Questions????

[Pennys dad]

Hi everyone I have a wonderful neighbor who after being told that there were atleast 3 to 4 squirrel nest in his palm trees that sits next to my house deceided to cut them all back destroying all the nests. My questions are does anyone know how quickly they will build new ones ( hopefully on my property ) and what can I do to alleve some of their stress. We feed these guys on an every morning basis. There are about 8 - 10 guys affected.
Thanks
Pennys dad

[CritterMom]

How good are you with a hammer and nails? You could make up some nest boxes and install them in your trees. If they come on your property to eat anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved right in.

There weren't any babies in the nests, were there?

[Pennys dad]

I would love to have them all in my yard. They are grey squirrels so how do I build them or where to get them? As to if there were any babies I'm not sure
this was done while I was at work and didn't get home to find this horror until 5:30 pm. I checked the debris pile as best I could and listened for any cries but could not hear any checking more times through the night. I only hope that if there were the moms moved them while the mayhem was happening.
I don't know what goes through peoples minds to do such a thing even after being told about the guys and offering my help to relocate if needed. These kind people said that the palms would be left alone, and simply just lied to me
If god is their judge I hope he sends them straight to you know where!
Pennys dad

[CritterMom]

This place makes gorgeous boxes and they are just dirt cheap - I couldn't make them for what he is asking:

http://www.knwoodworks.com/SQUIRRELFEEDERHOUSE.html

If you google "squirrel nest box" there are lots of plans out there. They need to be deep, the hole should be no more than 3", and a shelf inside the box directly under the hole that does not extend all the way to the back of the box will prevent anything from being able to reach in (I'm talking to you, coonies!) and grab them.

[pappy1264]

Here are instructions for making a grey nest box (they also have nestboxes for northern and southern flyers on here, as well, fyi....)


http://www.squirrel-rehab.org/misc/greysquirrelnestbox.html

Hopefully that will link for you.

[Pennys dad]

My Thanks to both for the ideas. Once the boxes are ready to put up I've been told that they need to be 25 ft up the tree. How many can I put up and how close can they be without a fight going on for territory? I have 2
oaks and several smaller palm trees to use.
Thanks
Pennys dad, Phil

[rozdow]

I just received 3 nestboxes from knwoodwork (see above) and they are very nice!