Squirrels are common backyard visitors, often seen foraging for food. Their daily routines involve searching for various edible items, from seeds and fungi to fruits and nuts. This constant search ensures a consistent food supply, especially as they prepare for changing seasons.
Do Squirrels Eat Hazelnuts?
Squirrels readily consume hazelnuts, a highly favored food source for both red and grey squirrel species. Their attraction to these nuts stems from their appealing taste and significant nutritional content. Hazelnuts are a natural part of a squirrel’s diet in regions where they are available, especially in areas like the eastern United States where hazelnut trees grow. Squirrels prefer nuts with high fat and protein content, and hazelnuts fit this preference, making them a substantial meal.
How Squirrels Process Hazelnuts
Squirrels possess specialized adaptations for handling and consuming nuts like hazelnuts. Their powerful jaws and sharp, continuously growing incisors efficiently crack open hard shells to access the edible kernel. This gnawing activity is beneficial for their dental health, helping to keep their teeth at a healthy length. Once cracked, their agile paws manipulate the nut to extract the inner portion.
A significant behavior related to hazelnuts is caching, where squirrels bury nuts for later consumption. This involves carrying the nut to a suitable location, often digging a shallow hole, and then burying it. This “scatter-hoarding” strategy involves hiding individual nuts in numerous small locations across their territory, ensuring food availability when natural sources become scarce, particularly in colder months.
Nutritional Value of Hazelnuts for Squirrels
Hazelnuts offer substantial dietary benefits for squirrels, supporting their health and energy. They are rich in essential fatty acids and proteins, important for maintaining energy levels, especially when food is less abundant. They also contain important vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, B9) and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, and zinc. These nutrients support various bodily functions, including heart health, bone strength, fur condition, and immune system function. A beneficial calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is also important for squirrel health.
Protecting Hazelnuts from Squirrels
Protecting hazelnuts from squirrels can be challenging due to their strong foraging instincts and preference for these nuts. One effective approach involves physical barriers. Placing metal bands, approximately two feet wide, around tree trunks at least six feet off the ground prevents squirrels from climbing. Trimming any overhanging branches that could allow squirrels to jump into the tree from other structures is also important. For smaller trees or individual clusters of nuts, fine-mesh netting or wire cages can be used, ensuring the mesh is small enough to prevent entry without trapping wildlife.
Repellents can be employed, though their effectiveness varies. Squirrels reportedly dislike strong scents, so natural deterrents like cayenne pepper, chili flakes, peppermint oil, garlic, or castor oil may be sprinkled around plants or mixed into sprays. These applications require reapplication after rain or every few days as the scent dissipates. Diversionary feeding, where alternative food sources are provided away from hazelnut trees, can sometimes reduce pressure on the desired crop. Keeping trash cans sealed and removing other exposed food sources also reduces overall squirrel attraction to the area.