Can Squirrels Eat Corn? Yes, and Why Not to Feed It

Corn is safe but close to junk food for a squirrel, and a bag left damp grows a mould that kills. What it does and does not provide.

By Zakaria September 22, 2026 3 min read Save to Pinterest

A fox squirrel on a wooden feeder gnawing at a dried corn cob fixed to a tree — Photo: Salih Turan, Pexels License, via Pexels

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Safe, and they will pick it over almost anything else — which is exactly the problem. Corn is close to junk food for a squirrel, and a cob left out in the rain is worse than that.

The short answer

Squirrels can eat corn safely and strongly prefer it, but it is high in starch and low in the protein, calcium and fat they need, so it works as an occasional item and fails as a staple. A corn-heavy diet causes metabolic bone disease because the calcium to phosphorus ratio is badly wrong. The larger risk is damp corn: it is the grain most prone to Aspergillus moulds, whose aflatoxins are lethal to squirrels and birds at low doses, so a cob sitting out through wet weather can kill the animals eating it. Nuts in the shell are a far better thing to offer.

Safe, and they prefer it to better food. That is the trap
Starch, not nutrition — low in protein, calcium and fat
Damp corn grows aflatoxin, which kills squirrels and birds
Corn-heavy diets cause metabolic bone disease
Nuts in the shell are the better thing to put out

What corn actually provides

Against what a squirrel needs

	Dried corn	Nuts in the shell
Starch	Very high	Low
Protein	Low	Moderate
Fat	Low	High — what they store for winter
Calcium	Very low	Low, but better balanced
Phosphorus	High	Moderate
Work to eat	None	Gnawing, which wears the teeth

That last row matters more than it looks. Rodent incisors grow continuously and are worn down by gnawing. Food that takes no effort does not do that job.

The calcium problem

Corn’s calcium to phosphorus ratio is badly wrong for a squirrel. A diet heavy in it causes metabolic bone disease, which in practice looks like weakness, reluctance to climb, fractures from ordinary falls, and in advanced cases seizures.

Wildlife rehabilitators see it regularly, and the usual history is an animal that was hand-raised or heavily fed on corn, peanuts or seed.

It is the most common diet-related condition in squirrels, and it is entirely avoidable.

Damp corn is the real danger

Corn is the grain most prone to Aspergillus moulds, which produce aflatoxins. These are lethal to squirrels and birds at low doses, and they are not visible — corn can look fine and be dangerous.

A cob left on a feeder through a wet week is exactly the condition that produces them. If you put corn out at all, put out a little, and clear what is not eaten before it gets rained on twice.

The dried cob feeders

Sold everywhere, and they encourage all the wrong things:

A whole cob is a meal, not a snack, so the squirrel fills up on starch
It sits outdoors for days, through rain, which is when aflatoxin risk climbs
It habituates squirrels to a fixed feeding station, and a squirrel with no wariness eventually bites a hand
It draws rats, which find spilled corn faster than anything else

If the point is watching squirrels, a small scatter of nuts in the shell does the job better and disappears before it can spoil.

What to offer instead

Walnuts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, acorns — in the shell, unsalted
Pecans, almonds in moderation
Sunflower seeds in small amounts
A little fresh fruit or vegetable
Nothing salted, roasted or flavoured. Squirrels handle salt poorly

And not much of any of it. A garden squirrel does not need feeding, and the healthiest ones are those foraging across a varied range rather than commuting to a feeder.

Sweetcorn in the garden

Different question, and the answer is usually about the crop rather than the squirrel.

Fresh sweetcorn is less lopsided than dried feed corn and carries no aflatoxin risk, but it is still starch. A ripening patch is one of the more reliable ways to attract squirrels, and hardware cloth cages over the cobs as they ripen is the only protection that reliably works — netting gets chewed, and repellents wash off.

The short answer

Yes, and sparingly. Corn is safe, squirrels love it, it feeds them badly, and it becomes genuinely dangerous when it gets wet. Nuts in the shell are better food, better for their teeth, and gone before they can spoil.

Common questions

Can squirrels eat corn?

Yes, safely, and they will choose it over almost anything else. The problem is what it provides: corn is high in starch and low in the protein, calcium and fat a squirrel actually needs, so a squirrel filling up on it is eating the equivalent of sweets. It is safe as an occasional item and a poor idea as a staple, which is the opposite of how the dried cobs sold for squirrel feeders are usually used.

Is corn bad for squirrels?

Not toxic, but nutritionally poor and genuinely risky if it gets damp. Corn is the grain most prone to Aspergillus moulds, which produce aflatoxins, and those are lethal to squirrels and birds at low doses — a cob left out in wet weather can kill the animals eating it. A diet heavy in corn also causes metabolic bone disease in squirrels, because the calcium to phosphorus ratio is badly wrong, which shows as weakness, fractures and seizures.

What is wrong with dried corn cobs for squirrel feeders?

They encourage exactly the wrong thing. A whole cob invites a squirrel to eat corn as a meal rather than a snack, it sits outdoors through rain for days which is when aflatoxin risk rises, and it habituates squirrels to a feeding station. If you want to feed squirrels, a small scatter of mixed nuts in the shell is better food and disappears quickly enough not to spoil.

What should squirrels eat instead?

What they would find themselves: nuts in the shell such as walnuts, hazelnuts, hickory and acorns, plus seeds, fungi, buds, fruit and the insects and eggs they take opportunistically. If you are feeding deliberately, unsalted nuts in the shell are the closest match to a natural diet and give them something to work at. Squirrels also need a calcium source, which is why they gnaw bones and antlers, and why a corn-heavy diet causes problems.

Can squirrels eat sweetcorn from the garden?

They can and they will, and a ripening sweetcorn patch is one of the more reliable ways to attract them. Fresh sweetcorn is less nutritionally lopsided than dried feed corn and carries no aflatoxin risk, but it is still starch rather than a balanced food. The practical issue is usually protecting the crop rather than the squirrel's health — hardware cloth cages over the cobs as they ripen is the only thing that reliably works.

Do squirrels eat popcorn?

Plain unsalted, unbuttered popped corn is safe in small amounts, and unpopped kernels are simply dry corn. Anything salted, buttered, sweetened or flavoured should not be offered, since squirrels handle salt poorly and processed fats are not something they encounter naturally. As with corn generally, safe is not the same as good — it is a novelty rather than food.

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Backyard Animals · Oct 12, 2026

Can Squirrels Eat Corn? Yes, and Why Not to Feed It

What corn actually provides

The calcium problem

The dried cob feeders

What to offer instead

Sweetcorn in the garden

The short answer