Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

generalbetrayus

(1,870 posts)
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 12:50 PM Jan 21

HAPPY NATIONAL SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY!

Enjoy having the wiring in your auto engine compartment gnawed on? Thank a squirrel.
Enjoy hearing the pit-a-pat of tiny feet in your attic? Thank a squirrel.
Enjoy finding peanuts in the shell buried in your lawn and garden? Thank a squirrel.
Enjoy having your bedroom window screen torn to shreds? Thank a squirrel.
HAPPY NATIONAL SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY!

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
HAPPY NATIONAL SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY! (Original Post) generalbetrayus Jan 21 OP
Mice are much more likely to damage your car wiring! justaprogressive Jan 21 #1
And cause thousand of dollars of damage to your attic and the wiring indoors and out. efhmc Jan 21 #9
My house is 125 years old and no squirrels ever did any damage to the house Grim Chieftain Jan 21 #14
My house is at least 100 years old, cksmithy Jan 21 #15
I just love old homes Grim Chieftain Jan 21 #16
Our house is Craftsman style house with lots of wood that had been painted white, orange, black, during the 1960's. cksmithy Jan 21 #18
Our area of Texas is a heavy producer of pecans, thus the prevalence of tree rats. efhmc Jan 21 #19
As mentioned, mice are far more likely to do the wiring damage you mention... hlthe2b Jan 21 #2
I prefer the European kind Wicked Blue Jan 21 #3
Yes surfered Jan 21 #12
Squirrels do eat grubs. quaint Jan 21 #4
We have oak forests because of these magnificent little creatures SheltieLover Jan 21 #5
I take good care of my squirrels. Borogove Jan 21 #6
I love squirrels. Thank you generalbetrayus. debm55 Jan 21 #7
Our cat is very appreciative crud Jan 21 #8
They are entertaining GreatGazoo Jan 21 #10
Look, Squirrel surfered Jan 21 #11
they provide exercise for dogs DBoon Jan 21 #13
My granddog knows the word squirrel. If you open the back door in the kitchen and say "Squirrel!", generalbetrayus Jan 22 #21
Oh yeah Ptah Jan 21 #17
My nephew sent me this today Marthe48 Jan 21 #20
LOL! generalbetrayus Jan 22 #22
The neighborhood squirrels damn sure appreciate me. Paladin Jan 22 #23

justaprogressive

(6,925 posts)
1. Mice are much more likely to damage your car wiring!
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 12:57 PM
Jan 21


Good things Squirrels do:

Natural Seed Distributors

Soil Aeration Helpers

Natural Pest Control

Nutrient Recycling Agents

Pet Companions


Feed a squirrel today!

efhmc

(16,681 posts)
9. And cause thousand of dollars of damage to your attic and the wiring indoors and out.
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 02:20 PM
Jan 21

Just ask this owner of a 115 year old house. They are nasty critters. My mother called them tree rats.

Grim Chieftain

(1,745 posts)
14. My house is 125 years old and no squirrels ever did any damage to the house
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 03:19 PM
Jan 21

Now raccoons, that's a different matter, but I love them both.

cksmithy

(494 posts)
15. My house is at least 100 years old,
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 03:42 PM
Jan 21

we have a copy of a photo dated 1921 of 2 girls sitting in front of our house with the biggest hair bows we've ever seen. We have several feeding stations for birds and some for the squirrels. Rats chew on plastic, rubber, air conditioning ducts, etc. according to the pest control company that fumigated our house for termites. He said squirrels get the blame but it is not squirrels, it is rats. We have never had any damage like that happen to our old house. We bought it 1982 and do not planning on moving.

Grim Chieftain

(1,745 posts)
16. I just love old homes
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 03:52 PM
Jan 21

Ours is a 1901 Victorian/Queen Anne. It has twelve rooms, a parlor, library, dining room, pocket doors, a maid's pantry and butler's pantry, two staircases and a huge roof with a turret. My husband and I are history buffs, so we made sure the historical integrity was intact - no painting of woodwork and no removal of walls to modernize the house. We've owned it for thirty-five years and will never sell it. I just feel so honored to own a piece of history.

cksmithy

(494 posts)
18. Our house is Craftsman style house with lots of wood that had been painted white, orange, black, during the 1960's.
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 05:07 PM
Jan 21

