If you are going to feed and thereby attract red squirrels into or visit your garden, then there are some guidelines that you need to follow to ensure that you are not inadvertently putting them at risk. Risks include being struck by a car crossing a road to get to your feeding station, disease transmission or predation by the domestic cat!
NIEA – Feeding Red Squirrels in your Garden pdf
NISF – Supplementary Feeding Red Squirrels pdf
In addition to reading the NISF’s Supplementary Feeding leaflet, you should also read the document titled ‘Further information regarding feeding station and trap hygiene’ found under the heading Grey Squirrel Control. To ensure that the red squirrels visiting your garden stay healthy, it is essential that you keep the feeder clean of viruses and diseases. In order to do this, you will need to clean-out and disinfect your feeder every couple of weeks. Again, if a grey squirrel visits your garden, you must cease feeding altogether.
