When they’re not running around looking for and hoarding food—or mating—squirrels will be in their nests resting or sleeping. Since most of the animals that prey on squirrels here in the greater Austin area are nocturnal, you can bet that they try to avoid predators by staying in their nests at night.

Dig for worms. Select a patch of ground in your backyard, garden, or forest and begin digging a small hole. As you lift the soil out, sift through it for worms and collect any that you find. An excellent place to dig for worms is near a stream or water source.

They burrow during the day—typically keeping close to the surface—capable of digging down as deep as 6.5 feet.

When Do Squirrels Sleep? Squirrels are just like you. They are active during the day and sleep during the night.

Time of Day: Squirrels are typically active all day, especially during the fall and spring months when they are more actively in search of food. However, as with most animals, your best chances to hunt are during the hours of dawn and dusk.

Squirrels qualify as crepuscular animals, meaning they become most active during the evening and early morning hours. During the night, squirrels will settle down and spend the night resting in their den. If there are any squirrels in your home, you’ll most likely notice them during the day.

The nest is usually built in the fork of a tall tree but can also be constructed in the attic of a house or in the outside walls of a home. Squirrels will sleep in this nest at night and during parts of the day when they are not out foraging for food.

Squirrels are primarily diurnal, gathering food during the day and resting at night. They generally are less active during the winter but do not hibernate.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that occasionally, squirrels sleep with their eyes open. Though tree squirrels won’t hibernate, they will gather together in groups, cuddling up in bundles for warmth during the winter months, fitting as many as two to, however, many can fit—and get along.

trees cavities

The simple answer is, baby squirrels don’t leave the nest until they are fully furred and can survive on their own so, without seeing the mother right next to the babies, they all look about the same size. Most babies leave the nest in April or May.

You’ve got it right, Stewart — it is a woodrat, the dusky-footed woodrat to be precise. These remarkable rodents build LARGE homes of sticks, and the homes can actually serve many generations of woodrats. Naturalist Alan Kaplan wrote us a story about them way back in 2007, At Home with the Packrats.

Squirrels typically stay in one place and rarely go further than a mile from their homes. If they leave home and go further than 1-2 miles away, there is little to no food in their home area, or there are too many squirrels in one place. Most will either die trying to find food or will become roadkill.

They will live for several months as a family unit. This is the time when you will often see the young squirrels chasing each other around yards and parks, running after each other up and down and around trees. Eventually, in early fall, the young squirrels will leave to establish their own nearby territories.

Well, watch out for cops, because releasing a squirrel outside of its original territory is actually illegal in most jurisdictions. There are many reasons for this, the main one being to avoid transmitting diseases or parasites from one place to another.

Squirrels do travel and operate up to 2 miles from their nest or home. If a squirrel’s nest is within your yard, it is likely they would surf and manage all-around your house, your neighbor’s house, and even your nearest park.

Plants squirrels hate include fritillaries, geraniums, hyacinth, galanthus, lily-of-the-valley, mint, and daffodils. Daffodils are dangerous because they contain lycorine and calcium oxalate crystals that are toxic when ingested.