A Day in the Life of Milwaukee's Squirrels

Squirrels. They’re cute, fluffy and entertaining to observe, no one can deny that. Those elongated front teeth and furry little faces with innocent eyes simply call out to the gentler side in all of us, not to mention their acrobatic antics as they leap and soar about the trees! Maybe that’s why they make such awesome movie stars in both animated and non-animated movies. But they can be quite a menace as well and have been triggering calls for squirrel control by Milwaukee residents.

Milwaukee’s Squirrel Species

  Of the world’s 278 species of squirrels, Wisconsin is home to 10 and Milwaukee residents are accustomed to seeing some of these more than others but should not feel too shocked if they spot some of the rarer ones. The tree squirrels that frequent the region include the Eastern Gray Squirrel, the Eastern Fox Squirrel and the Red Squirrel. Other squirrels in the region include the less common Northern and Southern Flying or Gliding Squirrels.

A Squirrel’s World-Interesting Facts

  The popular belief that squirrels have excellent memory as they seem to always find the nuts they buried has actually been debunked by scientists. Experiments including human hidden nuts and squirrel hidden ones revealed that squirrels find the human hidden nuts just as often as they find the ones hidden by squirrels. The explanation is that the squirrels are able to detect the hidden stash underground. They use their sharp sense of smell which allows them to sniff through up to a foot of snow, to do this.   The popular squirrel chase is often seen as just playful behavior but it really means serious business. For many squirrels, this is an act of routine territory protection. Tree squirrels mark their territories with urine deposits and will then protect it as it is outside of their nature to share space. Sometimes chasing is a part of mating activities as well.

Why Squirrels are Vulnerable

Even though they’re fairly independent little foragers, sometimes our squirrel friends need us to run to their rescue. The moving September 2018 story of five young Wisconsin squirrels that were rescued by wildlife specialists testament to this reliance. The story recounted the experience of five poor baby squirrels that were trapped by their tails in a web of plastic and natural materials used by their mother to make their nests. The tails had all become matted into one confusing mess that took veterinarians twenty minutes to separate, with the patients under sedation, of course. Imagine how much those poor animals suffered as they remained locked to each other by the tail before being rescued!

The Damages Squirrels can Cause

  The presence of squirrels in the domestic setting is a bad idea. Like many other wildlife animals, squirrels may carry diseases that can be transmitted to domestic animals and human beings as well. They also scratch and nibble at building parts which may make the building unsafe and lead to expensive repair bills. Squirrels can be cute little animals, but they can also be troublesome when they enter buildings. This is why it is important to avoid keeping or feeding them and do all that you can to ensure that there is a good distance between your home and these animals. When these furry foragers become a bit too much to handle, Milwaukee residents can rely on the humane squirrel removal services of Skedaddle to help keep their home free of squirrels.