We had a lot of work to do, we did it and I love my house. We have wainscoting topped with a plate shelving all around the dining room, built in buffet (minus the doors), wood cornice trim in both living and dining room, built in shelving on one side of fireplace, and built in storage on the right side like a bench with a lid, probably for wood. It was all painted white and we (mostly me) stripped all the wood, stained it colonial walnut which matched perfectly with the few inches of wood that never got painted. We restored it to it's 1920 original look. My husband took a cabinet making class and built our kitchen cabinets, also built all the missing doors to the builtin in shelves in the DR and LR. In the kitchen, we could actually see on the flooring where cabinets were, so we tried to recreate a 1920's kitchen with room for a dishwasher and a frig. I think we had 10 rooms

We still have original windows with wavy glass. On our street there are at least one house with a double staircase, and 4 with maid quarters. There are no Victorian/Queen Anne houses. Our street was recently completely replaced, the forum asked us how old the house were, we told them when we moved in, the corner concrete was stamped with the street name and 1912. He replied I knew it, because the crushed rock base was so different from more modern streets.

It is like living in a museum, kind of. Whenever someone sees it for the first time, they always say, "Wow, these old houses are great." There is also a house built by the Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan, (certified) 3 doors away. But a couple bought it and modernized it, moved walls, replaced the clinker brick fireplace and painted everything white. Its just awful.
I love old homes too.


efhmc

(16,681 posts)
19. Our area of Texas is a heavy producer of pecans, thus the prevalence of tree rats.
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 05:45 PM
Jan 21

No problem with them where I lived in Houston. Mostly live oaks there.

hlthe2b

(114,004 posts)
2. As mentioned, mice are far more likely to do the wiring damage you mention...
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 01:03 PM
Jan 21

Squirrels are comparably "good animal neighbors."

In fact up until the late 1940s squirrels were kept as pets in numbers that rivaled most other domestic/peri-domestic animals.

Tearing at your screens? I'd be curious what might be provoking them within? A squirrel-obsessed dog perhaps? Maybe not, but that is a common scenario.

quaint

(5,095 posts)
4. Squirrels do eat grubs.
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 01:16 PM
Jan 21

I reward them with organic, unsalted walnut pieces.

Red the Fornicating Squirrel
Has his way with all the girls
Just a month and day after
Sunny Toes caught his laughter
Sunny Tummy was debuted
It was weeks before I viewed

GreatGazoo

(4,634 posts)
10. They are entertaining
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 02:29 PM
Jan 21

They run across the top of my back fence like acrobats. Love to watch them use their tails for balance and watch them jump between trees.

Mine are extra heavy this year and until I got used to it, when they jump on the roof of the front porch they sound like a small child so I had visions of Chucky attacking. LOL

generalbetrayus

(1,870 posts)
21. My granddog knows the word squirrel. If you open the back door in the kitchen and say "Squirrel!",
Thu Jan 22, 2026, 03:10 AM
Jan 22

she will madly dash out the back door even if she is in another room.

Marthe48

(23,186 posts)
20. My nephew sent me this today
Wed Jan 21, 2026, 07:11 PM
Jan 21

The Presbyterian church called a meeting to decide what to do about their squirrel infestation. After much prayer and consideration, they concluded that the squirrels were predestined to be there, and they should not interfere with God’s divine will.

At the Baptist church, the squirrels had taken an interest in the baptistry. The deacons met and decided to put a water-slide on the baptistry and let the squirrels drown themselves. The squirrels liked the slide and, unfortunately, knew instinctively how to swim, so twice as many squirrels showed up the following week.

The Lutheran church decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God’s creatures. So, they humanely trapped their squirrels and set them free near the Baptist church. Two weeks later, the squirrels were back when the Baptists took down the water-slide.

The Episcopalians tried a much more unique path by setting out pans of whiskey around their church in an effort to kill the squirrels with alcohol poisoning. They sadly learned how much damage a band of drunk squirrels can do.

But the Catholic church came up with a more creative strategy! They baptized all the squirrels and made them members of the church. Now they only see them at Christmas and Easter.

Not much was heard from the Jewish synagogue. They took the first squirrel and circumcised him. They haven’t seen a squirrel since.

 

Paladin

(32,354 posts)
23. The neighborhood squirrels damn sure appreciate me.
Thu Jan 22, 2026, 08:35 AM
Jan 22

I think it might have something to do with the sunflower seeds I put out for them, almost every day. Between my sunflower seeds and a neighbor's pecan tree and an absence of predators, they've got it made.

Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»HAPPY NATIONAL SQUIRREL A...