What’s Going On With All The Dead Squirrels?
If you live in New England, you may have seen an increase in squirrel activity, including the number of dead squirrels on the roadways. What's going on? We have the answer.
If you live in New England, you may have seen an increase in squirrel activity, including the number of them dead on the roadways. It seems you can’t travel 100 feet without having a squirrel dart out in front of you as they make their way across the road; some don’t make it. We’ve gotten countless messages on our Facebook page and comments on our website from people asking, “what’s going on with all the dead squirrels?” wondering if it has anything to do with the harsh winter we’re predicting.
While folklore tells us that squirrels gathering nuts early is one of the 20 signs of a hard winter, there appears to be a bit more going on.
Here’s what we found out.
So Why So Many Dead Squirrels?
According to a Maine state wildlife biologist, we had a “mast” year (meaning more than usual) for acorns and other nuts last fall which has led to a population explosion of squirrels (who have an average of 3-6 young in a litter). So there are more squirrels this year gathering nuts from the back-to-normal food supply of the current year. Unfortunately, they’re displaying erratic behavior and taking more risks to gather their food supply (which we assume is where folklore comes in about the harsh winter ahead—they’re getting ready), resulting in increased road deaths.
A New Hampshire state wildlife biologist confirmed that they, too, are seeing a large number of squirrel roadkill in their state. In fact, one motorist reported counting 390 dead squirrels in a 50-mile drive to the Massachusetts border. Unfortunately, this flurry of squirrel activity is going to continue right through the fall.
How To Avoid Hitting Them?
Experts say don’t swerve. Squirrels dart about to confuse predators as a survival mechanism. So because they see automobiles as predators, your best bet is to drive in a straight line.
What about where you live? Have you been seeing a lot of squirrel activity and roadkill? Tell us in the comments below.
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
Since Jan of this year, 5 or 6 dead squirrels in my condo community on the west coast of Florida. I have lived here more than 3 yrs and have never seen this before. They are out in the open, along sidewalks and in the parking area. I was wonderibg if i should call the county wildlife dept or something to have them tested.
Here in Wisconsin on our 1/4 acre property in a residential neighborhood. Two weeks ago we found a dead squirrel in the back corner of our yard, and now we just found another dead one today near where the first one was found dead. No obvious signs of death but still looking into it and what the possible causes may be.
I also here in Illinois have been seeing a lot of Dead Squirrels and skunks this year. Not to mention the poor raccoons and possums. Everywhere I Go they’re laying in the middle of the road or on the side of the road. I see them on the side of the road more than in the middle of the road though it’s like someone swerves and kills them what is going on please tell me. I’m an animal lover and it makes me cringe. Thank you for being so observant
Hi from South Florida,
I’m seeing squirrels dropping dead here in our neighborhood???
Actually, I noticed two days ago that our small acreage in eastern Kansas is weirdly quiet; there’s not a squirrel in sight. We normally have a lot of red squirrels leaping and climbing and scolding… now they are all gone. I confess that I’ve frequently grumbled at them, but I certainly didn’t want them ALL to disappear! Strange stuff…
We had a mother squirrel & her 3 babies eating bird seed from our feeder & some food we put out for them. Last week I found out that 3 squirrels were electrocuted after jumping to or climbing a utility pole in a neighbors’ yard, our street lost power. I was saddened to realize that our squirrel family no longer is in our yard & they must have been the victims. They were only a few months old. I wish the power company would put squirrel guards on their poles below the transformers to prevent this. I have looked into it & it is cheaper than paying an employee to come out & replace equipment. We loved watching the youngsters chase each other in our safe, gated yard.
In south east Missouri we have a reduced population of both Gre y and Fox no sign of excess bodies notied seems to be all along south Missouri and North arkansas
I just posted a comment a few minutes ago and then read other posts. I neglected to say there are squirrels all over the place. I though it went without saying but others are saying there are few squirrels. I can’t go outside without half a dozen scattering.
Tons of acorns falling this year in Huntington, Suffolk County, Long Island, NY
Live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. My trees did not produce any nuts the last couple of years as normal, but I still had plenty of squirrels. I even had a couple of boxes mounted on the trees with corn, seed and peanuts for them. This year the trees have produced an abundance of nuts, but I haven’t seen any squirrels since early Sept. and few then. Nuts are all over the ground now, but no squirrels
Same here and we live on The Shore, too! We’ve been wondering what is going on. Haven’t seen rabbits either and usually have an abundance of them in the yard. Curious and curiouser.
