I recently came across 1 squirrel that is missing a lot of fur; almost everything forward of it's hind legs. I contacted the local animal control and was told that this is something that is passed between squirrels and raccoons and there is no cure. My concern is; is there any threat to people? We have a lot of trees in our complex and it seems that in the last couple of years the population of squerril has increased ten fold. They are starting to becoming a problem. They are starting to eat the flowers in my wife's garden.

A few years ago we had a mouse problem but after traping for several weeks are killing more than a hundred all around the complex they seemed to vanish. We did have s family of possum move in for part of one summer. But then for about 2 years nothing. Then the squirrels started to move in and this year we even have a few chipmunks move in as well.

Are these just cycles in the wildlife moving on & out or should we expect these animals to be staying awhile?

Some of it is normal fluctuations in wildlife populations. If there is shelter, food, and few predators, it is easy for populations of mice, voles, rabbits, or squirrels to grow very quickly.

As far as the squirrel goes, it could just be a fungal infection of the skin, which can clear on its own and isn't a danger to people. But it could be mange. And mange is likely to kill the squirrel eventually. And it is contagious to other squirrels. It isn't a problem for people or pets unless you are in direct contact with the squirrel.