Diseases carried by squirrels..?

A

andrew132

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May 4, 2011
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Hello. In my backyard, ive had squirrels that keep eating my tomato plants. I want to set up a trap, im thinking a dead fall using part of a tree stump.

I live in central Indiana, and im almost certain the squirrel that are in my backyard are called gray squirrel. If and when I manage to get one, I will probably try to keep its fur for other uses. I tried looking on the internet for this, but was not lucky. Are there any diseases that the squirrel may be carrying in the area im in?

Thank you
 
Google "gray squirrel" and you'll end up with more information about gray squirrels than you have time to read . . . ;)
 
I will probably try to keep its fur for other uses
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Not trying to be a jerk here, but do you have any clue how to do this? Most hunters don't even know how.

I hunted for years before I tried to preserve my own pelts. I read everything on the internet about a dozen different ways to tan hides, and I STILL ruined several before I produced a hide worth keeping.

On the off chance you haven't done it before, let me say it's more difficult that it may seem. First you should ask yourself how much trouble you think its worth to keep a single squirrel hide on hand 'just in case'. If its worth hours of prep, brewing smelly solutions, and cracking open the squirrels skull to get at its brains, then go for it. If your looking into it for novelty or just to learn a new skill, then I would suggest volunteering a few hours at your local taxidermist instead.
 
Don't eat the brains of anything period, I don't know how that Andrew Zimmerman guy is still alive. Anyway squirrels can carry all sorts of good stuff just like other wild animals. In truth you are probably at greatest risk from the fleas and ticks on them than the squirrels. Just wash up real good and check for ticks after u have been in the woods like u always should
 
I just fat fingered a reply...anyhow..as noted squirrels like many rodents can be hosts to fleas..prairie dogs for example can be hosts for plague-bearing fleas and while I kills, do not handle..coyotes, buzzards or other raptors don't mind the fleas - free food is free food.

I believe some fly tiers use squirrel hair to tie bucktail-like flies,

Squirrels can also have warbles, see;

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/slansky/botfly/abotfly/overview.htm

Last but not least don't get hair in your squirrel gravy or your wimmenfolk won't eat it...that is TRUE.
 
Squirrels in urban areas have high toxin levels, you shouldn't eat them. Bush squirrels are delicious, easy to get and easy to skin, (when fresh killed...not cold though). Go ahead and learn to skin and tan, supplement the brain tan with more brain meat from small game, (rabbit works nice), and try hairless until you get that right, then move on to full fur. Don't let people talk you out of a new experience, life is about learning.
Good luck,
--J
 
While it is possible to catch something from a squirrel, you are in much more danger driving to the hunting woods than you are from catching a squirrel disease
 
--J said:
Squirrels in urban areas have high toxin levels, you shouldn't eat them. Bush squirrels are delicious, easy to get and easy to skin, (when fresh killed...not cold though). Go ahead and learn to skin and tan, supplement the brain tan with more brain meat from small game, (rabbit works nice), and try hairless until you get that right, then move on to full fur. Don't let people talk you out of a new experience, life is about learning.
Good luck,

--J
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I would have to agree with this. I have done braintanning with deer hides and it is work intensive. Squirrel hides are tough little hides, just try and skin a cold squirrel and you will know what I mean. You can make strong pouches out of squirrel.
 
andrew132 said:
Do you know what can be done to prevent? Like will just washing hands do the trick?
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stay away from them, washing hands doesn't do anything if you get a bite.


BTW: supposedly you cant get it from them and if you get bite by one, they (the medical community) will not test you for it (well the only way to definitivly test for rabies is to cut your brain open) and insurance will not cover PEP for it. Note that you can get it from bat bites and their not that much bigger/smaller then those squirls are. Bottom line is that any warm blooded animal can get and transmit rabies.
 
Nobody's mentioned wobbles yet for this time of year? Wait til colder weather to be eatin' tree rat.
 
Fleas are your worst worry. When you bag the squirrel and toss it in your jacket pocket, you'll have 'em everywhere! Most of the time it's no issue, but occasionally they can carry disease. I carry the squirrels on a game string in my hand. If you set the squirrel down for a few minutes, you can sometimes see the bugs abandoning ship as the carcass cools.

Wobbles (warbles) are a parasite that disappears come colder weather. It's easily identified as you skin the squirrel (more commonly rabbit around here in NW Indiana) as white bumps almost like big zits under the skin. Some folks just cut them out. I never keep an animal that has weird bumps or sores under the skin.

Rabies you have to get bit to contract. Don't get bit by a squirrel...

Squirrels are a good critter to hone your tanning skills on. You can go natural (brain) or get a chemical kit to play with. As kids, we'd just keep the tails: Strip out the bone, split the skin and then salt cure it. End of process. They'd be stiff and not floppy, but we didn't care. They still flew back off our bicycle handles.

J-
 
Yeah, around here, squirrels, rabbits, deer, even house cats get 'em from time to time. They're a bot fly that lays a maggot that bores into the pore of the animals skin. It then cuts open the pore & makes the sore you see when skinning. Nasty little critters!
 
Squirrels are actually NOT known to typically carry rabies, and they have not been known to transfer rabies to humans.
 
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