Skip to content
Grow In Backyard
Squirrels & Wildlife

Can Squirrels Have Peanut Butter? Small Amounts, Rarely

Not toxic, but salt, sugar and a choking risk make it a poor offering. Why xylitol matters, and what to put out instead.

By Zakaria 2 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A red squirrel holding a whole walnut in both forepaws
Photo: 23001799, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
On this page

Peanut butter is not toxic to squirrels. It is salt, sugar and a sticky choking hazard wrapped around a legume that was already a poor staple.

Rated honestly

offeringverdict
Unsalted nuts in the shellbest — natural, slow to open
Black oil sunflower seedgood
Raw unsalted pumpkin seedsgood
Plain unsalted peanut butter, thin smearoccasional at most
Peanuts as a staplepoor — calcium:phosphorus
Salted or roasted nutsharmful
Anything with xylitolnever
Bread, crackers, sweetsnutritionally empty

Xylitol outdoors is a hazard to everything

It is severely toxic to dogs at small doses, and anything put out for squirrels is also reached by dogs, foxes and raccoons. Reduced-sugar peanut butters are the usual source. Check the label before anything goes outside.

Why peanuts specifically are a weak choice

Peanuts are legumes, not tree nuts. The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio runs the wrong way, and a squirrel taking most of its intake from them over time is at risk of metabolic bone disease — a visible, debilitating condition. Raw peanuts carry an additional problem: they can host aflatoxin-producing moulds when stored damp.

Water beats food in most gardens

A shallow dish, refreshed, in shade in summer and broken clear of ice in winter, is more use to local squirrels than anything in a feeder — and it attracts birds that will not touch seed.

Common questions

Can squirrels eat peanut butter?

In small amounts occasionally, if it is plain unsalted and unsweetened — but it is a poor thing to offer regularly. Peanuts are legumes rather than true nuts, low in calcium relative to phosphorus, and a diet leaning on them is linked to metabolic bone disease. Commercial peanut butter adds salt, sugar and often palm oil to that. It is not poison; it is close to the worst routine offering on a list of safe ones.

Is xylitol in peanut butter dangerous to squirrels?

Treat it as dangerous and avoid it absolutely. Xylitol appears in some reduced-sugar peanut butters and is severely toxic to dogs at small doses. Its effect on squirrels is not well studied, which is exactly why it should not be tested on garden wildlife — and since dogs, foxes and raccoons also reach food put out for squirrels, a xylitol product outdoors is a hazard regardless.

Can squirrels have salted peanuts or salted nuts?

No. Squirrels cannot process a sodium load the way an omnivore on a varied diet can, and salted or seasoned nuts are among the few genuinely harmful things commonly offered. The same applies to roasted and flavoured nuts. Unsalted nuts in the shell are the better version of the same idea and have the advantage that opening them is natural behaviour that slows consumption.

Is peanut butter a choking risk?

It is thick and sticky enough to be a real concern, particularly for juveniles, and it is one reason wildlife rehabilitators advise against it. If it is offered at all, it should be spread thinly on bark or a feeder rather than given as a lump, so the animal takes it in small amounts rather than a mouthful it cannot clear.

What should I put out instead?

Unsalted nuts in the shell — walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans — black oil sunflower seed, and raw unsalted pumpkin seeds. All are closer to a natural diet, none carry a salt load, and the shelled ones slow feeding down. A shallow dish of fresh water does more good in hot or frozen weather than any food, and is the thing most gardens lack.

Should I be feeding squirrels at all?

It is worth thinking about before starting. Feeding raises local densities, spreads disease at shared feeding points, habituates animals to people in ways that get them killed by cars and dogs, and in Britain and Ireland deliberately feeding grey squirrels is discouraged because they are an invasive species displacing native reds. A garden with mature trees already feeds the squirrels using it.

Backyard Weekly

Know what to plant, week by week

Join the weekly email for seasonal jobs, fixes for what is going wrong, and gear worth buying.

Not ready to subscribe? The planting calendar is free and needs no email.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. Grow In Backyard will never sell your address.

Keep reading