Grey Squirrels

General Information

Squirrels are abundant in the wilds because their natural predators are less abundant. Because of this population increase and a decreasing natural habitat due to construction, we start to see them in our attics. They seek warm, safe shelter during the fall and winter months in particular.

Gray Squirrels are about 18 inches long, including their 9 inch tails, and larger than the flying squirrels. They weigh about 1-1.5 lbs. as an adult. Generally have 2 litters a year, 2-4 young per litter. They normally breed in midwinter and late spring. Gestation is about 44 days. Diet consists of bird eggs, insects, berries, fruit, vegetables, nuts and nestling birds. They like to hoard their food. Gray Squirrels are active during the day, expecting to hear them during the daytime. They can be aggressive especially if they’re defending their young.

baby grey squirrel
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In Your Home

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Gray Squirrels can inhabit the attic areas as well as crawl spaces. They like to enter the attic areas from your gutters and nearby trees and bushes. Scratching sounds during the day time in the attic, eaves or soffits, visual sighting of droppings in the attic, chew marks on baseboards and soffit boards, and channeling through the insulation point to Gray Squirrel activity.

Like all rodents, squirrels have strong sharp teeth and powerful jaws that enable them to chew holes through most building materials to gain entry.

Once in a home, they could cause damage including chew holes in wood siding, louvers, roofs, eaves, gutters, and soffits. Full exclusion to seal ALL current and potential entry points is the only way to assure squirrels do not continue to damage the home and create new entry points in.

Licensed professionals should be called to exclude squirrels from a home. Homeowners attempting exclusion often close one hole, trapping squirrels inside and resulting in extensive damage as they try to find ways to get back out.

squirrell removal
Squirrel in Gutter

Health Risks & Dangers

Baby Gray Squirrels can do the same damage similar to a puppy when it is first born, chewing on everything they can get to including electric wiring, wood, etc. causing costly damage , in some cases causing fires.

As with all attic dwellers, gray squirrels have a latrine area which can create airborne health hazards including viruses cased by dried rodent feces. They are susceptible to a variety of parasites and diseases including fleas, lice, Squirrel Pox , rabies, tularemia, Mange (disease caused by mites), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human monocytic ehrlichoiosis, and Baylisascaris (a roundworm found mostly in raccoons that can pass to humans, but also found in squirrels. They also shed hair and bring in parasites when they move into a building.

In residential areas, squirrels sometimes travel powerlines and short out transformers. They gnaw on wires, enter buildings, and build nests in attics. They frequently chew holes through pipelines used in maple syrup production.

Squirrels occasionally damage lawns by burying or searching for and digging up nuts. They will chew bark and clip twigs on ornamental trees or shrubbery planted in yards. Often squirrels take food at feeders intended for birds. Sometimes they chew to enlarge openings of bird houses and then enter to eat nestling songbirds. Flying squirrels are small enough to enter most bird houses and are especially likely to eat nesting birds.

In gardens, squirrels may eat planted seeds, mature fruits, or grains such as corn.

Other types of Squirrels

Fox squirrels measure 18 to 27 inches (46 to 69 cm) from nose to tip of tail. They weigh about 1 3/4 pounds (787 g) to 2 1/4 pounds (1,012 g). Color varies greatly, from all black in Florida to silver gray with a white belly in Maryland. Georgia fox squirrels usually have a black face. Ohio and Michigan fox squirrels are grizzled gray-brown above with an orange underside. Sometimes several color variations occur in a single population.

Fox Squirrel

Eastern gray squirrels are also variable in color. Some have a distinct reddish cast to their gray coat. Black ones are common in some northern parts of their range. Eastern gray squirrels measure 16 to 20 inches (41 to 51 cm). They weigh from 1 1/4 pounds (567 g) to 1 3/4 pounds (794 g).

The western gray squirrel is gray above with sharply distinct white underparts. Size is similar to that of the eastern gray squirrel.

Tassel-eared squirrels are similar in size to gray squirrels and have several color phases. The most common is gray above with a broad reddish band down the back. Black tufted ears are their most distinguishing characteristic (the tufts are larger in winter, about 1 inch [2.5 cm]).

There are two species of pine squirrels: the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and Douglas pine squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii). Pine squirrels are 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 cm) in total length and weigh 1/3 to 2/3 pounds (151 to 303 g). Red squirrels are red-brown above with white underparts. Douglas squirrels are gray-brown above with yellowish underparts. Both species have small ear tufts and often have a black stripe separating the dark upper color from the light belly.

Fox squirrels and gray squirrels inhabit the same kinds of forests, both hardwood and coniferous, over much of their range. Gray squirrels are more abundant where a high percentage of land is forested. In areas with 10% forest cover, fox and gray squirrel populations may be equal.

Fox squirrels prefer oak-hickory habitat over much of their range, especially in the West. In Georgia and Florida, fox squirrels seem to prefer pine timber. The western gray squirrel prefers mixed hardwoods and conifers and dry open hardwoods. Tassel-eared squirrels are strongly associated with Ponderosa pine. Pine squirrels prefer coniferous forests but also occur in mixed conifer and hardwood forests, or sometimes in hardwood habitats.

Fox and gray squirrels have similar food habits. They will eat a great variety of native foods and adapt quickly to unusual food sources. Typically, they feed on mast (wild tree fruits and nuts) in fall and early winter. Acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and osage orange fruits are favorite fall foods. Nuts are often cached for later use. In late winter and early spring they prefer tree buds. In summer they eat fruits, berries, and succulent plant materials. Fungi, corn, and cultivated fruits are taken when available. During population peaks, when food is scarce, these squirrels may chew bark from a variety of trees. They will also eat insects and other animal matter.

grey squirrel removal Gray Squirrel

	Grey Squirrels
	Flying Squirrels
	Black Rats
	Norway Rats
	Bats
	Bees
	Birds
	Snakes
	Chipmunks
	Opossums
	Raccoons
	Beavers
	Foxes
	Coyotes
	Alligators
	Skunks
	Geese