Squirrels can become a nuisance when they invade your home and destroy your property, but they are incredibly entertaining when you observe them going about their daily routines. The talented rodents can run across power lines, leap to nearby trees, hide food in your potted plants and outwit your top-of-the-line birdfeeder. They seem like they are capable of amazing feats, but are squirrels the smartest rodents?

The furry creatures can provide entertainment, but if they find a way inside your home to construct a den, you should contact a professional crew trained to implement squirrel removal services. After learning about the squirrel’s intelligence, you’ll understand why wildlife removal in Kitchener is a job reserved for experienced technicians.

How Smart Are Squirrels?

Rodents are clever animals, but the squirrel tops the list for intelligence. Although a mouse or rat can outmaneuver and sometimes outsmart a pursuing human, a squirrel’s agility and intelligence give them an advantage over other predators and larger creatures.

Food Collection and Storage

Like other rodents, squirrels can wreak havoc on your home when they’re building shelters and foraging for food. However, squirrels are unique in their ability to hide food in multiple locations and remember which type of food is in each spot. There are several different species of squirrels, but the eastern grey squirrel has a spatial memory more developed than its relatives. Although researchers previously believed that squirrels relied on their enhanced sense of smell to find buried food, recent studies show that smell only plays a minor role. The animal’s impressive memory allows you to recover food from several locations.

Food Selection

Squirrels race frantically to find enough food to get them through the winter, but they’re not satisfied with any food. They visit healthy trees with the best nuts and seeds, and sometimes they shake the nuts to determine if they’re rotten or edible. When they bury the food, they find an area of soil that isn’t too moist or dry. Moisture can cause their cache to spoil, and a hole that’s too dry is easier for other animals to smell and dig up.

Re-burying Food Caches

Although burying several thousand nuts every year can be complicated enough, squirrels go even farther by digging up their caches and re-burying them in safer areas. They notice when their cache has been disturbed by another squirrel or other animal. They understand that food theft is expected in the rodent world, and they often re-bury their food several times a year.

Deception

Squirrels have a keen sense of knowing when another squirrel is watching them, and they often put on a show to trick their competitors. They dig a hole and pretend to bury a nut while hiding it in their armpit, and then they run off and bury the nut in a more secluded spot. Sometimes, their performance includes covering the empty hole with grass and twigs to make it appear like an actual food cache.

Learned Behaviour

After observing a family member perform an acrobatic feat or food recovery strategy, a squirrel learns the new trick and continues to use it throughout its life. Researchers conducted learned behaviour studies on squirrels and determined that squirrels are more capable of learning than other rodents. For instance, a squirrel who figures out how to access a hanging bird feeder can persuade others to try the same technique.

Squirrels are undoubtedly intelligent rodents, with their remarkable problem-solving skills and creative methods for solving various challenges in their natural habitat. However, when it comes to infiltrating homes and offices, these cute, furry creatures become a significant nuisance, not to mention a potential danger to human health. While they may seem harmless at first, squirrels can cause extensive damage to wires, insulation and other areas of the house in their quest to find a cozy home. They can also transmit diseases such as rabies and generally behave aggressively towards people, especially when they feel threatened. Therefore, it is essential to take precautionary measures to prevent squirrel infiltration to avoid dealing with these issues.

How To Remove Squirrels From Your Home

Removing squirrels or other pests from your home can be a difficult and dangerous task. Squirrels are not only quick and agile creatures, but they can also become very aggressive when they feel threatened. If you attempt to remove these animals by yourself, you run the risk of being bitten, scratched, or even infected with disease. Squirrels can spread diseases such as rabies, making their removal a serious health hazard. It’s important to leave squirrel removal to the professionals who have the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to safely remove these pests from your home. Contacting a professional will not only protect you from harm but also ensure that the squirrels are safely and humanely removed.

Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control is dedicated to providing safe and humane wildlife removal services to homeowners. We understand the importance of protecting your home from rodent invasions, which is why we take every measure to ensure that the wildlife on your property is handled with care and respect. Our team of trained professionals will assess your situation and implement strategies that will effectively remove wildlife from your Kitchener property. We are committed to ensuring that your home is not only rodent-free but also protected against future invasions. Trust Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to make your living space safe again.

At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, we practice humane wildlife removal and protect your home against future rodent invasions.