Garden

[lafelinevrais]

We have a nest of flying squirrels in between the walls of our house. Does anyone know how to get them to vacate???????????? Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

[Fiero Woman]

I can't believe you have them.  I have them as pets and would love to have a nest.  .  I would use moth balls.  I can't believe I am saying this as I love them.  Good luck, they will just leave.  Camphor also works.  

[Carmie]

We had this problem more than one time. 

This is first thing you need to do is to check around the roof eves and places where the siding and brick meet.  You need to see where they are entering.  They might also have a cozy nest in the attic and are using that area to get into the walls.  It will not do you any good to get to get rid of them if they can just crawl back in another time.

Once you find their entrance, you can work on getting them out.  They usually naturally go outside in the afternoon, but you can also lure them out with a “have a heart trap” that once they get into, they can’t get back out.  Put the trap close to where they are entering and exiting and load with peanut butter crackers.  Once you catch them, release them in the woods at least three miles from your home.

When you think they are no longer there and can’t hear them in your walls, you need to patch the holes they chewed to get in.  Squirrels can chew through almost everything.  My DH sprayed that canned foam installation into the hole, then he put steel braces that he screwed into the walls and spray painted them to match the house.  Some people use heavy duty screening material.  Whatever is used, it must be chew proof.

We had one in our garage and went away for a weekend and the poor guy was stuck inside for a few days.  He ruined the sheet rock and chewed off the window trim trying to get out.  We had them in our basement too and they tore out all of the insulation and ruined the walls around the windows.  They were also in our walls in the living room.  I could hear them early in the morning.  They crawled down our chimney into our home and also chewed a hole in the siding where it met with our brick.  They can get in a number of ways and you need to find out where those places are, or they will never go away for any length of time.

There are other ways of luring them out and getting rid of them at are less humane. Your hardware store can help you out with that.

You can also call a professional.  You do need to get them out and gone, or your home will be damaged severely.  They will even chew through your electric wires and can cause a fire.

Good luck.

[Fiero Woman]

My fliers won't eat peanutbutter cookies or peanutbutter. Just some plain peanuts in shells would work better.  They avoid salt.

[Fiero Woman]

Carmie seems to be quite the authority.  I am only the owner of three flying squirrel babies. I also do rescue for regular gray squirrels for over 5 years. Rescue and release.  I volunteer at a Florida Wildlife Hospital where we strive to save wildlife, not destroy.. The "squirrels" as you say are very small, 4 ounces.  Also thanks for the getting RID of them, I take it to include poision.   People have just lost their hearts for animals.  I will stop here. 

[Fiero Woman]

Carnie doesn't recognize the difference between a regular gray squirrel and a Flying Squirrel.  Flying Squirrels are all of 4 ounces and are nocturnal.  They do not come out during the day ever, ever; when you do see them they are the size of a large moth..  I wish people had their facts straight.

[CJC]

In South Carolina the little darlings love to nest in our bluebird houses.  They bother nobody except the bluebirds who would love to move into the houses.  They are sweet things and come out after dark only.  Have never had them nest in my attic or walls, but if they did, I would have our excellent pest control company humanely trap them and relocate them to a forest area.  Our pest control people do this frequently with squirrels, racoons, opposums, etc.  It costs extra for this service but well worth it when it comes to protecting our wildlife.  Afterall, they lived here first, long before our house was built, so I am the actual intruder.

[lucymo]

They are cute.  I don't want them to nest in my attic or walls but I think they are fascinating little creatures.  When I was growing up they would nest in our hay barn and my Dad found them the most interesting things. He didn't seem to understand nocturnal animals.

[esmerelda]

I had one in my house once.  In the house (came down the chimney, I think), not the walls.

I called the wildlife rehab person who said I could catch it with cat food (they eat meat) and that's what I did.  Got him in a coffee can and put him outside.  Wow, did he move!!

If I had them between walls, I would use one of those pest repellers that put out some kind of something that affects rodents.

Finally, y'all know this thread is from 2011?

[Carmie]

The flying squirrels in PA are about the size of a hamster and they do destroy property and leave plenty of feces and dirt behind. I have never seen a moth that was the size of a flying squirrel. The moths in PA are about the size of a quarter.

We have lured ours out and closed up their entrance so that they couldn't get back in.  They ate a hole in our siding to get in.  We rid our home of them and cut down the tree they were using to gain access.

I don’t want or need a pet flying squirrel or a gray squirrel either which I have also had in my home. They are supposed to live in the wild.  I have no problem kicking them out if they set up residence in my walls. We have never had a large population of them or a nest, but if I did, I would call an exterminator if all other measures failed.

We have never killed any type of wild animal in or around our home, but we have caught and relocated many in a have-a-heart trap...opossums and ground hogs for instance.

I can assure you that they do move around during the day when they are indoors. Maybe not outside, but indoors where they feel safe, yes.

They are cute, I admit, but I still don’t want them to live with me. They are nuisance  rodents.