|
727-710-0373
Serving
the entire Tampa Bay area !
Click
here for help!
Squirrels
The
Eastern Gray Squirrel is the most
common squirrel in the Tampa Bay
area. The larger Fox Squirrel
is not as common. The Flying Squirrel is not often seen because it is nocturnal. We specialize in Tampa squirrel control.
Squirrels
in your attic can cause extensive
damage. While nesting they bring
food products that will collect
and rot. They will also defecate
and urinate. Squirrels are rodents
so they have excellent gnawing
capabilities, doing much damage.
Having
squirrels removed from your attic
or home is not a job for an amateur.
Give us a call!
Call
today!
727-710-0373
Excerpt
from great publication:
Squirrels
of Florida
Craig N. Huegel
Of the 94 species of wild mammals
that are native to Florida, none
are more frequently encountered
than squirrels. Squirrels belong
to the most successful and widespread
order in the world, rodents. One
of the main differences between
squirrels and most other rodents
is that squirrels have a rather
large, bushy tail.All rodents
are gnawing animals. Squirrels
have well-developed jaw muscles
and chisel-like front teeth that
can chew through just about anything.
These front teeth are kept sharp
by gnawing on hard objects such
as woody plant materials, seeds
and nuts. This gnawing also serves
another purpose. A rodent's front
teeth grow constantly, so they
must be filed down or they will
grow to the point where they inhibit
eating and the animal will starve.Rodents
are known for their high reproductive
rate. Here in Florida, squirrels
usually produce 2 litters of 2-4
young each year. The first litter
is born in January or February
while the second arrives in mid-summer.
Young squirrels mature rather
slowly for a rodent and are on
their own in about 2 1/2 months.
Most of Florida's squirrel species
give birth in nests normally located
in trees. This nest also is the
center of the adult's activities
throughout the year.Most squirrels
are active during the daytime.
This characteristic makes their
activities quite noticeable to
us. They rely on their keen senses
to detect danger when it is still
some distance away and then they
make a quick escape.Squirrels
basically are vegetarians. They
eat a wide variety of plants,
but they mostly use fruits and
nuts. In the fall, they are especially
attracted to oaks, hickories and
pecans. But for all their love
of fruits and nuts, tree squirrels
also will eat the eggs and young
of nesting birds and certain types
of insects.SPECIES OF
SQUIRREL Florida is home
to 3 species of tree squirrels
-- the gray, fox and flying squirrel,
and one ground squirrel -- the
eastern chipmunk. Although they
share many of the previous characteristics
, each is unique in its own right.
The following sections are a brief
description of each.Gray
Squirrel The ever-present
gray squirrel is one of the most
commonly seen mammals throughout
Florida (see Figure 2 ). These
medium-sized squirrels weigh about
1 pound and are about 15 inches
long, half of that being their
tail. As their name suggests,
their most common color is gray
with rust-colored hairs scattered
throughout their coat. It is not
uncommon, however, to see blonde
or black gray squirrels. Under
natural conditions, gray squirrels
are most abundant in hardwood
or mixed hardwood and pine forests.
They are common in urban areas
though, because they are not very
fussy about their habitat needs.
They do quite well in residential
areas where only a few large trees
are present. Oaks are especially
attractive to them and they can
supplement this food by using
bird feeders and gardens.Fox
SquirrelFlorida's fox
squirrel population generally
has not fared well. Although they
still occur statewide, several
races have declined drastically.
The race known as Sherman's fox
squirrel, which occurs in peninsular
Florida to the north end of Lake
Okeechobee, currently is listed
by the State of Florida as a species
of special concern. The race south
of Lake Okeechobee, known as the
Big Cypress fox squirrel, is even
rarer and is listed as threatened.
Panhandle populations of fox squirrels
have not done as poorly as the
others and are not now listed.Fox
squirrels are much larger than
the gray. Adults may weigh more
than 2 pounds and reach a total
length of 26 inches. Also distinctive
is their color. Fox squirrels
normally are reddish tan to buffy
gray with a black head and white
ears and nose. Body color can
vary from black to gray-white
but the color pattern on the head
almost always is the same.Fox
squirrels are selective in their
habitat needs. With few exceptions
they are only found in pine forests
dominated by longleaf or south
Florida slash pine. Those few
fox squirrels that remain following
urban development usually occur
in uplands where some of these
mature trees have been left. Fox
squirrels depend mostly on pine
seeds for food in the summer and
on acorns during the remainder
of the year.Flying SquirrelThe
southern flying squirrel is unique
in many respects. It is a small
animal, weighing only about two
ounces and measuring just 9 inches
long including a 3- to 4-inch
tail. Their eyes and ears are
large and noticeable. Their fur
is quite dense and soft, the upper
body color being light brown and
the belly white. What makes them
truly unique, however, is their
ability to glide for distances
of as much as 150 feet. Flying
squirrels do not really fly, but
glide. They move about by climbing
high in a tree and leaping with
all legs outspread thus stretching
the skin membrane along their
sides and allowing them to glide
to another tree. Flying squirrels
move poorly on the ground and
rarely do so. Unlike Florida's
other squirrels, flying squirrels
are rarely active during daylight
hours. Under cover of darkness,
they move quickly through the
trees feeding on nuts and fruits
or sometimes moths, beetles and
other insects. They nest in hollow
trees, sometimes taking them away
from nesting birds. Flying squirrels
require habitat that contains
at least some large trees. They
are found statewide, primarily
in hardwood forests and mixed
woodlands of pine and hardwood.
