When Are Baby Squirrels Born?

Ever wonder when squirrels are born are in Ohio?

It’s not a trick question, but there are actually two times a year that squirrels give birth as most female squirrels give birth to two litters of squirrels per year.

Here in the Akron, Canton, Kent area the first round of squirrel births is happening right now! The second round of squirrel births gets underway in July/August.

Multiple litters every year helps understand why there are so many squirrels and why they get in homes so often.

Baby Squirrels Unseen | Develop Slowly

Newborn Squirrels

Though many squirrels are born in February and March most people never see true newborn squirrels because they don’t leave the nests for many weeks; after they’ve undergone significant development.

As you can see from this picture of a newborn squirrel Ryan recently plucked out of a nest behind a wall, they are extremely undeveloped. They don’t look like squirrels at all.

They are born without teeth or fur. Their eyes and ears are tightly shut. And, their eyes won’t even open for over 4 weeks!

As they get older, they at least look like baby squirrels.

Weeks Old Squirrels

This second picture shows what baby squirrel will look like in a few weeks (Ryan took this picture last year in the middle of March). These babies have started to develop some fur but still haven’t opened their eyes.

Squirrels at this stage of development are still not out of the nest and probably aren’t attracting any attention either.

It’s not until they look just like small adult squirrels that they leave the nest and start to display lots of attention attracting behavior. Biologists say it takes them about 10 weeks to get to that stage.

Dealing with Nuisance Squirrels Living in the House

So right now, there are lots of undeveloped gray squirrels tucked away in nests all over Summit, Stark, and Portage counties. They are far from being gray, though an, in fact, they are referred to as “pinkies” in industry jargon.

Due to their lack of development, chances are good that unless a homeowner has spotted the entry point a mother squirrel has made, he or she is still none the wiser that a litter of squirrels is present.

A lone female squirrel is usually pretty stealthy. She may have a nest entrance somewhere in a home and the homeowners don’t even realize she’s there. Out of sight (and hearing) …out of mind.

But, if the squirrel has tipped you off by making a nest right behind a wall in a living area like this picture shows, then the nest, babies, and mother can all be removed.

This hole in the drywall will need replaced and some insulation put back, but getting undeveloped squirrels out now is better than waiting until they are running around in the walls.

When a litter of squirrels is discovered the mission is twofold:

Get the squirrels out- mom and babies.
Make a repair so that no squirrels or other animals move into the void created by squirrel removal.

Removal needs to be timed so that the baby squirrels aren’t left inside, especially if they are not accessible. Sometimes, it is best to let them go until they are old enough to come out on their own. And remember, this won’t take months-only weeks.

Then, making a quality repair to the area is a priority.

A full service nuisance animal removal company like Frontline Animal Removal makes guaranteed, professional repairs.

Choosing an animal control company that does removal AND repairs minimizes some of the hassle that nuisance squirrels bring.