More squirrels are on the way. With the ice, snow and cold keeping everyone inside, one common furry rodent is now more active. JanuaryFebruary is a major mating season for squirrels. With this event comes a serious nesting and feeding period, decimating bird feeders and possibly invading your house.

There are more than 200 species of squirrel in the world and three major types: the tree squirrels (with bushy tail), the ground squirrels (with a nonbushy tail) and the flying squirrels (who cannot really fly but can glide up to 150 feet using a flap of skin). The fox and gray tree squirrels are the most common in Kansas. The reddish fox squirrel is so named because of its color, weighs from 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 pounds and is 1827 inches long from nose to tail tip. The gray squirrel, found mostly in the eastern third of Kansas, has gray fur with white underparts and a white-tipped tail, weighing in at 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pounds and measuring 17-19 inches long. Only six southeastern Kansas counties sport the nocturnal flying squirrels, which are 8 1/2-9 1/2 inches long. Squirrels can live up to 15 years in captivity.

Squirrels are omnivores (they eat plants and meat). They consume seeds, nuts, leaves, bulbs, roots, mushrooms, insects, worms, eggs, small birds and other small animals. Burying nuts, digging bulbs, shredding flower blooms and sampling our almost-ripe tomatos gives unhappy testimony to this diet. Their predators are the weasel, fox, hawk, eagle, lynx, bear, coyote and maybe a dog or two. In our urban areas, they have plenty of food and limited predators.

The rodents’ teeth continue to grow and, to be effective, need to be sharp. To this end, squirrels will chew and gnaw on everything. PVC pipe, hoses, tree bark, branches, yard art, furniture, wiring and your house are targets. In fact, your house becomes a special large tree, safe and warm inside. Once in, they fluff up a nice nest, drop fleas and other pests to invade your living space and start to chew, possibly causing a fire hazard. They must be removed from your home, the entryway sealed and the damage repaired.

Control is best achieved with exclusion. For the house make sure all openings are covered with wire or hardware cloth. On new construction, the builder must use sound construction practices. An opening as small as 1/2 inch gives the animals a place to start. Trees pruned back 5-6 feet from the house will limit their access. Position bird-feeding stations away from the house, the patio and the furniture.

Repellents are questionably effective even if registered for this purpose. High-frequency sound emitters and animal scents are only effective for short periods, if at all.

Trapping is an option. Once squirrels are trapped, a choice must be made to relocate or destroy them. Flying squirrels are fully protected in Kansas, and the fox and gray may legally be taken as game animals from June 1 through Dec. 31. Relocation requires specific permission from the new area’s owner, even if it seems just “way out in the woods.” If you trap and remove, more squirrels will invade the now-open territory and take up residence.

Squirrels have been around for some 30 million years. Our best defense may be acceptance. Squirrels can be treated as part of the fauna and enjoyed along with the birds.