What is a squirrel's natural diet and how does it get its food?
Squirrels are animals that belongs to the Sciuridae family. This family include medium size rodents that eat a variety of nuts.

The Squirrels' Natural Diet
If you want to know the food that squirrels normally eat, it can boil down to one answer: they eat according to the availability of food around them. Squirrels are not picky eaters. However, they prefer food that are rich in carbohydrates, fats, and proteins since they have a hard time digesting cellulites. The squirrels' natural diet include conifer cones, seeds, fungi, fruits, green vegetation, and nuts. The beginning of spring is the hardest season for the squirrels. They have a hard time finding edible nuts since the seeds that they buried begins to sprout. During this time, squirrels rely on buds that come from trees and other flowering plants. They can also feed on bird's eggs, small snakes, and various insects.Different types of squirrels have various types of diets. Flying squirrels are nocturnal. They generally live inside tree trunks, and can survive on different kinds of seeds from the trees around them. The pine squirrels generally eat berries, buds, catkins, and flowers of trees. Prairie squirrels generally feed on pecans, walnuts, acorns, seeds and fruits. They hoard the nuts that they get and bury them in a safe place.

Squirrels in Urban Areas
There are also squirrels that live near the edge of woods and which found their way inside urban homes. In order to survive, they eat whatever food they can find inside an urban house. Squirrels are highly-adaptive animals. They can eat meat whenever it is available. Squirrels can generally live inside the attic of a residential house if there isplenty of food in there. They can eat the food on the birdfeeders, they can eat anything that is thrown inside the trashcans, or they can gnaw at furniture that are kept in the attic. If they happen to find their way inside a kitchen, they can eat fish, cake or bread that are left unattended on countertops. Squirrels can cause havoc inside a garden. They climb trees and eat nuts, acorns and seeds. They can dig the beds of vegetable plots, and chew on whole tomato fruits. They can unearth freshly planted seeds and their favorite food in the garden can include cucumbers, squash, beans, and eggplant. Squirrels can also dug into containers that are growing with herbs or daisies. If you find half-eaten daisies, or unearthed potted plants, there is a great chance that the work is done by squirrels.

Protect your Home and your Garden from Squirrels
Squirrels get their food from trees, lakes, nearby ponds, or inside residential homes. Squirrels should not find your home a place where they can get food. Aside from eating your fruits and vegetables, they can also gnaw on electrical wires, furniture and clothing when they are left alone. You should contact a professional if you are unsure on how to deal with these critters. Capturing squirrels can be complicated. Some states do not allow capture and some do not allow killing them. A professional can save you time and take care of any troubles brought by squirrels inside your home.