A neighborly question

[maxiesmom]

So was out talking to a neighbor at the fence. He asked what it would take to get me to stop feeding the squirrels. Seems they are hiding nuts in his lawn and he is not a fan.

I've been feeding the squirrels and birds for years and years. This is the first I have heard of it offending anyone. And he also said it wouldn't be neighborly to continue now that I know it upsets him.

The squirrels run to me when I'm out in my yard and I find them very cute. It would make me sad to stop feeding them.

What would you do?

 

[ronandannette]

Oh Lord - I despise squirrels. We have a canopy of 40' spruce trees along our back yard fences and they are infested. I struggle to protect my flower beds from the nasty little rat bastards and it's a losing battle every year. I wish they would just all evaporate - period.

That said, it could well be that as much as I hate them, a neighbour may take joy in them and that's fair-ball. I'd never do what your neighbour did and I think it's terribly presumptuous of him. I say feed them if you want.

 

[katie01]

We don’t feed any wild animals and we still have squirrels, hawks, chipmunks, coyotes, and all other sorts of wildlife running around our yard. If you stopped feeding squirrels they’d still be in your neighbors yard

 

[ronandannette]

We don’t feed any wild animals and we still have squirrels, hawks, chipmunks, coyotes, and all other sorts of wildlife running around our yard. If you stopped feeding squirrels they’d still be in your neighbors yard

Yes - I think that's true. The squirrels at least seem kind of territorial and I don't think they have problems finding food even if it isn't provided.

 

[Southernmiss]

Eek! Rather rude of your neighbor.

I have squirrels all over that destroy my bird feeders no matter what I do

Not a fan of squirrels in my yard either, but I'd never confront a neighbor about it.

 

[kymom99]

I’m not a fan of feeding wild animals. Squirrels can be destructive. They get in your attic and chew insulation and electrical wires. I wouldn’t do anything to attract them.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

At my old house, my neighbor fed squirrels. I was forever finding peanuts in my flower beds. They also ate all the tulip bulbs I planted.

 

[emer95]

Goodness gracious. There are hundreds of things neighbors could complain about, but this is the absolute bottom of the list. Ridiculous. If he wants zero squirrels in his yard, he should ask every other neighbor to chop their trees down. Totally unreasonable.

 

[katie01]

I’m not a fan of feeding wild animals. Squirrels can be destructive. They get in your attic and chew insulation and electrical wires. I wouldn’t do anything to attract them.

In our area at least, they seem to be attracted by the type of trees planted, or size of trees maybe? We didn’t have any squirrels at all the first three years we lived in our subdivision (we were the second owners, house was about 10 years old when we bought it). After year 3, all of a sudden the whole neighborhood was overrun with squirrels. I think the trees reached a certain stage of maturity, and the squirrels sensed it or something Lol. All I know is this time of year my dogs are going batty when we go out on walks, the squirrels taunt them from the trees, plant acorns all over our yard, and I swear they even throw acorns at the dogs from the trees

I agree you don’t want to ever get one inside!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What would you do?

Stop feeding the squirrels. Although, I wouldn't be feeding them in the first place.

https://www.wildlifexteam.com/about/blog/stop-feeding-squirrels-heres-why.htmlhttps://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/should-we-feed-squirrels.htm

 

[ronandannette]

At my old house, my neighbor fed squirrels. I was forever finding peanuts in my flower beds. They also ate all the tulip bulbs I planted.

Grrr...just thinking about it makes me mad all over again. I don't even bother trying with spring bulbs or gladiolas anymore.

ETA: Interesting comment about the peanut shells. I find them in my flower beds too and couldn't imagine where on earth they were coming from. It totally didn't occur to me that someone might be providing them to the squirrles, but it makes perfect sense!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

He asked what it would take? Well, name your price. Say, $100k. Then tell him that now that he has asked what it would take and you have answered, it wouldn't be neighborly for him to expect you to change your behavior for any less.

Then wish him a wondrous day.

 

[HeatherC]

Your house. Your yard. Keep feeding the squirrels. He seems “squirrelly “ for even bothering to complain about this. Ridiculous.

 

[nw6675]

This could be us My husband loooooves to feed the squirrels. We don't usually feed them peanuts in the shell, but we happened to have some going to waste so they had them this week. Although, we think the rabbits got to them first.

 

[anniemae]

I’m not a fan of feeding wild animals. Squirrels can be destructive. They get in your attic and chew insulation and electrical wires. I wouldn’t do anything to attract them.

This.

 

[disykat]

I also would stop feeding the squirrels. Feeding any kind of animal in your yard does affect the neighbor. That's just a reality. I don't think it was rude of him to mention it. This has probably been bothering him for many years. OP mentions not knowing it was a problem, and seemed bothered that she was unaware all these years that it was affecting other people, yet people here seem to think it's not okay for a neighbor to mention that it is a problem.

We had a neighbor (never figured out which one) that used to feed peanuts to the squirrels. We would find peanut shells all over our yard. If we'd known who it was we would have definitely asked them to please stop because it was quite a problem not being able to let our peanut allergic child play outside when he was small. . At our old house we had a neighbor who would feed old bread to the seagulls. Fortunately for us it was on the other side of the street because the neighbors on either side were always asking her to please stop because of all the bird crap. She refused to stop, because of her "rights." The neighbor's back patios, that were in VERY close proximity to where she fed the birds, were pretty much unusable.

Pretending that your actions don't affect your neighbor doesn't make it true. You have the "right" to do whatever you want, but it doesn't mean you aren't annoying your neighbor. Sure, she can continue to feed the squirrels knowing that it bothers her neighbor, but she can't make it not bother him.

 

[VandVsmama]

I'd stop feeding the squirrels.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Feeding squirrels causes them to lose their fear of humans. And that is not good for either side. As for the humans squirrels carry many diseases and can bite. That's not to mention most homes have not been critter proofed and they may seek refuge in various places you do not want them. They can chew wire insulation as well as your attic insulation. Not to mention poop all over the place. It's not good for the squirrels either. It changes native behaviors and causes aggression. Also the Grays tend to eat several times more than other species and when fed by humans to capacity, crowds them out.

 

[kymom99]

I’ll add to what I said previously. We have all kinds of animals in our yard daily. A couple squirrels sit on our front porch rail and entertain our cat while they eat whatever they find outside. We leave them alone. They do eat some of my flowers but I don’t get too upset about that. It’s their natural instinct. The deer eat my tulips and certain other flowers. That’s ok. I may spray deer stop if I get around to it. We have wild turkeys that visit. Lots of birds. I don’t mind the wildlife eating what’s out there but I don’t feed them. They have plenty to eat without me doing that.

My friend set up a game camera and put food out for the animals. She has squirrels, possums, and raccoons visiting regularly. My first thought was I bet her neighbors aren’t happy with her. Why attract animals that can be a nuisance?

 

[maxiesmom]

Here is where I am torn. If he can ask me to stop feeling the squirrels would I then be right in asking my neighbors to stop using their fire pits? I am allergic and have to go inside and shut all my windows when they decide to light up.