A strange occurrence took place in my yard one day. While loading the dishwasher, I looked out the window and noticed two gray squirrels chasing each other around a tree. There was nothing unusual about their activity, but I was struck by what seemed to be patches of blood on their backs and wondered if they’d been in some kind of fight, perhaps inflicting mutual wounds.

Still, it seemed odd that they would have identical injuries and, to add to the mystery, neither looked as though it was suffering at all. I continued to watch as they raced through the yard, up one tree and down another.

A few days later I saw the pair again - bloodied, but moving as if nothing were wrong. My next-door neighbor called to ask if I had seen them.

“I’m looking at them right now,” I said. “I am too,” she replied.

“You mean you can see through the woods into my yard?” I gasped, thinking of all the times I’d darted half-naked into my driveway to get the morning paper. “No, they’re sitting on the stone wall, right outside my living room window.”

The feeling of relief that came when I realized she couldn’t see my property from her house was immediately replaced by the realization that, if she were looking at two bloody squirrels and I was looking at two bloody squirrels, there were four bloody squirrels running around McCoy Road. We decided to call the local vet to see if perhaps it was a disease, not an injury, which caused the discoloration. The vet was as baffled as we.

The answer to our puzzle came a few weeks later at our annual Fourth of July neighborhood tea when one of the elderly ladies described her new method of dealing with the squirrels that constantly raided her bird feeder.

“I capture them in a Havahart trap and then Fran takes them down the road and releases them at the pond.” she told us, adding proudly, “But first, I spray a spot of red paint on their backs so I’ll know if they return.”

A unanimous smile spread across our faces as an epiphany took hold. So that’s where the red splotches had come from nothing so complicated as squirrel gang-wars or bizarre diseases, just a sweet old lady with a can of red spray paint, trying to protect her bird feeders.

The pond where Fran set the squirrels free was a mere 150 yards from their house - nowhere near far enough to prevent the squirrels from returning. That would require taking them at least five miles away. But there are many reasons why you shouldn’t try to relocate any animals you have on your property:

• Relocating squirrels and other animals is usually unsuccessful and, more often than not, fatal to the animal. Once moved to a new environment, an animal is without family, regular food sources, and their familiar shelter, leaving them vulnerable to predators as well as starvation.
• When you move a squirrel you may be spreading disease or taking a mother away from her babies, who will certainly die without her.
• The introduction of a new squirrel to an area causes a disruption to the existing squirrels that perceive their new neighbor as a threat to their survival.
• The trip alone may be traumatic enough to cause death. (My four-year-old daughter wasn’t far from the truth when she referred to them as “Have-a-heart-attack” traps.)

In many states, it’s illegal to relocate wild animals. Plus, it’s simply not effective: eventually, the void left on your property by removing one squirrel will almost certainly be filled by another.

So what can you do to cope with these pesky rodents? To prevent them from getting into your house, perform annual inspections to find and block any holes or crevices they might enter. Attic vents, soffits and chimneys are popular entry points—especially for female squirrels, who have two litters a year and are always looking for a warm place to have their babies.

As for keeping squirrels out of bird feeders, wildlife biologist Marsha Barden of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services unit in Concord recommends removing bird feeders entirely in the spring and summer, “for the sake of many species, including the birds themselves that feed in crowded conditions, may pass diseases, and lose some wariness and foraging skills. We strongly suggest using dust baths, water attractants and natural plantings, rather than feeders, to attract birds in spring and summer.”

Barden adds another note of concern: “Marking animals, as with paint, should never be done frivolously. Even when wildlife biologists capture and release animals for a legitimate purpose, there is concern that any kind of marking, whether it be by putting in an ear tag or even clipping a toenail, could adversely affect the survival of the animal.”

Bottom line: think of your job as working for ADT home security systems, not Mayflower van lines.  Both you and the squirrels will be happier with the results.

By Susan Ferber, Master Gardener