Depending on their viewpoint, last April area residents either smiled and chuckled or groaned in disgust when relatively small tannish critters stood on hind legs, looked around and darted across streets and open spaces.
Now that August is upon us and those rodents have burrowed close to building foundations or noshed on carefully tended flowers and almost everything in sight that’s green, most people don’t find them to be nearly as cute as they were five months ago.
It was in early April when the Wyoming ground squirrels (they’re definitely not miniature gophers) began poking their heads out of their burrows, along with their litters of two to 10 pups. People who have lived in Estes Park for any length of time expect to see the animals each summer.
However, this year the big question has been, “But why are there so many of them?”
According to Master Gardener and horticulturist Frank Lancaster (yes, that Frank Lancaster – former Town and Larimer County Administrator and current Town Board member), there’s no magic answer. “They’re endemic to our area. How many we see is site specific. They’re really not everywhere.” What we’re seeing he said is “just a natural increase.”
As with all experts on the subject of Wyoming ground squirrels, Lancaster is fairly stern when he talks about getting rid of what used to be called “Richardson’s ground squirrel.”
“Don’t poison them,” he says. The poison will even get into their feces that gets spread across the grasses that other animals consume, which poisons animals like chipmunks that do no harm. Squirrel predators will take care of the problem for you. They are natural food sources for coyotes, hawks, osprey, owls, badgers, and bobcats that also will be poisoned along with the creatures you’re trying to get rid of.
If you’re one of those who can’t abide by having the ground squirrels invade your property, and don’t want to wait for predators to take care of the job, Lancaster recommends using live traps with a mixture of peanut butter and birdseed bait to catch the squirrels. That way if a different little creature like a bunny or chipmunk gets caught you can let them go.
But what to do with the catch?
“Don’t relocate them,” Lancaster said. “No one else wants them either.” To get rid of them he shoots them with a BB gun. Another local resident uses a pellet gun.
Lancaster did ask people not to place a trap and then forget about it. At the end of one Town Board Study Session in June Lancaster asked everyone to be aware of what can happen when they use live traps. This summer, he said, he found a deer that had a trap over its muzzle that couldn’t eat or drink. To save the deer, Colorado Parks and Wildlife did assist with a rescue.
Now’s the time to plan for how to deal with the issue next summer. Richardson ground squirrels hibernate beginning in late July to early August until April. Males usually come out of the burrows a bit earlier than the females. Breeding takes place one to four days after females emerge from hibernation, according to the Colorado State University Extension.
Some Wyoming ground squirrel facts you can use to impress your friends
- The formal, Latin name for the Wyoming ground squirrl is Urocitellus elegans,andthey were formerly called Spermophilus elegans.
- The Wyoming ground squirrel is one of six species of ground squirrels in Colorado.
- Wyoming ground squirrels are smaller than prairie dogs and are often mistaken for prairie dogs. Because they are found at high altitudes–from 5,000 feet to timberline– they have been nicknamed “high mountain prairie dogs.”
- Natural predators include bullsnakes, rattlesnakes, coyotes, foxes, badgers, weasels, bobcats and raptors. Additionally, cats and several breeds of dogs can provide a line of defense.
- A population of 8 to 10 Wyoming ground squirrels per acre is considered a significant problem for a homeowner.
- The Wyoming ground squirrel can be a health risk because they are a host for fleas and they can be a carrier of bubonic plague which can be transmitted to humans via flea bites.
Thank you for writing an article about the ground squirrel invasion many of us are experiencing this year. But – did the “Master Gardener and horticulturist” supply the “squirrels hibernate from late July to early August” quote? Because they ENTER hibernation from late July to early August and EMERGE from hibernation the following April. Perhaps a _biologist_ could let us know if the populations go up and down in cycles. The population declined dramatically after the rains of 2013 – drowned in their sleep as their burrows got saturated.
The invasion of my property has finally abated after I killed 45 (yes, forty-five) of the vermin from June 9 thru last week. Rat traps placed outside new diggings was the most effective, with a pair of live traps getting the rest. As much as I’d like to use one, it is illegal to discharge a BB or pellet gun within town limits. The live traps were placed in a stock tank – the squirrels went ‘swimming with the fishes’.
And an anecdotal observation: I have hardly seen any hawks around town this spring/summer. Normally we see multiple red-tailed hawks in the area, with a pair that have regularly nested in the vicinity of the power plant. So far this year in the air over neighborhoods adjoining Hwy 7, or over the golf courses – I haven’t seen a single one.
Thank you for your note — your question served to clarify what wasn’t clear and we corrected the hibernation timetable. It begins in late July or early August and it runs until March to April.