Red Squirrels and Squirrel Removal
Here in the Akron, Canton, Kent area the predominant squirrel is the gray squirrel (and its genetic variant – the black squirrel). They often get into people’s houses and we remove a lot of them.
Consequently, here in the squirrel removal blog, we have a lot of posts on gray squirrels.
But we also have other squirrels that get into people’s homes here in our corner of Northeast Ohio. Those “other” squirrels are the fox squirrel, the flying squirrel, and the red squirrel.
Somehow, we’ve been remiss in a blog dedicated specifically to the red squirrel. Thus, we give you this blog post with some videos and pictures highlighting the red squirrel. We’ll specifically point out some of the major differences in behaviors between greys, reds, and flyers.
Some Things to Know About the Red Squirrel
How Common Are They?
Not too many people are super familiar with the red squirrel because there aren’t a crazy amount of them. The gray squirrel is much more numerous here in Ohio. That is why we deal with a lot more gray squirrel service calls.
Their preferred habitat is in woods with a lot of pine trees as pine cones are one of their chief foods. To underscore this point, the red squirrel is also called a pine squirrel or piney squirrel in certain areas.
And while there are certainly some near you, more so than gray squirrels and a lot like flying squirrels, they spend the majority of their time off the ground in trees. Being in trees most of the time makes them a lot less visible as well.
Do They Go Into People’s Houses?
Yes. Like gray squirrels and flying squirrels they are opportunistic. If there is attic or wall access nearby, they’re more than willing to move in. They normally nest in hollows of trees whether natural or made by woodpeckers. They don’t just chew in as readily as gray squirrels will do, but if they find a small opening they’ll exploit it.
When they do move into a place, biologists describe them as territorial. Gray squirrels interact with each other without much aggression and will feed and cavort in the same areas. Flying squirrels are downright social, living in large groups during the winter. Red squirrels, though, will defend their territory. This is a positive from an animal removal standpoint as removing one family group usually takes care of the problem.
What Times Are They Active?
Red squirrel and gray squirrels are active during the day. Flying squirrels, on the other hand, are active at night. These habits can help in squirrel problem differentiation. If you hear squirrels scurrying in the attic during the day its probably a red or gray squirrel problem. If the scurrying is at night its probably flying squirrels.
What Are Their Eating Habits?
They eat pine cones nuts, all kinds of nuts, buds, and seeds like other squirrels.
Yet, what sets them apart from other squirrels is the way they store their food and get rid of the food debris. This is because red squirrels are stockpilers of food. They gather their nuts of cones and store them in one or two large piles in their territory. Unlike a gray squirrel that buries nuts all over the place and then finds them later by smell, red squirrels keep all their food in caches.
Then when they go to eat, they always go back to the food pile and eat close by. They usually eat in the same place and all the discarded cones or nutshells accumulate in a pile as well.
When we are inspecting for red squirrels, we look for lots of nuts or pine cones in an attic. This is a hallmark of red squirrels. Also, we often find the pile of discarded food scraps as well. Finding one of these piles of debris is also a good indication of red squirrels.
Check out these videos Ryan recently took during a couple of squirrel inspections. The signs definitely point to red squirrels.
In this video, did you notice the tree Ryan was moving in and around to show the entries on the front of the house? Yes, it was a pine tree of some kind. And lots and lots of walnuts up with the Christmas decorations…points to red squirrels.
In this next video, there is a great example of the debris pile created by a red squirrel when it eats. Called to do a squirrel inspection, this debris pile is a classic sign that red squirrels are the issue here.
Red Squirrel Removal and Repair
Though we don’t get as many calls for red squirrels as we do gray squirrels and flying squirrels, as the videos show they do sometimes make a nuisance of themselves and move in.
Like with the other squirrels, we use a two phase approach. First, we catch the ones that are living in your structure and remove them. Then, we make repairs so that squirrels do not get back in.
Often times, squirrels come in to conflict with humans moving into homes because there is some minor, unaddressed repair issue that invites them in. Keeping squirrels out is often accomplished by making areas of entry are shored up.
Red Squirrel Removal for Akron, Canton, Kent, Alliance
If red squirrels have moved in to your house and you’d like them out…give us a call.
We definitely take more calls about the other species of squirrels we have here in the area, but red squirrels get into people’s homes too.
If they get into your, know there is a locally owned and operated squirrel removal company that can find a solution for you.
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