SQUIRRELS

---

Squirrels may use your attic to stay away from predators and sleep. They often use an open soffit to enter your home, chew a hole through siding, or gaps along gutter-lines. Like many rodents, squirrels are a gnawing animal, which means they must chew constantly to prevent their teeth growing too long. Squirrels will chew through just about anything: plastic pipes, vents, wires, wood, and siding. 

   Their diet consists mainly of plants, such as nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi, and green vegetation. However, when desperate for food, squirrels have been known to eat insects, eggs, small birds, young snakes, and smaller rodents. There are four squirrel species in Ohio, most typically live 5 - 6 years in the wild.