Flying Squirrel house: 1, 2(bird house), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Next >>

Flying Squirrel nest box plans
Flying Squirrel nest box plans

The below posting came from this "Squirrels and Bluebirds" Message Forum posting. I have included a copy of the posting below, in case the original posting is ever removed:

Subj: snakes/flying squirrels
Date: 8/18/99 7:42:40 AM Central Daylight Time
From: kridler@1Starnet.com (Keith & Sandy Kridler)
Sender: owner-BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu
Reply-to: kridler@1Starnet.com (Keith & Sandy Kridler)
To: BLUEBIRD-L@cornell.edu (BLUEBIRD-L)

"Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas This week for the first time in 8 weeks morning lows have hit below 70*F. City public tap water has hit 85*F catfish and chicken farmers suffering large losses to heat, Dallas TX at 21 consecutive days of 100*F+ with no rain in 45 days and none in sight. (Actually a normal summer for us!)

Flying squirrels: I know several old time bluebirders who kill every flying squirrel they find in a nestbox and teach others to do the same! They are a nocturnal native American predator of bluebirds but this does not stop me from placing nestboxes just for them. They are a communal animal and several generations will be in the same area for years as long as they have food and most importantly shelter. The correct nestbox for them consists of a TWO HOLED (one in the top and one in the bottom compartment) 6"x6" nestbox with three or more nesting compartments about 10" tall each, making a box 36" tall. The bottom nest compartment should have the hole sized 1&1/4">1&1/2" and the hole 6">8" off the bottom (just like a bluebird nestbox. This vertical box should have connecting holes drilled or a corner cut off on the bottoms of the nest compartment floors large enough so the flying squirrels can escape from floor to floor and exit either the upper compartment hole or the lower compartment hole whenever a snake enters the box. Most snakes can only catch one squirrel while the other 8-10 squirrels escape. (The Krueger snake trap will sometimes trap and kill flying squirrels when they try to crawl through the mesh so you should not use this trap to protect flying squirrels.

These boxes should be mounted in groups of three about 100 yards apart in wooded areas, they can be mounted at eye level but where the squirrels can climb to a height of 40' or more to sail to the nearest tree. A 70' tall utility pole will give the squirrels a "flying" range of almost 200'. A Tyler TX. man perfected this nestbox for flying squirrels in the 1930's & 40's when he was trapping and selling them for pets. He claimed to have made a good living for over 40 years doing this! Groups of 4 or 5 bluebird nestboxes on the same tree or pole will have the same effect at drawing the squirrels but a very large snake killed and ate 12 flying squirrels in a single night in these bluebird boxes with oversized holes. These are called "southern" flying squirrels but a member of our list from Rhode Island has them in his yard and I saw a nest with young in Northeastern Ohio this spring on April 17. How many have seen them and what is their range now? I expect they are expanding in population & range right along with the bluebirds! KK"

Back to plans