GraySquirrel

Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus

Description   

Weight: 1-2 lbs

Breeding Seasons: Two times per year Jan/Feb  and May/June, young are born 44 days after conception.  Young are able to move around the nest at 6-7 weeks.

Activity: Year around (they do not hibernate) and diurnal (They are active in daylight hours). Acorns ripen in Early September.

Mating: Males do not help raise young. Females raise 3-5 young

Habitat-

Damage

House Damage

Squirrels like all rodents must continue to chew on objects in order to grind down their continuously growing teeth. This means that sometimes they chew on your house. Typically, the damage occurs on wood siding, louvers, soffits or any place there is an edge they can get their teeth onto. I have even seen them chew wooden stairs.    

Solutions

Essentially, you must reduce the ease of access to your home or remove the offending squirrel.

• Cut back tree branches and tall bushes. Squirrels will always use a tree to access your home before climbing downspouts or walk power lines.
• Install porcupine wire on the corners of your home to prevent climbing click porcupine_wire.php for a picture.
• Trap the squirrel and destroy it or relocate it depending on the laws in your state. (For a how to booklet click graysquirrelbooklet.php) Remember that relocation isn't always a humane act. For more information click relocation
• Smear tactile repellents on the object they are chewing, such as "Birds Away". Squirrels like most mammals don't like their hair getting gooey.
• Spray "RopelŪ" on the chewed area. This product is designed to work on areas that are being gnawed on. It WILL NOT drive animals away just by spraying it. It is only a taste repellent. Be prepared to spray again if it rains and for the possibility that it won't work. Purchase product at local hardware or lawn & garden store. Another option is Cuprinol Wood Preservative (look for Copper Napthenate is memory serves). Let it penetrate the wood. I am not sure if it is still being manufactured but it does work and has the advantage of not needing to be reapplied after a rain.
• Smear roofing cement on the affected area. Squirrels won't chew roofing tar for very long. Again a taste repellent.
• Cover the affected area with heavy gauge hardware cloth (no larger than 1/2 inch weave) or aluminum flashing.
• Modify Birdfeeders to prevent food from being available to squirrels. Yes contrary to popular mythology it can be done. Visit feed birds not squirrels

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER close a hole without knowing with absolute certainty that the hole is no longer being used by wildlife. If you are not absolutely sure, simply cork the hole with newspaper. Wait several days, depending on weather and the species, if the newspaper doesn't move when the animal under normal circumstances should be moving then you can have a reasonable assurance (not certainty) that the hole is no longer being used.

Landscape Damage

• The garden can be protected by enclosing it with a 1/4 inch wire mesh structure. Since squirrels climb you will need to have a roof as well as walls. At the very least you should protect your bulbed plants for if the squirrel gets these your plant will die rather than just be damaged. If you don't want to fence then you will need to trap down the population at least until other food sources become available later in the calendar year. Spring is a tough time for squirrels because they have to feed young and there is no food available.
• As for the lawn, I am afraid that there isn't much that can be done (other than lethal control to learn more about box trapping squirrels click graysquirrelbooklet.php ). You can lay down hardware clothe over affected areas. But I seriously doubt that you will want to lay mesh over your entire lawn. You should of course review the page on animal damage prevention checklist

Diseases

Not known to be major carriers of diseases. But they can be responsible for a few.

Pox: a disease characterized by brown crusty tumors that typically afflict the eyes but can be found over their whole body. West Palm Beach Fl. recently had an outbreak there 7/99. Scientists say the disease is specific to squirrels and is transmitted by mosquitos. The tumors usually cause the squirrel to be blind and thus die a rather cruel death. There is no known cure. (see article "Tumors Plague Squirrels in Florida" West Palm Beach, Fla, AP-NY-06-19-99 1742EDT)

Also known to carry various ectoparisites: Some are host specific (can only affect certain species) other can infect humans. These would include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human monocytic ehrlichiosis, and others.

Bibliography

Barkalow, F.S., and R.F. Soots, Jr. 1975.  Life span and reproductive longevity of the gray squirrel, Sciurus c. carolinensis Gmelin. J. of Mammalogy 56:522-524

Barkalow, F.S., R.R. Hamilton, and R.F. Soots, Jr. 1970.  The vital statistics of an unexploited gray squirrel population. J. Wildlife Management; 34:489-500.

Corrigan, Bobby. "The Pest Significance of Tree Squirrels" Pest Control Technology, May 2003 pp. 111-112.

Flyger, V. 1956.; The social behavior and populations of the gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin)  in Maryland. Ph.D. dissertation, The Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md. 97pp.

Hamilton, J. C., R. J. Johnson, R. M. Case, and M. W. Riley. 1989. Assessment of squirrel-caused power outages. Vertebr. Pest Control and Manage. Materials, ASTM STP 1055, 6:34-40.

Roccker, R. M. 1950. The biology of the northern gray squirrel,Sciurus carolinesis leucotis (Gapper) in central New York. Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y. 116pp.

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