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Round-tailed Ground Squirrel

Xerospermophilus tereticaudus (formerly Spermophilus tereticaudus)[3]

The round-tailed ground squirrel is a small, plain sandy-colored ground squirrel of the low Sonoran Desert that lives in colonies and burrows in yards, landscapes and around structures; it rarely causes serious damage but can undermine delicate structures and may carry fleas.[1][2]

Group
Wildlife
Order
Rodentia
Family
Sciuridae
US records
3 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-17
Round-tailed ground squirrel, a small sandy-colored ground squirrel, at its burrow
Round-tailed ground squirrel, a small sandy-colored ground squirrel, at its burrow. (c) Xochitl Zambrano, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • A small ground squirrel with plain, sandy cinnamon-buff fur, lighter underneath, small ears, large eyes and a short, sparsely haired round tail usually shorter than the body.[1]
  • Unlike antelope ground squirrels, it has no stripes or spots.[1]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Antelope ground squirrelsAntelope ground squirrels have stripes along the sides; round-tailed ground squirrels have no stripes or spots.[1]

Where it lives

Found below about 3,200 feet in the hot, dry Sonoran Desert of Arizona, Nevada, southeastern California and northwestern Mexico.[1]

US map: public records from 3 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

They live in colonies of several adults, subadults and young, are active by day from about March to September, and dig their own burrows.[1]

Damage and signs

  • They are not usually a significant cause of damage to people or property, but burrowing can affect delicate structures, and digging churns up gravel and plantings in yards.[1][2]

Health risk

They can host fleas and other parasites and could carry plague or other diseases during contact with people.[1]

Control

Keep them out

Protect favorite plants with small-mesh hardware cloth buried a few inches into the soil, and cover the barrier or line it with flashing or another slick material, since the squirrels also climb.[2]

Sanitation

Systematically remove the cover and habitat they use around the yard.[2]

Traps and physical control

Trapping reduces numbers; at an Arizona archaeological site, monitoring combined with trapping and repellents lowered squirrel activity, but where they are common they can be contained rather than eliminated.[1][2]

Common questions

How do I get rid of ground squirrels in my desert yard?
You can contain them but not eliminate them: combine habitat removal, trapping, and barriers of buried hardware cloth with a slick top edge.[2][1]
Do round-tailed ground squirrels carry disease?
They can host fleas and other parasites and could carry plague, so avoid handling them.[1]

Sources

  1. University of California, Vertebrate Pest Conference (eScholarship), “Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Round-tailed Ground Squirrels (Proceedings of the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, Paper 61, December 2020; University of Arizona and National Park Service authors).” escholarship.org/content/qt8n2100g9/qt8n2100g9.pdf (accessed 2026-10-17)
  2. Arizona Daily Star (This Is Tucson), “You can contain ground squirrels (Garden Sage, P. L. Warren, Pima County Cooperative Extension).” thisistucson.com/you-can-contain-ground-squirrels/article_b4b8cd9a-9f9d-11e6-bf23-7f0767feb571.html (accessed 2026-10-17)
  3. iNaturalist, “Xerospermophilus tereticaudus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/179993 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-17. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.