We’re in Montville NJ (Morris County, northern NJ) and we normally have at least 3-4 families of squirrels/chipmunks living year round in our yard. In fact, early mornings sometimes, when the youngsters are old enough to explore, I swear they come out for play dates en masse and 6-8 of them play their version of tag literally running up and down my trees as well as the neighbors across the street and back. This has gone on for years. This year, my wife and I have only seen 1 adult animal and that’s it and we’re upset that we’re now seeing all the acorns pile up in our lawn since no one is around to store or eat them. Haven’t seen this ever in 20 years.
I live in westchester county, NY and there are virtually no dead squirrels on the roads. Usually there are many this time of year. Also noticing many dumps of hickory and black walnuts which are not touched. Usually the squirrels clean them up. Are coyotes lowering populations?
Interesting question. It seems as though squirrels and acorns are at different levels all around the country. We’re reading so many contrasting reports.
I live in Morris County, NJ and have noticed there aren’t any squirrels this fall – normally they would be dining on my pumpkin decorations
and devouring the abundant crop of hazelnuts on the tree/ground! The last time I saw a squirrel in my yard was in the spring at
the birdfeeder. Squirrels seem to have disappeared during this past summer???
Hi Gma, we’ve been hearing that from a few of our readers. Yet, we’ve got so many here in Maine, no shortage of them. It’s possible that we may have just gone from a high to a low part of our local squirrel population cycle. A number of sources also mention occasional mass squirrel migrations from one area to another for reasons such as drought or food shortage or overpopulation.
In my neighborhood in Warren Cty NJ it appears that all the squirrels and chipmunks died off over the past winter. At first i thought it might be a feral cat but it appears to be much more widespread. I have seen none as roadkill since a year ago. Possums and woodchucks are still evident but to a lesser extent.
Is it possible these critters caught Covid?
On the Brighter side my pear tree had a huge harvest as a result of their absence.
Yes, as it isfivegee
Spring or 2020 had a late freeze which destroyed the buds that turn into acorns and other nuts, thereby eliminating the fall harvest that the squirrels so depend on. While the squirrels were numerous thru the fall and into winter, they were having a difficult time finding food. Then came the three feet of snow late winter that lasted on the ground for over a month, putting the finishing touch on an already suffering squirrel population. Very, very few squirrels here in northern NJ, Fall of 2021. The ones I see are only in the yards, none along the hiking trails in the woodlands. Chipmunks seem to have done a bit better, but they hibernate thru the winter.
It’s October 2021 in New Hampshire and I’ve noticed dead squirrels everywhere. I counted 6 on a 5 minute journey on the highway this morning and countless others in residential areas. I haven’t seen any acorns though and think this year’s crop was killed by the late snow and an abundance of rain. I’ve been watching and feeding squirrels and birds for many years and have never seen so many killed. I think it’s because they have to go looking further from their homes for food. Makes me sad.
Had a ton of squirrels here in Connecticut all Spring and Summer. Now in September (2021) they all seem to have disappeared…wondering why.
Hello from Rhode Island where we have an abundance of squirrels everywhere. In the past week I started seeing them dead on the road which led me to look up this article. There were 3 killed just on my 1/2 mile of road to the main road this week.
I live in Rockaway Township, Nj and I usually put bird seeds in the feeder and the squirrels would demolish it. As well as the blue jays and deer’s. After Ida hit I saw two squirrels and that was really it. No blue jays and maybe a small handful of deers. A current one that used to come by everyday I don’t see him anymore. And right now in September I have tons of acorns falling on my house it sounds like hail falling. But it’s just the 2 large oak trees. We also have a lot of cicadas. My neighbor said the acorns is a sign that this will be a bad winter. You would think with all of the acorns I would see more squirrels but none. Last year there were soooooo many. I also miss seeing the blue jays. This is very alarming and sad.
Hi Sally, I just read an article from 2013 stating that during cicada years, birds tend to disappear. Take a look here.
Seems lots of dead ones in yards not near roads in PA
0 gray squirrels! I do see Home Depot with piles of advertising for rat poison right ar every checkout
I live in Hopatcong, NJ, and have a great love for my squirrel, chipmunk, and bird friends. I love the other animals too. Every morning I throw seeds out to my squirrel and chipmunks and they come running over. Over the past five years, I usually have had a minimum of 8 squirrels and 10 or more chipmunks. This year I have about 5-6 chipmunks but since spring was lucky to have 1 squirrel. As of today, I now have two squirrels running around and gathering the seeds but it is very concerning to wonder where all the others have gone.
Hi Tracy, we’re hearing reports from readers that they’re not seeing as many squirrels but it’s no cause for alarm. It most likely means the food supply where you are is robust.
