They breed like rats. No real breeding season so no set season to set out on their own.
I'm guessing from hunting seasons in southern zones they have no problem breeding year round.

mykl, I had thought they bred only in the winter. I just looked it up and the wikipedia page says they breed twice a year, Jan and June or thereabouts. These juveniles look like they could have been born early this year. Or maybe its just that there is a standard migration time of year..

Scott

Seems to be a lot of conflicting information. Including in this PDF that says both Fox squirrels can mate at any time of year and Fox squirrels have one litter a year.
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/oneida/home%20garden/Animals/Tree%20Squirrels.pdf

I imagine a lot of the conflict comes from the many breeds and the fact that east refers to tree squirrels as "squirrels" and west refers to ground squirrels as "squirrels".

When I hunt them I try to focus on Fox because the Greys are small but I've had Fox that were suckling between August and September and I've had both kinds that were way too small to bother with even as late into winter as our hunting season allows.

I think what we had in NJ were mainly Fox.

Good point on how the kind matters. I was sure I had only gray squirrels but upon looking into it I think I may be seeing some fox squirrels as well; I didn't realize how similar they were. The juveniles I am getting now I am pretty sure are all grays because their bellies are white. It was the wikipedia page for gray squirrels that I was looking at. While looking around the web I also found a couple mentions of major migrations of juveniles at certain times of the year but it was more anecdotal information as opposed to fact.

Anyway, time to get the flashlight and go check the traps...

Scott

We have juvenile squirrels in our yard, right now, in Madison, Wisconsin. The one I saw this morning looked to be 80% grown up, but not quite there yet.

They are starting to show up on my property as well- in the last 2 weeks. I always assumed all of mine were gray squirrels because that's all anyone around here calls them. Every squirrel around here is either a gray or a red according to locals I talk to- not that they're right.

Scott , try to keep traps throughout the year and by that you will catch parents early in the spring time so you won't have those young ones @ this time?
almost impossible to control them but with persistance you might eliminate them TEMPORARILY?

Best wishes

Radovan, I already do that. I was trapping adults up until a couple weeks ago. Generally I don't have problems because the adults only slowly migrate and I can steadily eliminate them. Its the juvenile migration thats causing me big problems because they all seem to show up at once. I trapped one more last night when I checked and one trap mis-fired this morning. I just saw two juveniles romping in a tree so there are still more to trap. Oh the tangletrap seems to be keeping them out of the peaches for now; I saw footprints in the tangletrap so they got the unpleasant surprise. By putting it on the bigger more vertical limbs I can avoid putting it where the birds might land.

Scott

I never cared for squirrel. I've ate it before, it just a little too gamey. I know that the local place here buys squirrel tails. They are used in fishing lures.

I want to shoot my rabbits with my bow. But its tough because they come around at night.

Around here we have grey squirrels and a rare red squirrel. I had thought the red squirrels were called fox squirrels, but maybe that's just local folklore.

I have read that grey squirrels choke out the red ones because the greys are so much more vigorous. Anecdotally, I've found this to be true. I caught a red squirrel once and he didn't run around and act crazy when I approached the trap (like the grey ones do). Although I did destroy him, I may not do so again if I caught another. They are so rare around here, they may not steal much fruit.

Grey squirrels are a different matter of course. I've kept careful records this year and caught 22 so far since Jan. 1. The other day I caught a juvenile. Strangely, more than 2 males have been caught to every one female this year (16 males; 6 females). However, the fall is when I catch the most. Probably twice as many in the fall.

My daughter indicated there was a squirrel outside my window this morning, but I didn't have time to to get Loraine out. Loraine is what I've affectionately named my pellet gun, after the gun used in the animated movie "Open Season".

Reds and Fox are different things. For years I called Fox Red because Fox is red. Then I noticed Reds are protected here and asked a friend, he said we don't have Reds, we have Fox but everyone calls them Reds.

Reds are more of a pine forest thing and smaller than Fox.

As I understand it "Reds" are, indeed resident in conifer forests. However, "Red Squirrels" around here are black, and have a white ring around the eye and a white belly. They cache huge amounts of pine cones, are relatively small, (maybe the size of a pet white rat?) and bark in a rapid-fire chatter when people go by.

I've been told that "Fox" and "Gray" squirrels are simply variants and that they do hybridize, but I haven't looked it up. I don't think red squirrels can hybridize with gray or red Fox squirrels. Fox squirrels here are fairly big, and almost worth hunting. We used to eat them in Arkansas (breaded and fried like chicken is good.)

I've never known the little Red squirrels to be a problem for fruit trees; I have a coworker who maintains a small orchard and had a red squirrel move in, but the only problem was the innovative places he found to stash stuff. Eventually relocated him.

This video shows a reddish one, but the eye ring and behavior are the same as our blackish ones: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5605175158050772122#
I've seen a lot of red Fox squirrels here in Montana and a lot of gray ones in Arkansas, and a lot of Red squirrels here, but I've never seen them share territory.

All just FWIW.

:-)M

ps- I hope you all have a happy, healthy, and safe Forth of July.

I've been averaging 2 gray (cat squirrels) a day for a week now from a large pecan tree. This morning I eliminated 4. I can't turn my back 30 minutes or 2-4 will be eating green pecans. Between coons, deer, crows and squirrels, my stuff hasn't a chance....this country living ain't as great as I thought it would be. Going to town now to buy another box of 20 gauge and the grays will take over while I'm gone.

Garden Guard is what need I got one take care every animal out there you have put closer crop if animal don't see good. Solar power has led lights 4 red 4 blue on each corner they blink randomly. Shape like small bird house best if mounted on legs so be moved. Hunting squirrel will get them to low population.

Hey thanks Gator Rider. I'd like to know more about this Garden Guard. Do you have the company name and maybe a place that I can order one?

They are supposed to be good eatin'. If they are juveniles, they will be tender. It's not so hard to feed a critter that you know is going to end up on your table.

It might not be a migration so much as the word is out that fruit is ripening at your place.

Wild animals have a routine where they move around to the area where the food is ready for them. If they are showing up right as the first peaches ripen, I think maybe you are on the schedule for the year's menu.