I'm in trouble for feeding squirrels

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Every morning I leave a pile of nuts under the tree in my yard. The squirrels sit there and wait for me. They used to run away now they just sit in the tree which is pretty close to me. They clearly know me as a food source. They run to the nuts within seconds of me dropping them. As soon as I step away they come. I never try to hand feed them and I would not want that. I like them have wild instinct but I think if I worked on it and just never stepped away they would get brave enough to come to me.

This makes me happy since I really like animals and I feel like most people see them as pests. They might even hurt them. I did have a friend's dad once who shot any that made a nest in his tree for fun.

Now my parents are very upset with me. They say they are tearing up the yard and they don't know how to live in the wild. I do not agree. The spot under the tree is dirt since the tree is so large. No sun shines there so nothing can grow. We only use the yard to eat outside when the weather is nice a few times a summer or for our dog to poop in. There are no kids using it to play or anything and no one really does major yard work. I mow the lawn but that's it. I admit I have seen some squirrels burying what I give them but that's it.

I see no issue with the yard being for nature. My mom has a bird feeder for this same reason. It's nice to see the animals in the yard mom. I feel the same way. I only started feeding them since I had another argument with my mom over me having a pet reptile. She is afraid of them so it's a no. So I decided to make a "pet" of the squirrel. I just feel like I can't have anything. The reptile I wanted eats fruit and is known to not bite or anything unless you are mean to them and they defend themselves. I did my research I know what to do and I know it's not as hard to keep as for example the large snakes some people like.

Ever since I was a little kid I always loved animals and wanted a pet. I could never have anything. My parents like dogs but even then it's the dog they pick. There are examples of me getting a dog and they say no even then. Now I'm an adult living at home. I'm depressed since I feel like if I was independent I could make this choice for myself. Just a way my autism messes with me.

Maybe you could tell your parent's how much happiness, these squirrels bring you when you get to feed them. Doesn't seem like it's much to ask for. Good luck!

There are a lot of wild rabbits in my neighborhood. See them in my yard and all over. I leave food for them and they let me get pretty close to them. My parents are cool with them but I am waiting for some neighbor to ruin it by putting out traps or poison. One neighbor who's a big mouth type said recently that they were going to attract coyotes.

I like squirrels a lot too and would be doing the same thing if they were around like the rabbits. Good luck with your situation.

I used to walk my dog at 6am, and when we got to a certain tree, I'd stop, look up, and the squirrel would drop an apple core on me. I would pick it up and throw it up, and the squirrel caught it. Then I'd have to walk on to please the dog. But I thought of that as my pet squirrel. He was waiting every morning at 6am.

That was on public property - is there another place you can drop the nuts? Squirrels are smart, they'll catch on.

As for obsessions with lovely back yards, you have all my sympathy. I've lived with that too. Do you think it's tied to respect from the neighbours?

Just hope they don't crawl in your attic and make their home there. They're nearly impossible to get rid of then. A cousin of mine had that happen. Then you hear the squirrels running above the ceiling all night screaming, fighting and/or mating. It's terrible.

Since your mom is afraid of reptiles, have you considered getting a rodent instead I have a chinchilla & they resemble squirrels a little. More so than the other domesticated rodents in the US. Plus they can be kinda cute so your mom might be more accepting of them than reptiles.

Pets are good therapy for people with autism. I disagree with your mother's concern about the squirrels, but I guess it's her right. Tell her you want a pet and negotiate for what pet it can be.

The thing about reptiles is, some people have a hardwired fear of certain reptiles, and snakes are a well-known example of that. So if they creep her out, there's not much she can do about that, and I support that.

Are there other issues between you and the parents? Sometimes one issue can symbolize all the issues. Some issues adult dependent children have with their parents are financial support, tidiness, noise, freedom for the child to do as he pleases, even freedom for the parents to do as they please. If those underlying issues are unresolved, it's unlikely the symbolic issue will get resolved.

Finally let me mention that a parent may be reluctant to get a pet for their child because the parent fears he or she will be "stuck with" the ongoing care. My daughter when she was first living independently wanted to get a cat. I insisted she not only be able to afford the purchase, shots, and accessories, but have enough "cushion" financially in case the cat ever got sick and needed veterinary care. She has had her cat several years and we pet-sit any time my daughter goes out of town a couple days. She and the cat are very devoted to each other. This was a perfect way to resolve her animal care desires and needs.