I am in Morris County, NJ. There was no food shortage for the squirrels that live around my yard so that lack of nuts explanation doesn’t cut it. If that were true, the dead squirrels found along the roadside last year would all be emaciated. I have one regular squirrel and I see another pair occasionally. There are a couple of chipmunks. As for birds, some are missing, including the blue jays. My neighbor said she found three dead blue jays in her yard this year. Sorry, it is not 5G, Ciccadas or the neighbors poisoning them. We do have hawks that hunt squirrels, but I am not seeing them overhead either.
I’ve lived in northern Virginia for over 30 years, and we normally have squirrels everywhere. But for the last year they have completelyrics disappeared from my neighborhood. Not sure what’s going on.
The owners of these , homes & gardens, are poisoning & exterminating them . These beautiful Squirrels were such a Joy to watch, chipmunks ? also. Now , These Suburban areas are Dead!, without them! There is NO Law to protect them!
Could it have anything to do with the 17-year return of the Cicada’s??
Zero squirrels and chipmunks by me in Westchester, NY. Last year we had loads.
I’m wondering 5G?
Just rolled out while we were all locked down.
Check out your area.
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Hi Moe, we have 5G here in Maine but the squirrels are plentiful. We’re looking into what’s going on because there have been reports from many readers about disappearing squirrels. Stay tuned!
We’re into May 2021 now and speaking of squirrels, something strange has happened. There are no squirrels this year. We had an over abundance of them last year but strangely squirrels and chipmunks have disappeared in the northern areas of Bergen county in NJ in my observation as of May 2021. Anyone notice this? Forget about dead squirrels. What about no squirrels? I think this is something to be concerned about. I’ve reached out to a number of organizations but have yet to hear back.
They must have all traveled to Maine because there are plenty here! I don’t think it’s cause for concern. They are going where the food is.
We are in Bergen county too. We were just talking about not seeing squirrels these days which led to me Googling and this post?!
You are the first person who also notices this!!! I’m a little freaked out!!
Could it have anything to do with the 17-year return of the Cicada’s??
I’m in Essex County- my neighbors and I have been asking the same question about why the noticeable lack of squirrels – it’s eerily strange. I was thinking maybe cicadas moved in and scared off the squirrels too??
do people poison the 17 Cicadas? could this kill bird and squirrels?
What brought me to this site is that I queried this. I live in Ringwood and there are NO squirrels and chipmunks this year. Just a few months ago there were lots and lots. I was wondering if the Dr Fauci of squirrels knew what was up.
Same here in Oakland (NJ) just noticed today i have not seen any squirrels this year and they normally drive me bonkers digging up my lawn. Very strange
We have 2 squirrels that we’ve seen this year when normally we see at least 50 when we go on walks. Warwick, NY
I thought it was just my area! For the past 8 or 9 months I haven’t seen a single squirrel in our area where we normally can see 8 or 10 a day. This is after last year where we had an enormous amount of dead squirrels found on the road. Does anyone know where we can report this to?
I live in Lawrence Park and I’m a birder. I was sad enough to read that blue jays have a mysterious illness this year, and the population is dwindling. I used to have at least 10 to 15 blue jays at my feeders regularly. now there are two. Last year we had so many squirrels and birds and chipmunks, that they eating our entire crop of tomatoes . This year, not one one chipmunk, nd one or two squirrels.
WHATS GOING ON?
No squirrels in Emerson nj either what’s really going on. I have 2 oak trees and always have a bunch of them around. I haven’t seen any in months ?
Yes I’ve definitely noticed I haven’t seen one squirrel any place in quite awhile and only a few chipmunks, first time ever in my lifetime, what’s going on?
I live in Tampa Florida and have noticed a much higher than normal amount of dead squirrels. The other day while riding my bike, I saw one run right under a car driving around 20 MPH. It could have easily avoided this situation. Another cause of death appears to be from falling out of trees. It does appear to be a reasonable explanation that they are taking more risk. But I’m not sure why. Is it something in the air? Are they having a pandemic? I’m just guessing.
I’ve been seeing a lot of dead squirrels at the park in Attleboro, Ma where I walk my dog. They’re usually near trees. In the summer one day I seen 3 dead. I also just seen 2 dead lying in the snow, along with other ones in the past month. Do you think someone could be poisoning them as plenty of people “ feed” the wildlife.
I am also in Ringwood, NJ. I saw 1 on my deck rail the other day. The next day I realized I had not seen any others in weeks. We do not have cicadas either so I rule that out. Hickory nuts are falling in my yard and there are no squirrels. Something IS strange.
every 3 feet I see a freshly dead squirrel along I-87
from exits 15, South many miles to Bronx Pkwy.
every weekend I see the old dead ones and newly dead.
very sad.
