I’ve seen squirrels eat a huge range of things, from bugs, tree buds, bird eggs, and mushrooms.
However, squirrels really enjoy one type of food more than any other. This is a big reason why they are so good at surviving harsh winters.
Almost all food eaten by squirrels is seeds and nuts harvested from mast trees and shrubs. This includes nuts that lose their shells in the fall, like acorns, hazelnuts, and walnuts, as well as seeds from evergreen trees, like spruce and fir.
For many people, these nuts and seeds make up more than 90% of what a squirrel will eat in a year.
The fact that squirrels can store these foods underground for the winter makes them very important to them. This is also why nuts and seeds with a lot of fat are always the best foods for people who want to get more squirrels to come to their yard.
Aside from their core diet, squirrels also eat a wide diversity of seasonal and opportunistic foods including:
Even though squirrel diets mostly consist of plants, they are technically omnivores (eating both plants and animals).
As the weather warms up and spring arrives squirrels become more active and begin searching for food to fuel their increased energy levels. But what exactly do squirrels eat during the spring season? Their diets shift as new food sources become available making spring an important time to provide key nutrients after a long winter.
An Overview of Squirrels’ Springtime Dietary Needs
Squirrels are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter. In spring, they seek out nutrient-rich foods to help them recover from the scarce winter months. This includes foods high in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
Their metabolisms speed up in spring so they require more calories and nutrition. Female squirrels also need extra nutrients while nursing their new spring litters.
Some foods squirrels prefer in spring are high in calcium phosphorus and vitamin D to support reproduction and lactation. Antioxidants from fresh sprouts and produce also help strengthen their immune systems after winter.
Nuts and Seeds
A staple food source for squirrels year-round are nuts and seeds. In spring, they enjoy nuts left over from the previous fall, such as acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts. These provide protein, healthy fats, and calories.
Squirrels also eat tree seeds like pine cones. They’ll gnaw into cones to extract the nutrient-packed seeds within. Sunflower seeds are another favorite. Stock up on nuts and seeds to keep your local squirrels happy through spring.
Fruits and Vegetables
As flowering trees and plants produce fresh produce in spring, fruit becomes a major part of the squirrel diet. Squirrels enjoy high-sugar fruits like cherries, apples, pears, and citrus as an efficient energy source.
Squirrels also eat vegetables and new spring sprouts. Some produce they love includes corn, avocados, pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers. They’ll sample many types of garden vegetables and berries.
Fungi
Mushrooms and fungi thrive in spring and offer squirrels a nutritious source of protein. Squirrels dig through decaying wood and soil to uncover edible fungi like mushrooms, lichens, and truffles.
These provide protein, calories, and nutrients without needing to hunt prey. Fungi also contain vitamin D to help squirrels absorb more calcium.
Flowering Plants
Along with fruits and veggies, squirrels eat parts of flowering plants in spring. Tree buds, shoots, bark, sap, and twigs provide calories, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
They’ll also eat petals and pollen from blooming flowers and buds. This gives them antioxidants and phytonutrients that bolster their immune defenses.
Insects
As bugs become active in warmer weather, they offer squirrels a high-protein food. Squirrels hunt for protein-packed insects and larvae like beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crickets.
Flying squirrels in particular eat more insects than tree squirrels. But all squirrels appreciate bugs and grubs as a convenient protein source requiring minimal effort to catch and eat.
Bird Eggs
Though not their preferred food, squirrels opportunistically eat bird eggs in spring when nests are full of eggs and baby birds. The eggs provide protein, calcium, and other key nutrients mother squirrels require while nursing.
However, don’t encourage this, as eggs are an essential food source for young birds and raiding nests can threaten bird populations.
Tips for Feeding Squirrels in Spring
Here are some tips to provide natural, nutritious foods for the squirrels in your yard this spring:
-
Offer a variety of nuts, seeds, grains, and dried corn. Mix it up to give them diversity.
-
Cut up fresh veggies like corn, squash, and greens. Hydrate produce to make it easier to eat.
-
Spear orange and grapefruit slices onto skewers tied from branches. Hang fruit kabobs where squirrels can reach.
-
Create mushroom “foraging boxes” by filling planters with soil, wood, and mushroom spores. Keep moist.
-
Plant native flowers and trees that bloom in spring to attract insects for squirrels to catch.
-
Avoid unhealthy human foods like crackers, chips, or sweets which lack proper nutrition.
-
Use scatter feeding to encourage natural foraging behaviors rather than dense piles of food.
-
Check local ordinances before feeding wildlife as restrictions may apply in certain areas.
-
Clean feeders regularly and avoid contact with squirrels to prevent disease transmission.
What to Avoid Feeding Squirrels in Spring
It’s important not to feed squirrels inappropriate foods that could harm them:
-
Avoid salted, flavored, or fried nuts. Stick to raw, unseasoned nuts in shells.
-
Don’t give chocolate, candy, gum, or junk food which can make them ill.
-
Bread products offer empty calories and can cause digestion issues.
-
Raw dry beans contain toxins. Only give roasted, unsalted nuts.
