When winter hits and snow piles up, squirrels don’t just disappear. Most tree squirrels actually stay active, nesting in tree hollows or cozy leaf dreys, and you’ll sometimes catch them darting out around midday to snack on their hidden stash of nuts and seeds.
This post digs into where squirrels hide out and how they manage to survive the cold months. You might even pick up a few clues to spot their signs around your yard or near your house.
You’ll find out about their natural homes—think hollow trees or burrows—and the creative spots they choose near people, like attics, chimneys, or even under car hoods. If you know their winter habits, you can better protect your home and maybe appreciate just how resourceful these little animals are when it comes to staying warm.
Where Squirrels Live in Winter
Squirrels look for places that block the wind, keep in heat, and keep them safe from predators. Depending on their species and where they live, you’ll see them using tree hollows, burrows, or even man-made spaces.
Tree Hollows and Leaf Nests
A lot of tree squirrels hide out in hollow trunks or build those big messy-looking leaf nests called dreys. A drey is basically a ball of twigs lined with leaves, moss, or grass, usually wedged in a fork or perched on a sturdy branch.
You can often spot dreys high up in oaks, maples, or pines. Tree cavities, though, offer better protection from wind and rain than a drey does.
Flying squirrels and some tree squirrels prefer hollow trunks for sleeping or raising their young. If you ever see a hollow with wood chips or tiny droppings by the entrance, chances are a squirrel calls it home.
Squirrels often check the same tree again and again to find their food caches. They stash nuts nearby and come back on milder days to eat.
When it gets really cold, they hunker down inside and only head out briefly to grab their stored food.
Ground Burrows and Underground Dens
Ground squirrels and some other species dig burrows or find existing underground dens to get through winter. These burrows have sloped tunnels leading to a nest chamber lined with grass and fur.
This chamber keeps the temperature steady and shields them from frost. Burrows can get pretty complex, with several entrances and escape routes.
Look for them under rocks, logs, or brush piles. Out on the prairie or in alpine areas, burrowing squirrels might hibernate for months and not come out until spring.
Even tree squirrels sometimes use shallow ground dens when the weather gets nasty. If you spot small, round holes with smooth edges or disturbed soil around the opening, that’s a good sign squirrels are using it in winter.
Urban and Human-Made Shelters
When natural spots run low, squirrels move into buildings, attics, and other places people have built. They’ll make nests in attics, wall spaces, chimneys, sheds, or even under car hoods.
These spaces offer warmth and a dry place to hide. You might notice chewed entry points on soffits or little gaps near rooflines—classic squirrel handiwork.
Once inside, squirrels drag in insulation, leaves, and whatever nesting stuff they can find. This happens a lot in suburbs or on the edge of cities where big trees are scarce.
If you want to keep squirrels out, seal up holes bigger than an inch, cap your chimneys, and trim branches that reach your roof. Some folks leave a small access to an outdoor nest box as a safer option that doesn’t invite chaos inside.
Winter Behaviors and Adaptations of Squirrels
Squirrels have a few tricks to make it through the cold. Some sleep deeply, others just nap, but most rely on their food stores and snug nests to keep warm.
Do Squirrels Hibernate or Enter Torpor?
Most tree squirrels you see around don’t actually hibernate. Instead, they enter short periods of torpor when it gets especially cold.
During torpor, their body temperature and metabolism drop for a few hours or maybe a day or two. This helps them save energy, but they can wake up to eat or move if they need to.
Ground squirrels are a different story. They hibernate for months in their underground burrows, with their heart rate and body temperature dropping way down.
You probably won’t see these guys at all until spring rolls around. If you pay attention to where a squirrel lives, you can usually tell what it’s up to.
Tree-nesting species use dreys or hollows and show up on warmer days. Burrow-dwellers stay hidden in tunnels until winter passes.
Winter Food Storage and Foraging
All fall, squirrels rush around gathering and hiding food. Tree squirrels scatter-hoard, burying nuts in lots of little caches all over the place.
This way, one thief can’t ruin their whole stash. They use memory and a sharp sense of smell to find their food under the snow.
Some squirrels, like red squirrels, build a big midden—a pile of cones and seeds they guard all winter. You’ll see them coming back to the same spot again and again.
Squirrels have to balance foraging with staying safe. On sunny or warmer days, they’re out looking for food.
When the weather turns nasty or it’s super cold, they hole up in their nests or hollows and live off their cached food and fat.
Arctic Ground Squirrel Adaptations
If you ever watch an Arctic ground squirrel, you’ll notice some wild hibernation skills. These little guys drop their body temperature close to freezing and slow their heart rate way down, barely ticking over. Their metabolism crawls too.
That’s how they make it through months without eating anything at all.
They dig deep burrows, hiding out from the brutal surface cold and any predators that might be prowling above. The burrow’s microclimate and a thick layer of winter fat really make all the difference for them.
Unlike tree squirrels, Arctic ground squirrels don’t stash food all over the place. They mostly just count on the fat they’ve packed on.
Researchers have noticed that these squirrels sometimes wake up briefly during hibernation. Those short wake-ups burn some energy, but they seem to help keep the squirrels’ organs working through the endless winter.
