Are Squirrels Dirty Animals?(Beware Of These Diseases!)

As squirrels fall under the category of wild animals, they can be regarded as dirty animals. They are covered in different types of microorganisms and parasites, some of which can be quite harmful to humans.

Let’s take a deeper look at this topic…

Is squirrel harmful to humans?

Theoretically, all wild animals can be harmful to humans in some way or the other. They are likely flooded with numerous microorganisms so coming in contact with them can be harmful. However, only under rare conditions, they can end up carrying germs that have the potential of harming humans.

Some of the diseases squirrels can carry can be plague, tularemia, typhus, Chagas’ disease Encephalitis, rocky mountain spotted fever, etc.

Such diseases can only be transferred to humans when these animals either bite the humans or come in direct body contact in some way. Squirrels can carry rabies as well but they are very rarely found to be rabid.

Do squirrels carry plague?

Squirrels can carry plague as they belong to the rodent family. In fact, ground squirrels are considered to be one of the most common carriers of the bubonic plague.

Yes, one of the gravest tragedies to ever hit mankind multiple times, the disease that has single-handedly taken out ancient empires off the face of the world, can be transferred through rodents like rats and squirrels.

Once in a while news does come out, from various rural areas of America, Africa, and Asia that squirrels are found to be positive for carrying the bacteria of the plague.

Even though now we have a cure for the disease, it is important to get quick treatment for it otherwise it can turn deadly.

Are squirrels dangerous to touch?

It is dangerous to touch wild squirrels as you may get bitten even before you have managed to touch them properly. They see humans and all larger animals as predators and have got no reason to act friendly with us.

These little furry animals indeed look very cute and you may wanna have the wish of touching or petting them. Maybe you have seen a video of someone who is feeding nuts to a squirrel off his hand and the squirrel is letting them touch without any issue.

However, remember such incidents are extremely rare and do not happen under normal circumstances. Wild animals are not meant to be petted and it’s extremely risky to try to do so.

Maybe that person in the videos has interacted with the squirrel when the squirrel was a baby and hence someway the squirrel has got habituated with him. Even squirrels who act a little bit friendly towards a human are known to act freely with only them around and not with any other humans.

Besides running the risk of getting bitten, you also run the risk of getting exposed to a wide variety of diseases as rodents are known to act as a carrier for many infectious diseases. So yes it will be better to not touch squirrels at all.

Moreover, it is extremely difficult to catch a squirrel as they are lightning fast in their movement and have got a sharp sense of smelling and hearing.

Do squirrels carry diseases to humans?

Squirrels can act as carriers for a wide variety of diseases and some of them can be fatal for human beings. They can carry diseases like Leptospirosis, Lyme Disease, Salmonellosis, Tularemia, etc.

If they end up biting or scratching you, that is something that needs an emergency visit to the hospital as it can turn fatal. Even if they don’t come in contact with your blood, they can end up transmitting germs onto you, especially if you didn’t wash your hands properly after coming in contact with them.

Hence it will be best to not come in any kind of contact with any wild animals, no matter how cute and peaceful they look.

Do squirrels carry diseases to cats and dogs?

Squirrels are oftentimes regarded as carriers of diseases so they are capable of carrying infectious diseases that do not affect their health in any manner, however, those germs can easily get transferred to your pet cats and dogs. Your pets can then end up affecting the people living inside the household with that disease.

The chances of such transfer of diseases are more when the cats or the dogs end up killing the squirrel and come in direct contact with their body fluid.

This can bring them in direct contact with infectious diseases and also make them vulnerable to the different kinds of parasites they are carrying. Moreover, cats and dogs can also obtain fleas and ticks that carry different infectious diseases from the squirrel bodies.

However, this is not only applicable for squirrels but for all kinds of rodents including rats, mice, etc.

The important thing to remember is, that here we are talking about a strong chance of this happening.

There is no reason to think that all squirrels contain infectious diseases and parasites in their bodies. However there is a strong chance of such stuff happening, so it’s best to not let your pets prey upon these little creatures.

Do squirrels have ticks?

Squirrels are commonly found to be the carriers of fleas and ticks. These parasites attach them to the furry bodies of wild animals who are not capable of cleansing themselves on a regular basis.

These ticks are capable of carrying diseases like the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Lyme Disease.

They can also carry the Powassan virus that can get transferred to humans and 1 out of 10 people are known to die from this. The ones surviving this disease keeps suffering from long-term health issues throughout their life.

That’s all folks! IF you have any comments let me know below.