Attracting Squirrels through peanut butter?
It doesn’t matter if you have a large or small backyard – people are always trying to either attract or detract squirrels. In doing so, they may ask some pertinent questions. Should you attract squirrels through plants? Will they follow the birds? Or should you feed them? If you decide to feed squirrels, what do they eat? Do squirrels eat peanut butter? These are all questions those of you want to be answered.
We all know squirrels love nuts – hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, acorns, and even peanuts. Watching squirrels scamper around in the fall collecting and burying their nutritious gold makes for a fun afternoon, so if you’re looking to attract squirrels into your yard, why not entice them by leaving a few nuts lying around?
If you’re all out of nuts, peanut butter will do nicely – answering the question – Yes, squirrels will eat peanut butter – and they love it! If you place it out for them, they’ll be able to smell it, and even though they’re color blind, they’ll be able to see it as well. Of course, they would rather have the nut itself instead of the processed, but nonetheless, they will come for it.
How to serve a squirrel peanut butter
There are so many ways to eat peanut butter – on a spoon, use it as a dip, on bread, or on a cracker. With squirrels, you can use any of these except the dip. It’s doubtful they will grasp that idea. You can simply spread a layer of peanut butter on a slice of bread and place it out for the squirrel to find. You don’t even need to worry about placing a top slice of bread or cutting their sandwich into small triangles. They won’t mind. Squirrels only want peanut butter!
Where to serve it
If you’re looking to attract a squirrel with peanut butter, you’ll want to place your peanut butter cracker or bread where you can easily watch. If you place it up on a fence, they’re likely to grab it and run, and you want to watch them enjoy their meals.
Unless the squirrels in your area are used to people, don’t place the food too close to you, or the squirrels will be too nervous to approach it. They are considered very curious animals, so the more frequently you place food for them, the more comfortable they’ll become in viewing you as a food source and not a threat. As they become more comfortable, you can move the peanut butter a little closer each day. Before you know it, you’ll have a small furry friendly companion. Do not, however, ever feed the squirrel out of your hand or pick up a squirrel. Always remember, they are wild, and if they feel cornered will attack.
When looking for a place to put the squirrels’ peanut butter, don’t place it too close to the bird feeders, or you may find they not only enjoy the peanut butter but take over the bird food as well. So unless you want to drive away your birds, you may want to find an area away from the bird feeder.
Remember when placing food for the squirrel to clean up after your time together, or you may end up with critters you don’t want, such as rats, possums, or raccoons, that could be destructive.
Using peanut butter as bait for squirrels
There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night to squirrels scratching in the attic. You don’t want to deal with the damage squirrels bring, let alone their feces, babies, etc. If you hear them, they’re there, and they are not leaving until you do something. You can always call a professional but expect to pay upwards of $150 evacuate them.
If you’re a “do it yourself” type of person, you can always try getting rid of them yourself, and one of the best baits to use is – peanut butter! Place the peanut butter inside the trap. Once you’ve caught your squirrel, fix the squirrel’s entry point and release the squirrel back outside where it should be.
Don’t get too close
When attracting squirrels into your backyard, remember they may be fun to watch, but they are wild animals. According to cdc.gov, one should never touch a wild squirrel. If you notice a squirrel has no fear and is “drunken” or is acting strange and possibly fearless and aggressive, it may be carrying rabies – so stay away! While many of us are educated on the signs an animal infected with rabies, you may not realize these signs might not show up for months.
On the bright side, the chances of getting rabies from a squirrel are very low – but never say never – better safe than sorry.
Conclusion
In answer to the question, Do squirrels eat peanut butter? The answer is a definite yes. Not only do they eat it, but it’s one of their favorite foods and can work as bait if you find squirrels in your attic or other places where you don’t want them.
When attracting squirrels through peanut butter, make sure that you find an area not too close to you and far enough from the birds that they won’t take over the bird food. Attracting squirrels to your backyard in the right way will give you hours of entertainment, and you might make a new friend.