ATTRACTING SQUIRRELSSquirrels
make interesting wildlife neighbors
and often can be attracted to
your landscape with minimal effort.
Attracting squirrels with feeders,
however, is not recommended because
it often causes more problems
than benefits. Feeders often encourage
more squirrels to live in an area
than can be supported by the neighboring
habitat. When this occurs, squirrels
may search out nesting sites in
your home and cause property damage.Squirrels
are best encouraged by giving
them food and cover within your
landscape. Learn which squirrel
species occur in your neighborhood
and then landscape your property
appropriately. All squirrels can
be encouraged by oaks, hickories
and sugarberry. Fox squirrels
require mature longleaf pine in
the northern two-thirds of Florida
or south Florida slash pine in
the southern one-third. Nest boxes
can be constructed when large
mature trees are limited. This
is especially important for flying
squirrels, but even gray and fox
squirrels will use a properly
designed nest box. Use a bluebird-sized
nest box for flying squirrels
and a wood duck-sized house for
gray and fox squirrels.SOLVING
SQUIRREL PROBLEMSWhen
squirrels cause problems, the
methods used to solve them must
be specific to the problem at
hand. Squirrels can cause a wide
variety of problems. Therefore,
there is no one squirrel-control
method that is appropriate for
every problem that might arise.Control
measures also should include the
elimination of the cause that
allowed the problem to occur --
if at all possible. One major
cause of Florida squirrel problems
is feeding, either directly or
through a bird feeder. Should
this food be reduced or eliminated
(you move, go on vacation, quit,
etc.) the squirrels often respond
by chewing up nearby vegetation.
Another major problem associated
with an artificially fed squirrel
population arises from the usual
lack of good nest trees for them
to live in. Many squirrels that
take up residence in an attic
or garage ceiling can be traced
to a feeding situation. If your
problem has arisen because of
this, slowly reduce your feeding
program until you stop it completely.Types
of ProblemsSquirrel problems
are varied, but most can be divided
into 3 major categories. Each
of these are discussed in detail
in the following sections.ChewingSquirrels
can cause problems by chewing
on both edible and inedible things.
It is often impossible or impractical
to eliminate the source of their
chewing. If squirrels are attacking
potted plants, you might be able
to move them out of reach; if
they are gnawing on pipe or tubing,
it may be possible to cover it
with a material that is soft and,
therefore, less attractive to
chew.Squirrels also can chew extensively
on landscape plants. Here the
problem is more difficult to solve
because the problem is the plant
and there are few ways to make
the plant unattractive, short
of replacing it with a different
species. Female wax myrtles, for
example, are very attractive to
squirrels when their branches
are full of fruit in the late
fall. At this time, squirrels
may gnaw off the branches and
then eat the fruit. Such pruning
does not really hurt the shrub,
but it ruins its appearance for
several months. Situations like
this will occur each year as long
as the plant and the squirrels
occur together in the landscape.Homeowners
frequently attempt to solve squirrel-chewing
problems by using some type of
repellent. As a rule, repellents
are very ineffective in solving
this type of problem. Visual repellents
such as owl or snake decoys quickly
are accepted by squirrels for
what they really are and they
are then ignored. Mothballs and
other odor repellents also are
usually ignored by squirrels and
rarely change their pattern of
behavior.One possible exception
is taste repellents. Taste repellents
are designed to stop chewing.
They seem to work in direct proportion
to the animal's desire to chew
on the object. In other words,
if they want it badly enough,
no repellent will stop them. But
if the object is not too desirable,
it will often work. Taste repellents
will not work on large areas,
are impractical for inaccessible
things like tall trees and cannot
be used on objects that you intend
to eat. For those situations,
you likely will need to live-trap
the problem squirrel.Digging
Occasionally, squirrels dig in
places where they are not wanted.
The 2 most common problems seem
to occur when they dig up potted
plants (often in the late spring)
and when they dig holes in yards
either to bury food or to recover
food previously buried. Digging
is a difficult problem to correct
because you rarely can stop this
behavior with repellents or by
other methods. Potted plants could
be removed from the squirrel's
"reach". Normally digging
is not truly destructive but is
an aesthetic or nuisance problem.
It also is usually very temporary.
