Squirrels can usually be found in and around trees. These tiny, cute, furry-tailed animals have an intimate relationship with trees. They seek refuge in trees, nest in trees, and nip branches off of trees too. But why do they do this? Why do squirrels nip off branches? This article looks into it.

Squirrels nip off branches as a way to maintain their teeth. Tree branches help to sharpen and clean their teeth, in addition, they nip at branches to get to the nutrients inside. Lastly, nipping at branches is a great stress reliever for pregnant squirrels

Why do squirrels nip off branches? 4 reasons why they do this

Squirrels participate in a variety of bizarre behaviors that humans may not always understand. These animals are not only omnivores but they are opportunistic feeders as well, eating both plant and animal matter.

One would think that squirrels would only eat the nuts off of trees but trees are more helpful to squirrels than many of us know. Squirrels nip off branches because: 

To maintain their teeth: 

Animals like squirrels and other rodents have to constantly maintain their teeth. A squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing, because of this, they need to find ways to shave them down on a regular basis, this shaving keeps the teeth at a manageable length.

Squirrels maintain the length of their teeth by gnawing at and nipping off branches 

These animals will not only gnaw on branches to maintain the length of their teeth but they will also nip away at trees to sharpen and clean their teeth. If they don’t do this, their teeth won’t be as effective and efficient.

To use as a nesting material:

Squirrels make nests that are called dreys, these dreys can vary in size and can be made out of a variety of different materials including twigs, leaves, moss, bark, and nipped-off branches depending on what’s available. 

Using nipped-off branches is helpful because the branches help to insulate the nests from cold winds.  Squirrels use branches and twigs to create a basket, this basket becomes the foundation of the nest and is a major structural element.

They then use softer materials on top of the branches and twigs

For stress relief:

Pregnant squirrels who are stressed are said to produce better pups, however, stressed and pregnant squirrels will still try to calm themselves during pregnancy. A variety of harmful environmental conditions can cause pregnant mothers to become stressed.   

If a pregnant squirrel experiences stress, she will nip at branches as a way to relieve her stress. In fact, pregnant squirrels are known to nip at branches the most 

For food: 

When food becomes scarce, especially during the winter months, squirrels have less access to the foods that they would usually eat.

If foods like berries, seeds, and nuts start to deplete, the squirrel will start to look for other sources of food, the animal will even go as far as eating plant matter like branches

A squirrel will remove the branches off of a tree to gain access to the cambium layer. This is the tissue layer that houses the cells needed for plant growth. This layer is rich in nutrients and sugars, squirrels eat this when food is scarce.

Do squirrels damage trees?

Occasionally squirrels may choose to chew tree trunks but other than that they don’t do that much harm to trees. You can consider squirrels as nature’s own tree pruning service.

That being said, while their sharp teeth may not demolish a fully grown tree, their teeth can have a severe impact on younger, weaker trees.

Plus, the strips and openings that they create by stripping trees can come with the side effect of welcoming insect infestations and other harmful parasites into the trees.

Ants, termites, birds, and some microorganisms can gain easy access to vital and more vulnerable parts of trees when the hard outer bark is stripped away.

How do you keep squirrels from chewing on tree branches?

While squirrels enjoy nipping at branches, you and your trees may not be so impressed. To safeguard your trees, you’ll need to take some protective measures.

Using metallic or wire fencing around the base of trees restricts access. Setting traps or calling the wildlife authorities is a great option as well, squirrels can be an unwelcomed pest to many in the area.

While cutting off branches, where they nest, may seem like an option, we don’t recommend it since you may possibly be harming baby squirrels. Plus, squirrels tend to have more than one nesting place.

An old trick is to paint the bark of trees with cinnamon and repellant paste to keep squirrels away.

Are there benefits to having squirrels in trees?

There are several benefits to keeping squirrels around. For starters, the holes that they dig in the soil help to aerate the soil around trees, thus tree roots will benefit from this added air.

Squirrels also feed on pesky insects and bugs, squirrels doing this is a great benefit for both trees and humans. If you really stop and think about it, they are providing a free tree pruning service.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, squirrels nip off branches as a way to maintain their teeth. The branches help to sharpen and clean their teeth and the branches also keep the squirrel’s teeth at a reasonable length.

In addition, they nip at branches to get to the sap inside. Lastly nipping at branches is a great stress reliever for pregnant squirrels.

This nipping at branches doesn’t do much harm to the trees, in fact, squirrels doing this is a sort of pruning service. Unfortunately, this can create openings for infestations and parasites.

You can keep them away from your trees by coating the tree with cinnamon and squirrel repellent paste.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other squirrel related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do cats eat squirrels?, Are squirrels warm-blooded?, How to entertain squirrels?, Do squirrels eat frogs? Why do squirrels chatter their teeth?