Spruce growers: Beware the red squirrel

Photo credit: Michael Mengak, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org.

From the Michigan State University Extension:

Is the ground around your spruce tree littered with branch tips? If so, this is probably the work of a hungry red squirrel. Rather than just eating the buds, these pesky rodents prefer to first prune the branch tip from the tree, eat the bud then discard the branch. As the squirrel continues to dine, the branch tips pile up on the ground below.

Red squirrels, also known as pine squirrels and chickarees, are native rodents that can be easily identified from other North American tree squirrels by their smaller size, territorial behavior and reddish fur with a white under-belly. Red squirrels aggressively defend their territory from other squirrels. They get annoyed whenever large animals, particularly dogs and people, intrude onto their territory. Anyone who walks the woods recognizes the barks and chatter of an annoyed red squirrel. They will sit on a birdfeeder seemingly for hours eating sunflower seeds and chasing the intended beneficiaries away.