Don't fear the bald squirrels

RIGHT: A black squirrel snacks at a feeder at the residence of Diane and Leonard Johnson on Morningside Avenue in Council Bluffs Wednesday. The squirrel, and several others in the area, suffers from mange, a skin disease caused by the infestation of tiny mites. The result is bare spots in a squirrel’s fur, visible around this animal’s legs.
CINDY CHRISTENSEN/WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE.

Published Thursday March 25, 2010
By Tim Rohwer
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

COUNCIL BLUFFS -- If people see squirrels with little or no fur, they shouldn’t be alarmed, according to Council Bluffs Public Works Director Donn Dierks.

“It’s an every-year occurrence,” he said.

A Council Bluffs couple expressed concern that squirrels seen in their yard may have contracted a contagious disease because the animals have patches of fur missing.

“It seems to be spreading from squirrel to squirrel,” said Diane Johnson, who lives with her husband, Leonard, on Morningside Avenue.

One squirrel had no fur at all, she said.

“It looked so awful,” Johnson said. “I felt sorry for the squirrel.”

According to Dierks, these squirrels have mange, a skin disease of mammals caused by the infestation of tiny mites.

“In extreme cases, the entire body can become bare of hair and expose the skin that can become dark,” he said. “Full recovery, however, occurs in squirrels. At this point in time, we’ll leave it up to nature to handle the problem.”

There is a way to treat the diseased squirrels, Dierks said, but it’s not cost-effective for the city to trap them for treatment.

“We just don’t have the finances to do that.”

People shouldn’t try to do it on their own, he advised.

Residents are not allowed to trap animals, he said. And “there shouldn’t be any direct contact between a squirrel and a human,” Dierks said.

There are several types of mites, he said, with one known to transfer from animal hosts to people, though there has to be physical contact between the animal and the person.

Squirrel mange should not be a danger to pets.

“Mange is pretty species-specific, so it shouldn’t be a problem if it’s going around the squirrels, “ said Dr. Emily Buhr of the Animal Emergency Clinic in Omaha. “They tend to stick with the species they are with ... A dog can’t go up to a squirrel and get squirrel mange.”

But the malady, at least in squirrels, is common, she said.

“I’ve seen a lot of them that have had issues with it,” Buhr said. ‘I think it tends to happen in the winter, when they probably get a little bit immune-suppressed.”

If someone should need to handle a mangy animal, Dierks said, it’s best to wear rubber gloves and wash properly afterward.

World-Herald staff writer Andrew J. Nelson contributed to this report.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100325/NEWS01/703259819