Booming Squirrel Population Could Chew Into Fall Activities
As we've established, the squirrel population is off the chain this year. Thanks to an acorn boom last year, the gray squirrels really went wild in their family planning practices.
As a result, we've seen slews of squirrel carcasses along the roadways and occasional dead squirrels washing up on the beach. That's disturbing enough, but it turns out the squirrel boom ain't over yet, kids. Buckle up.
According to the Press Herald, squirrels are taking it up a notch. With delicious apples and pumpkins ripening in orchards all over Maine, the squirrels are seeing new opportunity that doesn't require crossing the road.
At Bailey’s Orchard in Whitefield, owner Rodney Bailey said he's not the only one to notice the influx of hangry squirrels. In talking to neighbors who had only a couple apple trees in their yards, he learned the gray rodents had cleaned them out of fruit.
Luckily, the orchard grows so many apples it can handle it. The orchard is open seven days a week and has pick-your-own, as well as already picked apples for sale, and cider pressed on site, reports the Press Herald.
“One of the biggest problems we’ve had this year is gray squirrels,” he said. “They’re eating our pumpkins, apples and everything else. But we’ve got a lot (of apples), so if they eat some, we’ve still got plenty of apples and the picking is good.”
Suffice it to say, worry not about the apple orchards and pumpkin patches this year; they'll make it. Just keep an eye out for specially "halloween" themes pumpkins with scratches and teeth marks - there should be more of those to choose from this year.
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