Hundreds of dead squirrels from Danbury, CT to Rye, NY and back. From I-84 West, I-684 South, 287-East, I-95 South and back. Very heartbreaking. I have never hit one because I stop for them and I don’t care how angry the people behind me get. People drive erratically, these squirrels don’t have to be struck by cars.
I live in Hoboken, NJ and we are seeing dead squirrels everywhere. They haven’t been hit by cars. Some have just curled up and died sleeping next to telephone poles. Another three were right in front of our parking garage. One young squirrel laid down and died in front of a street advertising sign. That one had blood coming from it’s ears mouth and. Nose. Another older one was found days later like it just laid down and went to sleep and died. Another may have been hit by a car or also laid down and went to sleep and died, then got ran over. I’m worried about them. We saved one and don’t know where to take it.
Dana, call your animal control officer. It’s best not to deal with wildlife on your own, especially rodents.
Rye Brook in Westchester County, along the Hutchinson River parkway onto & down the ramp to 287 North (about 3-4 miles)- counted 140 dead. I could see more in the distance if I kept going south on the Hutch. crazy & sad. but we could all drive a little slower.
Bangor Maine area here .I have to brake check for what I like to call suicidal squirrels on my entire trek to work .
Definitely. Squirrels had free reign when we were in quarantine. Now they have to adjust to more commuters.
Definitely. Dead squirrels all over the place. I figured since humans have been in quarantine, squirrels had a lot more freedom. Now that people are moving again, squirrels have to adjust.
New York has a lot of squirrels and yes dead ones also A lot of them. And not much food for them. No acorns.
They eat pumpkin so beware when you set yours outside this year ! If there are that many of them your porches will be visited when those delicious morsels are placed out as decorations even if you don’t carve them those squirrels know they are tasty treats!
Joan, we have a great tip you might like to keep them out. Check it out here.
Sadly, I can confirm that northern New Jersey has dead squirrels on almost every roadside. And sincere concern has driven me to seek out some sort of explanation. Thank you! Some areas have 10 or more built up in a small section of highway. It really makes you think about the frailty and value of life. Love those tree climbin’, nut buryin’, chip-chatterin’ furry little critters.
I’m in New Jersey and have been seeing an abnormal amount of dead squirrels on the road. I googled it to see if something was up and came across this page. So it’s pretty much all over the eastern side of the country it seems.
Colorado SPRINGS HAS A PLAGUEgoing on killing all the squirrels. Can someone with some knowledge of animals please tell the public what’s going on? Someone must know.
I was wondering the same thing. Falls Church, VA this year we have no squirrels! Plague? that would be good to know!
Tons of squirrels, dead and alive!! North Jersey
We have been seeing them a lot on the New York State thruway. Especially down in the Tarrytown are.
Yes I have been seeing more dead squirrels on the Sprain and Taconic in Yonkers New York!
Montville, NJ seems to have more squirrels than live people ♀️
Could the increase in road kill be that the squirrels had the run of the road during the Covid lockdown?
I thought this as well. And, I think this article helps explain the situation too.
All down the parkway in nj so strange
There were so many squirrels in my neighborhood this year, they ate all the tomatoes in my garden; first time in 45 years this has happened.
Same here. Tomato terrors!
Yes! Hi my name is Steven Justo. I live in North Jersey. I too have noticed an increase in squirrel road kills. About a one week ago, I was doing my morning run when a squirrel happened to notice/hear I was coming. It too darted into the street but it was the worse timing. Why you ask? Because a vehicle was approaching at a fast speed on a 25 and got caught underneath the car. I knew that squirrel was a goner. When I looked back, all I can see was the squirrel got hit bad. It just flew up after the car ran it over, rolled and just laid lifeless in the middle of the road. I was devastated to even witness it firsthand. It might not be a human being but it’s a living thing I actually really love. I too love squirrels and seeing this saddens me thinking about what happened. If I knew how to communicate with each and every squirrel in the world, I would tell them, “Stay away from the roads & moving vehicles!”
Hi Steven, seeing such a devastating thing is hard. Hopefully, it was quick and the critter didn’t feel a thing. Sometimes they just dart out in the road and there’s nothing you can do at any speed.
omg my husband and I live in NJ and we were just talking about this
We live on a small lake in northern NJ. There have been at least six sightings of squirrels swimming across the lake. Have never seen this phenomenon in the 50+ years we have been here.
I live in NJ and I have seen so many dead squirrels on our roadways as well. I wondered what was wrong. I saw 8 dead squirrels in one spot. It’s disturbing.