Q. I think I have a squirrel living on my balcony. Why is it here?
There are a few reasons why a squirrel may be living on your balcony. Perhaps it’s a spot where it can rest, hide from predators or make a nest. If you think your balcony could never get squirrels because you live on the 20th floor of an apartment building, think again! There’s a story of a squirrel that built its nest on a balcony that was on the 23rd floor!
Squirrels have young two times a year – in early spring and late summer. If you have a squirrel on your balcony at these times, there’s a good chance it could be a mother with young. If the squirrels aren’t causing any issues, then you can rest easy knowing they will likely move on when the young squirrels are about 12 weeks old. By this age they are quite independent. If they are causing issues, then you should contact a wildlife rehabilitation centre for advice on how to safely encourage the squirrels to move to another location. You want to make sure you do this the right way so the mother squirrel relocates her young rather than leaving her young behind.
If you’d rather squirrels not use your balcony in the first place, there are few things you can do to make it less attractive: ⦁ Do keep your garbage secure with tight fitting lids.
⦁ Don’t put out birdseed, at least for a little while.
⦁ Do ask your apartment manager to trim any branches that allows squirrels to reach your balcony.
⦁ Do put up a wind chime. Squirrels don’t like the sound of them!
