Help with releasing

[SquirrelLove]

Hello all
I've let my babies outside now and they come back at dark to go into their cage for food and sleep. They LOVE it outside in the wild.
My problem is I am trying to sell my house and I'm worried about them coming back to new owners in the house and the new owners not realizing they are tame. The squirrels come home and will jump on the screens and chatter at me to let them in. Down here in FL people EAT squirrels! How do I let my babies know NOT to come back? We really want to move further south in FL and there are fewer Oak trees and such by the ocean. I don't want to take my babies with me when they LOVE being outside. They know this area well enough to disappear during the day into the woods and other places, and I don't want them to be unhappy being indoor squirrels in an apartment or something. I love my babies with a passion! But I don't want them to end up being shot or killed because new owners wouldn't understand they are tame. My babies come running to me when I step outside and they are in the area! HELP!
Thank you,
Joanne in FL

[island rehabber]

oh boy, Joanne....this is a tricky one.
First I'll give you the answer nobody wants to hear: you have to 'wild them up' by making them afraid of you. Don't feed them or respond to them when they come to the house. Shoo them away when they approach you. People have resorted to banging pots & pans in order to cure released squirrels of climbing on screen doors & such. It's for their own safety, because if they jump on new people they may get kicked or flung into a wall.

I know, ugh. The only other thing you could do is pray that you won't sell your house immediately (pretty likely, given this housing market!) and in the meantime your kids will naturally start straying further and further from the yard. Many times they do stick around for a few weeks and then disappear, but there's no way to count on it. Unfortunately, releasing in one's yard is only perfect when you're planning to stay in that house forever. Since you're moving, you may have to do the Tough Love approach. Sorry.....:peace