Flying squirrels are not an endangered species but are rarely noticed by the casual observer. You might be lucky enough to notice one of these squirrels eating on your bird feeder. Being mostly nocturnal, they will glide down from nearby trees at night to dine at your bird feeder.Flying squirrels have two large flaps of skin from their wrists to their ankles. These flaps act like tiny parachutes enabling them to glide around. It is said that they can glide over 50 yards at 20 miles per hour! You might even mistake the squirrels for bats! Or you might think that they are just your run-of-the-mill gray squirrel!

Long Island Squirrel Facts

Mostly, we see gray squirrels around Long Island.

Squirrel facts include:

  1. Squirrels nest in tree cavities or build nests in tree branches during the warmer months.
  2. Gray squirrels are really not gray in color at all but are instead a mixture of blacks, whites and browns. The hair has whitish ends which gives them a “gray” appearance.
  3. Gray squirrels can mate twice a year of food is very abundant. The first mating occurs in January and generates the “winter born” litter in March. The second mating occurs in the late spring or early summer and results in a “summer born” litter 
  4. Gray squirrels bury large quantities of acorns and other tree nuts which helps them survive a long cold winter. They will eat other things like mushrooms, tree flowers and buds, caterpillars, and plant shoots when available.
  5. Being a rodent, squirrel’s teeth never stop growing.
  6. They try to stay out of the heat.  Most of their activity occurs early morning or late afternoon.
  7. Gray squirrels “talk” to each other by making sounds and through movements like “tail flicking”. 
  8. Inside buildings, they make a big mess and can destroy electrical wiring and woodwork.

Squirrels are not pests unless they have made your attic their home. Outside, these rodents are most watched for all the clever ways in which they will try to eat from your bird feeder. Has anyone tried the slinky method? Apparently, a Kentucky grandma made a squirrel-proof bird feeder with Slinky. Please let me know if it works!

If you find a squirrel living in your home, call Suburban Exterminating today (631) 864-6900 |(516) 864-6900. Learn more about our wildlife removal services here.

Flying Squirrels Are Real And Other Squirrel Facts Serving Long Island and surrounding areas

Richmond | Kings County | Nassau County | Suffolk County

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