If you want to make friends with a squirrel, I do not see much harm in that. They are wild animals and as such they may carry rabies. But the odds of finding a squirrel in that condition are low. They have sharp claws and could scratch you if they become startled if you held one. They have an acute sense of smell. We have black walnut trees and the walnuts fall to the ground in the Fall. I tried to raise the walnuts from these seeds. So I buried some on a patch on the ground. In springtime the area was pockmarked with holes. The squirrels because of their acute sense of smell could smell where I buried them and dug each and every one up.

So I think there is a symbiotic relationship between squirrels and black walnut trees. The walnuts fall to the ground. The squirrels bury them thither and yon. They find them and eat them during the winter. But sometimes the squirrels die and then black walnut saplings spring up everywhere.

But one word of caution. Do not adopt a bear. My aunt notices several small cubs would come by her house. So she left a little food out for them each night. The next year they were fully grown 500 pound bears and they would come up to her house expecting food. She was terrorized by a large pack of bears. So don't feed the bears.

Unfortunately, it's the parents' yard (or the landlord's), and what they say is what goes.

Squirrels can be troublesome, but I've always loved them. It amazes me how many people have utter contempt for the little rascals, even to the point of killing them. I saw a guy in a pickup truck a few years ago try to run one down. Fortunately, he failed.

Use your squirrel army to assert dominance over your parents, you don't need parents when you've become one with the squirrels!

I don't get the reasons for killing them either unless someone is going to eat em. There's really no harm in letting them live outside & do their own thing there. If they start going in the attic, it's time to plug some holes to stop em from getting in.
My grandpa knew someone who had a squirrel for a pet. The guy worked at a store that was selling Christmas trees during the holiday season. Some kinda way a baby flying squirrel got on the truck & came with the Christmas trees. Flying squirrels don't live in Louisiana where we do & thus would of been an exotic species. Plus it was a baby so the guy caught it & built a big cage for it. I seen it 1ce when I was little.

My brother had a squirrel for a pet one summer. He found it in the road near the squashed remains of an adult squirrel (it's mother, I assume). He build a cage, and we kept it in the rec room, then released it when it was old enough to fend for itself.

It thanked us by chewing a hole in the roof during January. We recognized it as the same squirrel because it was missing the last inch or so of its tail (presumably lost in the same incident that killed its mother).

One live trap and fifty miles later, and we saw the last of it.

From what you've said it doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong with your interactions with the squirrels.

As someone who has had voles, moles, mice, neighbor dogs, raccoons, neighbor cats, chipmunks, rabbits, birds, occasional opossum, occasional Fox, grey squirrels, red squirrels, and ground hogs in the yard the groundhog was the yard tearing up critter. Squirrels are pretty benign in comparison. Thing is squirrels are going to live and hang out where they know food isn't far away so if you're feeding them then yeah they're going to stick around. HOWEVER...

^this completely blows the argument of you feeding them is a cause to the squirrels coming around digging up the yard. Squirrels CONSTANTLY raid bird feeders. Even if they can't "reach" (they are amazing acrobats though) them they will scavenge the ground for dropped seed. Having a bird feeder invites more than birds.

My step dad loses his wigget when the squirrels get our feeders (personally I like them more than birds), but they have to eat too. They're just doing what they are meant to, collect food for survival.

Squirrels are highly adaptive so getting rid of them is pretty hard while also trying to encourage other creatures (birds) to come.

Your parents sound kind of controlling to me and its certainly unfair to blame you over the yard. They do get the say about any pet you'd have but feeding wild squirrels a bit? Actually putting out feeding them might be helpful in discouraging them from raiding bird nests and eating the eggs/hatchings.

Do you live somewhere sugar gliders are legal? Maybe your mom would be ok with one of them. There are a bunch of websites providing information on required care. You could gather facts on them and present your case. Personally, I think sugar gliders are cute.

We have squirrels around here and I got pretty mad at my neighbour for feeding them, it brings the skunks around and nobody wants that. The skunks dig up holes under steps, causing them to sink and they terrorize any dogs tied up outside. Remember if you're feeding a small animal, it will stay around and attract the larger animals that come to eat it.

Also if there are any uneaten bits of food left over, that will bring lots of mice and bugs around and in the winter they will start looking for a nice, warm place to live. That could be in your house.