Other favorites aren't exactly natural, but the squirrels love them anyway. These additional foods include peanuts, peanut butter, pecans, pistachios, grapes, corn, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, strawberries, carrots, apples, sunflower seeds and even snack items, such as Oreo® cookies.
What is a healthy snack for squirrels?
Acorns, whole roasted pumpkin seeds, and almonds are the healthiest, followed by hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, English walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and peanuts, in that order. Avoid: Cashews, sunflower seeds, dried corn, pine nuts (will cause severe calcium loss).
What are squirrels favorite food?
In a setting without any human interaction, squirrels enjoy nuts, seeds, tree flowers and tree buds from a variety of trees including butternut, cedar, dogwood, elm, hackberry, hemlock, hickory, maple, mulberry, pine and spruce. They also snack on mushrooms and fungi from time to time.
What do squirrels like to snack on?
In general, squirrels eat a mixture of seeds, nuts, corn, fruit, leaves, fungi and bark. Setting out a variety of these items can help them get a balanced source of nutrition. Even a few of these things, like sunflower seeds and peanuts, will satisfy most squirrels.
What do squirrels like to eat the most?
Squirrels enthusiastically collect and eat pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, acorns, cashews, chestnuts, hickory nuts, pine nuts out of pine cones, and macadamia nuts. Nuts are an optimal source of fat and protein for all types of squirrels.Sep 8, 2018
What food can I put out for squirrels?
So, what should you set out for the squirrels to eat? In general, squirrels eat a mixture of seeds, nuts, corn, fruit, leaves, fungi and bark. Setting out a variety of these items can help them get a balanced source of nutrition. Even a few of these things, like sunflower seeds and peanuts, will satisfy most squirrels.
Feeding squirrels may cause them to lose their natural fear of humans, and this isn't good for either side of the equation. ... If squirrels come to expect food and it isn't provided, they may become aggressive in seeking it out. Many people who feed birds report having encountered this problem with the resident squirrels.Feb 6, 2014
Is human food bad for squirrels?
First, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that human food just isn't good for wild animals, and they can survive just fine on their own. "Wild animals have specialized diets, and they can become malnourished or die if fed the wrong foods.Apr 8, 2019