Squirrels are a common sight in many backyards and parks, often observed scurrying across lawns or climbing trees. These active rodents frequently engage in various behaviors on the ground, including making small excavations. Squirrels do create holes in the ground as part of their daily activities.
Why Squirrels Dig Holes
Squirrels primarily dig holes as a fundamental aspect of their food-caching behavior, known as scatter hoarding. This involves burying individual food items, such as nuts and seeds, in numerous shallow pits. They rely on spatial memory and smell to retrieve these provisions during periods of scarcity, particularly in colder months. This instinctual drive ensures a reliable food supply when natural forage is limited.
Burying food also protects their caches from other animals. After burying a nut, a squirrel pats down the soil with its nose and forepaws, attempting to camouflage the spot. This behavior is important for their survival, as their diet relies on these hidden stores. Their digging is a continuous process throughout the autumn, preparing them for winter.
Beyond long-term storage, squirrels also dig for immediate reasons, such as temporarily burying food or hiding it from a competitor. They may also dig to search for dropped food items or to uncover insects and fungi. Squirrels occasionally dig small depressions for temporary shelter or to create a shallow resting spot.
Identifying Squirrel Holes
Squirrel holes are generally distinctive due to their small size and shallow depth. These excavations typically measure about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) in diameter, which is just large enough for a squirrel to deposit a single nut or seed. The depth of these holes is usually only a few inches, deep enough to cover the buried item with a thin layer of soil.
When a squirrel digs, it often kicks loose soil out of the hole, creating a small mound or scattering of dirt next to the opening. These holes are commonly found in soft soil, garden beds, lawns, or near the base of trees, fences, and shrubs, where squirrels frequently forage for food or feel secure in burying their caches. Unlike the more extensive tunnel systems created by animals like moles or voles, squirrel holes are isolated, individual pits. They are also smaller and shallower than the burrows of larger animals such as skunks or groundhogs, which create wider openings and more substantial piles of excavated earth.