How to Train Squirrels to Carve your Pumpkin this Halloween
Halloween is right around the corner, and if your neighborhood is anything like mine, squirrels are wreaking havoc on the fall decorations. However, if you work with them, squirrels can actually carve your jack-o-lanterns for you! This project is very easy, a little messy, and lots of fun for adults, kids, and even the squirrels. All you need is a couple pumpkins, peanut butter, a drill with a 1/4″ drill bit, and patience. And some squirrels.
When to start carving your pumpkin
The squirrels are always ready to eat, but the timing can still be tricky. Ideally the jack-o-lanterns will be ready in time for the ghosts and goblins on Halloween, but once you’ve completed pumpkin preparation, everything is up to the squirrels. Are there only a couple squirrels, or a couple dozen? Are they very hungry or is there a cornfield nearby? Do they work weekends? (They do.) Will they outsource to raccoons and mice? All these things and more will affect the timing. Give them about a week, maybe a bit less.
Prepare your pumpkins
Preparation of the pumpkins is easy enough, and this is very child-friendly. Since the top/lid of the pumpkin and the guts stay intact, there are no knives needed.
- Design your face wisely. The squirrels aren’t going to appreciate too much detail, so make big mouths and big eyes. Eyes that are too close to each other are going to end up cycloptic, so choose your spacing wisely. Do you even need a nose? You do not.
- Using the 1/4″ bit in your drill, drill some holes in the pumpkins about an inch apart, in an approximate face shape. Everywhere you drill, the squirrels will chew a hole. The denser the holes, the more likely the holes will connect into larger holes.
- Once the drilling is complete, smear the holes with peanut butter. Work the peanut butter into the holes. Really get it in there. Fill the entire length of the hole.
- Wipe the excess peanut putter off the pumpkin. You only want it in the holes since all the peanut butter will get chewed up.
Your pumpkins should more or less look like this. The one on the left was intended to be a frowning Frankenstein, while the one on the right was intended to be a big-smiled Joker.
The squirrels start carving the pumpkins
Very soon after you place the pumpkins, the squirrels will find them and the peanut butter. They eat the peanut butter and the pumpkin meat near the peanut butter, but that’s all! There will be a mess. Free squirrel labor comes at a cost.
If the squirrels don’t carve the pumpkin quickly enough, apply more peanut butter into the holes.
Great Success!
Once the peanut butter has been eaten and a face has appeared, your jack-o-lantern is complete! Remove the rest of the guts and seeds, put a candle inside, and impress the kids!
If you decide that squirrels will carve your pumpkins this year, post your pics and use #squirrelcarvedpumpkin AND #flannelandflame to be featured on our page.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND
STAY WARM!
For more outdoorsy adventures, learn How to Make a Pie Iron Pizza, or use the Merlin Bird ID app to make every hike a birding excursion, or you can Make DIY Firestarters, or tell some Ghost Stories!
More from Flannel & Flame…
- Mexican Bean SaladBold, zesty, and bursting with color, this Mexican Bean Salad is a side dish that brings the flavor anywhere you roam. A hearty mix of black, kidney, and cannellini beans comes together with crisp bell peppers, sweet corn, and red onion, all tossed in a citrusy vinaigrette loaded with fresh cilantro and just the right… Read more: Mexican Bean Salad
- Cheesy PotatoesGolden, gooey, and loaded with flavor, these Dutch Oven Cheesy Potatoes are a campfire favorite that never disappoints. Tender hash browns are layered with melted cheese, savory seasonings, and just the right amount of smoky goodness from the fire. Baked slow and steady in a Dutch oven, this comforting side dish is perfect alongside grilled… Read more: Cheesy Potatoes
- Alternatives to S’Mores: Sweet Twists and Campfire Treats You’ll CraveThere’s something undeniably magical about a gooey s’more melting between your fingers under a starlit sky. The way the chocolate gets just soft enough, the marshmallow smolders to a golden hue (or charred to a crisp, if that’s your thing), and the graham crackers give that perfect crunch — it’s the taste of summer, nostalgia,… Read more: Alternatives to S’Mores: Sweet Twists and Campfire Treats You’ll Crave
- Best Hiking in New YorkWilderness, waterfalls, and wonder from the Catskills to the Adirondacks New York might be synonymous with skyscrapers, yellow cabs, and a certain iconic skyline—but trust me, beyond the hustle of the city, the Empire State hides some of the most jaw-dropping trails in the Northeast. We’re talking misty mountaintops, mossy forests, gorges carved by ancient… Read more: Best Hiking in New York
