and then touch on some other less common but equally fascinating seasonal additions to the squirrel diet.
Small territorial squirrels like Red Squirrels and Douglas squirrels are particularly noted for eating the seeds of coniferous trees like spruce, fir, hemlock & pine (Learn how to identify coniferous trees)
Each cone contains dozens to hundreds of fatty seeds.
These small territorial squirrels will cache huge volumes of cones in central locations underground, often at the base of trees.
A good indicator of this type of squirrel presence in the forest is large piles of discarded cone fragments that collect at the base of stumps, boulders or trees.
The feasting squirrel will grab a cone from their cache, move to an accessible viewpoint like a big rock or a stump, and then pull apart the cones eating seeds one by one.
Because they store so much food, red squirrels and douglas squirrels become deeply invested in protecting the territories around their caches from other squirrels.
While all squirrels enjoy eating nuts, gray squirrels and fox squirrels are particularly associated with nut-bearing deciduous trees and shrubs such as:
Gray squirrels employ a food caching technique called scatter hoarding, which means they bury individual nuts in many different locations around their territories.
This can even result in the further propagation of their favored nut-bearing species.
Many of the oak trees in any natural oak forest will have been inadvertently planted by squirrels who simply didn’t reach the cached nut before it sprouted in spring.
What Do Squirrels Eat: 7 things to feed them And 3 You Shouldn’t | Backyardscape
FAQ
What do squirrels eat when there are no nuts?
Squirrels are omnivores and enjoy a varied diet. Besides nuts, they can eat fruits like apples, grapes, and berries, vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and peas, seeds like sunflower seeds, and even insects like grubs and larvae.
What do squirrels do during spring?
They’ll dig around where rotted wood or walnuts fell on the forest floor over the previous fall and winter, or they will dig up the acorns they stored around …Apr 16, 2024
What is the best thing to feed wild squirrels?
It’s important for squirrels to consume a balanced mixture of nuts, seeds, corn, fruit, leaves, fungi and bark.
What is a squirrel’s favorite food?
Squirrels are especially fond of nuts like peanuts, hazelnuts, and acorns. They also enjoy seeds, fruits, and certain vegetables. Providing them with a balanced diet of natural foods will ensure they stay healthy and active.
What do squirrels eat in spring?
Squirrels love to snack on insects during springtime! These critters are opportunistic omnivores, capable of snacking on a wide variety of insect species. Spiders, larvae, and beetles are among some of their favorite meals. They’ll even occasionally feast on flying bugs like bees or wasps when they can catch them.
What do squirrels eat?
Like humans, squirrels love to snack on nuts and seeds. They particularly enjoy acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, peanuts and almonds. Nuts are an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals that provide energy for busy days of gathering food. Squirrels relish snacking on berries throughout the spring months.
What do grey squirrels eat?
Yup, squirrels love to eat and can eat a lot. Grey squirrels are also known to eat tree bark in the winter. Grey squirrels feed predominantly on nuts as well as tree seeds of coniferous and deciduous species. However, their diets also consist of fruits, fungi, buds, and flowers. The grey squirrels will mostly eat fungi in the Summer months.
Do squirrels eat maple trees?
As the season progresses, those same trees will put on a flush of flowers and early season seeds (like maple and elm seeds) that squirrels eat in abundance. Spring is also the time when birds start nesting, so it’s not uncommon to observe squirrels opportunistically disturbing bird nests and eating bird eggs.
What do squirrels eat in winter?
As temperatures increase and plants emerge from their winter slumber, squirrels set out to feast on the bounty of fruits and nuts that spring has to offer. Fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and blackberries become extremely attractive to these acrobatic rodents, who revel in snacking on them wherever they are available.
What is the best Squirrel Food?
The best squirrel food that benefits your garden is plants that benefit the native ecosystem around you. Squirrels are notable pollinators, aiding in the seed dispersal of many important native flowers, shrubs and trees. They help to expand populations of valuable trees, shrubs, and native wildflowers.