Residents must then ask whether
solving the problem warrants the
time and expense. In most situations,
it is most sensible to live with
the problem for the short time
that it is occurring. Otherwise,
the only real solution will involve
physically removing the offending
squirrels with a live trap.Living
in the attic (or elsewhere in
the house)Perhaps the
biggest problem with squirrels
occurs when they set up housekeeping
inside your residence. Squirrels
usually come into an attic or
crawl space when an entry point
to the outside is not repaired,
either through neglect or by failing
to notice it. Broken screens and
roof tiles and gaps between the
roof and wall are common squirrel
entry points. Once a squirrel
has taken up residence in your
home, it is difficult to cause
it to leave. My experience has
been that it is best to physically
remove the animal with a live
trap and then repair the entry
point. If you attempt to chase
the animal out and then fix the
hole, the squirrel will almost
always chew its way back in --
causing more damage than it did
previously.Control TechniquesLive-trappingFor
most situations in residential
or urban areas, squirrel problems
are best solved by physically
removing the offending animal
by means of a live trap when living
with the problem is not a feasible
alternative. Squirrels that are
causing property damage may be
live-trapped without a permit
from the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC),
but if they are to be taken away
from your property and relocated
to another area, a permit is required.
Trapping squirrels often is relatively
easy, but there are a few points
that must be considered or you
likely will be frustrated.There
are many brands of live traps
and all of them are designed very
similarly. Choosing a brand is
not nearly as important as choosing
the proper size. Most trap companies
manufacture a variety of live
traps to catch animals ranging
in size from mice to dogs. Make
sure the trap you purchase is
designed for squirrels and not
some other animal. Traps that
are too small will allow the squirrel
to escape before the door will
fully close while traps that are
too big may not be sensitive enough
to work with an animal that small.Another
important consideration is the
trap's location. Live traps should
never be set where they can't
easily be monitored, such as in
an attic or beneath a mobile home.
Place the trap in the squirrel's
line of travel or where it commonly
is active. If, for example, it
uses an overhanging tree limb
to reach your roof, place the
live trap at the base of the tree.Baiting
the trap properly also is important.
Use something that the animal
currently is eating or something
that it will find irresistible.
Usually, whole peanuts are a good
choice. Other nuts such as pecans
work well too. If the squirrel
ignores your bait, it likely is
either frightened of the trap
or disinterested in the bait.
If this happens, try changing
baits first. If this doesn't work,
then you must get the squirrel
to be less fearful. Wire the door
open so it can't close and put
bait both around the inside and
outside of the trap. In a few
days, the squirrel will get used
to feeding in the trap. When it
does, unwire the door.Once the
squirrel is captured, it must
either be released away from the
capture site or killed in a humane
manner. If the squirrel is to
be released, a relocation permit
must be obtained from your regional
FWC office or you must hire a
licensed wildlife relocator to
release the squirrel for you.
Squirrels must be taken farther
away than they will be able to
travel. All animals will return
to their home if given any chance
to do so. This must be made a
near-impossibility. Generally
for squirrels, this distance is
at least 2 to 3 miles. Before
any animal is relocated, check
your local ordinances to see if
any restrictions may affect where
you can release it. Don't release
animals on property where permission
has not been granted and never
dump a nuisance animal in another
residential area where it likely
will become someone else's problem.Other
Control MethodsThe gray
squirrel and some populations
of fox squirrel are classified
as game animals by the FWC and
subject to rules administered
by that agency. By FWC designation,
the eastern chipmunk, Sherman's
fox squirrel and the Big Cypress
fox squirrel are protected species.
They may be destroyed or taken
only by FWC permit. Otherwise,
persons may take destructive squirrels
(i.e., causing property damage)
on their own property throughout
the year by means other than gun
and light, steel traps or poison,
provided that they may be killed only within the immediate locality
where damage is occurring. The
use of poisons is strictly illegal
without a permit. Also check local
ordinances before using any lethal
control method.-------------------------
Footnotes
1. This document is Fact Sheet
SS-WIS-33, one of a series of
the Department of Wildlife Ecology
& Conservation, Florida Cooperative
Extension Service, Institute of
Food and Agricultural Sciences,
University of Florida. Originally
published in cooperation with
the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission's Nongame
Wildlife Program. Published: June
1991 as "Florida's Squirrels".
Minor Revision: July, 2001. Please
visit the Edis Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu
2. Craig N. Huegel, former urban
wildlife extension specialist,
Department of Wildlife Ecology
and Conservation, Florida Cooperative
Extension Service, Institute of
Food and Agricultural Sciences,
University of Florida, Gainesville
FL 32611.---------------------
Copyright
Information
This document is copyrighted by
the University of Florida, Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences
(UF/IFAS) for the people of the
State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains
all rights under all conventions,
but permits free reproduction
by all agents and offices of the
Cooperative Extension Service
and the people of the State of
Florida. Permission is granted
to others to use these materials
in part or in full for educational
purposes, provided that full credit
is given to the UF/IFAS, citing
the publication, its source, and
date of publication.
|
