You probably spot squirrels every day and wonder what fills their busy little lives. Honestly, they eat all sorts of things—nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, fungi, and even the occasional insect or bird egg—so you can usually guess what they’ll snatch in your yard.
Most of the time, squirrels go for high-energy plant foods like nuts and seeds. If they find fruits and vegetables, they’ll add those in too.
This post gets into how their food choices shift by species, season, and even neighborhood. You’ll see why one squirrel munches an acorn while another digs for grubs.
Keep scrolling for tips on spotting their favorites and how you can feed or protect your garden without making a mess of things.
What Does Squirrels Like to Eat Most?
Squirrels chase after high-energy foods you’ll spot in trees, gardens, and bird feeders. They grab hard-shelled nuts, small seeds, sweet fruits, and garden veggies to keep up with their energy needs.
Nuts: Squirrels’ Favorite Foods
Nuts top the list for squirrels because they’re loaded with fats and calories. In fall, you’ll find them hunting for acorns, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and hickory nuts.
Squirrels use their strong teeth to strip shells and often bury nuts for later. It’s common to catch them scatter-hoarding—hiding nuts all over yards and woods.
Want to feed them? Stick with unsalted, unroasted nuts and skip anything flavored or candied.
Nuts help nursing females and growing young stay healthy. With their high fat and protein, nuts are a reliable go-to that squirrels search for first.
Seeds and Grains in Squirrel Diet
Seeds and grains work as backup when nuts run low. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and pine nuts are pretty common finds.
You’ll notice these in bird feeders, compost piles, or scattered under seed-heavy plants. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds offer quick energy and are easy for squirrels to eat.
Pine nuts and other tiny seeds add some fat and minerals. In cities, squirrels sometimes raid cereal, bread, or leftover grains, but those don’t have the nutrients they need and can be salty or sugary.
If you want to attract squirrels, try plain seed mixes or a squirrel feeder. Avoid salted snacks or processed foods—they’re really not good for them.
Fruits Squirrels Love
Squirrels grab all kinds of fruit when it’s in season. Apples, persimmons, berries, and wild grapes are favorites.
Fruits give them sugars, water, and vitamins for fast energy and hydration in warm weather. You’ll see squirrels climb trees to pick fruit or carry it off to eat in peace.
They’ll eat fruit whole or drop pieces to stash for later. In neighborhoods, you might spot them snatching backyard pears, plums, or even mango slices left outside.
Squirrels prefer fresh, firm fruit and usually avoid anything moldy. Mold can make them sick, so they’re picky about what they eat.
Fruit is more of a treat and doesn’t replace nuts and seeds as their main food.
Vegetables and Leafy Greens Squirrels Eat
Squirrels raid gardens for corn, tomatoes, carrots, and leafy greens. Veggies provide fiber, vitamins like A and C, and carbs for energy.
Corn stands out as a favorite because it’s starchy and easy to munch. Leafy greens aren’t as common in their diet, but they matter.
Squirrels nibble lettuce, kale, and new shoots, especially in spring when plants are just coming up. Sometimes, they’ll dig for bulbs or roots if other food gets scarce.
If you don’t want squirrels in your garden, set up barriers. If you’re feeding them, offer small amounts of plain veggies and fresh greens—skip the seasoned or cooked leftovers.
How Diet Changes by Species, Season, and Environment
Squirrels switch up their meals based on the species, time of year, and whether they’re city dwellers or forest residents. You’ll find out which species love nuts or fungi, why winter food stores matter, and what urban squirrels steal from your bird feeder.
Squirrel Species and Their Dining Preferences
Different species go for different foods. Red squirrels prefer conifer seeds, fungi, and tree buds.
They eat spruce and pine seeds most years and even dry and stash fungi for later. Gray squirrels and fox squirrels pick acorns, walnuts, and hazelnuts.
Greys digest acorns better than reds and often stick to oak woods. Ground squirrels and flying squirrels eat more seeds, grasses, and sometimes insects.
Flying squirrels grab more tree buds and fungi at night. Baby squirrels start with milk, then move to soft fruits, seeds, and bugs as they grow up.
Urban vs. Wild: Squirrels’ Eating Habits
City squirrels adapt and eat lots of human food. You’ll see them take peanuts, bread, bird seed, and leftovers from trash bins.
Bread doesn’t offer much nutrition and shouldn’t be a main food. Too many peanuts can actually harm their bones because of the low calcium-to-phosphate ratio.
Urban squirrels still go for nuts and fruit if they find them. Wild squirrels stick to what’s in season—cones, nuts, fungi, buds, and insects.
Tree squirrels and ground squirrels mix things up depending on what’s around. If you want to keep squirrels out of your feeders, try a squirrel-proof bird feeder or move feeders where squirrels can’t get to them easily.
Winter Eating and Scatter Hoarding
Tree squirrels scatter-hoard, burying small caches of nuts and seeds all over. Gray and fox squirrels stash acorns and hazelnuts in the fall.
Red squirrels often hide fungi and cones in trees, sometimes in plain sight, sometimes not. These stores keep them going when winter hits and fresh food disappears.
During deep cold, squirrels eat bark, buds, and whatever cached seeds they can dig up. Floods or heavy snow can bury their stashes and force them to eat plants or whatever they’ve stored.
Protecting their caches really matters—some species hide food in so many places, it’s nearly impossible to find them all.
Unexpected Foods Squirrels Might Eat
Squirrels really go for whatever they can find. Sometimes, they’ll snack on insects, bird eggs, or even small birds and bits of meat if it’s just lying around.
Ground squirrels usually munch on grasses, roots, and insects. At night, flying squirrels might hunt for insect larvae or dig into some fungi.
You might catch a squirrel grabbing dried corn, sneaking pet food, or taking a bite out of fruits and veggies in the garden. Sure, they’ll try bread, but honestly, it doesn’t do much for them nutrition-wise.
If you want to feed squirrels, stick to unsalted nuts, fruit, or food made just for them. Try not to make them rely on human junk food—it’s just not great for their health.