-
Moldy foods can contain mycotoxins leading to neurological damage.
Signs Your Squirrels Need More Spring Nutrition
Here are some signs the squirrels in your yard may need higher quality nutrition:
-
Increased lethargy and weakness
-
Lack of appetite or missing meals
-
Dull, mangy coat
-
Loss of hair, flaky skin, or scabs
-
Visible ribs or hip bones indicating weight loss
-
Smaller litter sizes or abandoning young
-
Lack of candles (broken teeth) making eating difficult
If you notice these issues, provide calorie-dense nuts, proteins, veggies, and clean water. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if the condition persists or worsens. With adequate nutrition, squirrels bounce back quickly from winter’s toll.
Spring is an important season for squirrels to replenish their bodies after winter. Pay attention to their foraging habits and food preferences to identify nutrient gaps. Supply energy-rich nuts and seeds, fresh produce, proteins, and clean water. Avoid unhealthy human foods and let squirrels forage naturally. With diverse, high-quality nutrition, your local squirrels will thrive this spring.
Dietary Associations With Different Types Of Squirrels
Some interesting facts about squirrels let you know what kind of squirrels you might see based on the types of seeds or nuts that grow the most in a certain area.
Different kinds of squirrels, like red and gray squirrels, will eat different kinds of nuts and seeds.
First, let’s talk about the foods that squirrels like best. Then, we’ll talk about some less common but just as interesting seasonal foods that squirrels eat.
Red squirrels and Douglas squirrels, which are small and territorial, are known to eat the seeds of coniferous trees like spruce, fir, and hemlock.
Each cone contains dozens to hundreds of fatty seeds.
These small squirrels will store a lot of cones in central places underground, usually at the base of trees.
Large piles of broken cones that form at the base of trees, stumps, or rocks are a good sign that this type of squirrel is in the forest.
As the squirrel eats, it will take a cone from its cache, move to a high point like a rock or a stump, and then slowly pull the cones apart while eating the seeds inside one by one.
Red squirrels and Douglas squirrels fight hard to keep other squirrels out of the areas around their food caches because they store so much food there.
All squirrels like nuts, but gray squirrels and fox squirrels are especially fond of deciduous trees and shrubs that bear nuts, like
Gray squirrels use a method of food storage called “scatter hoarding,” which means they bury nuts in a lot of different places around their homes.
This can even result in the further propagation of their favored nut-bearing species.
There are a lot of oak trees in natural oak forests that were planted by squirrels who missed the cached nut before it sprouted in the spring.
Perennial & Annual Seeds/Foliage
People know that ground squirrels live in places that aren’t forests. They eat mostly the seeds and leaves of herbaceous plants like grains and sunflowers.
Some ground squirrels, like chipmunks, still store food, but most of the time they eat it right away and store it as fat on their bodies to help them stay warm during the winter.
For the most part, this page is about tree squirrels. However, ground squirrels are much more likely to live in deserts or grasslands.
In a different group are larger ground squirrels like groundhogs and woodchucks, which eat more fresh plants like vegetables and fruits.
What Do Squirrels Eat: 7 things to feed them And 3 You Shouldn’t | Backyardscape
FAQ
What is the best thing to feed wild squirrels?
What do squirrels do in the spring?
What do squirrels like to eat the most?
What do squirrels eat when there are no nuts?
What do grey squirrels eat?
Yup, squirrels love to eat and can eat a lot. Grey squirrels are also known to eat tree bark in the winter. Grey squirrels feed predominantly on nuts as well as tree seeds of coniferous and deciduous species. However, their diets also consist of fruits, fungi, buds, and flowers. The grey squirrels will mostly eat fungi in the Summer months.
What do squirrels eat in spring?
Squirrels love to snack on insects during springtime! These critters are opportunistic omnivores, capable of snacking on a wide variety of insect species. Spiders, larvae, and beetles are among some of their favorite meals. They’ll even occasionally feast on flying bugs like bees or wasps when they can catch them.
What do squirrels eat?
Like humans, squirrels love to snack on nuts and seeds. They particularly enjoy acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, peanuts and almonds. Nuts are an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals that provide energy for busy days of gathering food. Squirrels relish snacking on berries throughout the spring months.
What seeds do squirrels eat?
For wild seeds, offer pine and spruce in addition to low-calorie commercial seeds. Hazelnuts, hickory, walnuts, and beechnuts are popular with squirrels. They enjoy wild berries in the fall (Osage oranges are a tasty seasonal treat). Squirrels are opportunistic eaters. So if they find wild eggs unguarded, they’ll feast.
What do flying squirrels eat?
Flying squirrels also referred to as “gliding squirrels” are omnivores and they eat a variety of food including insects, seeds, nuts, fungi, and fruits. The Southern flying squirrels are considered carnivores because they are known to supplement their diet with carrion, small birds, and eggs.
What do squirrels eat in winter?
As temperatures increase and plants emerge from their winter slumber, squirrels set out to feast on the bounty of fruits and nuts that spring has to offer. Fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and blackberries become extremely attractive to these acrobatic rodents, who revel in snacking on them wherever they are available.