It finally happened

[Cleo_13]

I remember expressing concern last spring and the spring before over Pola's desicion to raise her babies in a nest made in the neighbor's porch roof. I came outside this afternoon, and saw that I could no longer see it. There are bits of insulation and other fluffy stuff all over, so as far as I can tell the entire nest was just pulled out of that space. (I'll include an old picture to show what it used to look like.)

The good news is that Pola still okay, and I just finished feeding her some nuts. I don't know if she was currently using the nest, but if she was, what will she do now? :( Should I try to put up a squirrel box? (I don't have one yet, so I'd have to get one.)

Also, I'm now worried that the landlord who owns the house next door might trap her and take her away (or worse) to keep her from rebuilding. I really don't trust him, especially sinced he trapped a skunk living under that house last spring. (I was terrified that babies might have gotten left behind, but I guess they wern't. If there were, I think I would have smelled them after a while. Not that he would have cared) Is that a legitimate concern? I really don't want her to move away, but much more than that I want to keep her safe.

[Milo's Mom]

If you are able to get a box put together quickly and get it up in a tree (fill it with poly fill pillow stuffing) that's what I'd do.

The box does not have to be fancy...just a warm dry place to sleep.

[gs1]

she probably doesn't have babies yet... so it's a good thing.... better now than in the spring....

you do need a racoon proof nest box....

if you don't have a tree maybe you could put it on your house somewhere.... as long as it doesn't get sun (it would overheat the babies).

also i always thought that squirrels had more than one nests so she might be ok....

as for him trapping her .... :grouphug

[Cleo_13]

I got some Amazon.com gift cards for christmas. I'm going to check right now to find a nest box for her. If he sets up traps, I'll be asking for that squirrel repellant recipe, or some other way to sabatoge his efforts. He is NOT going to take Pola away! I can't let that happen. I just can't.:Cry

[gs1]

there was one... a recipe that can be poured on traps... but i have no idea where it was....

but here is another suggestion ... which you didn't hear from me:D ...pour human urine over it .... or around it ..... diluted maybe so it doesn't kill the grass etc...

or dog urine or whatever... would be unnattractive to another animal....


i hope now... that she doesn't have a nest there she won't be going to his house....

i think she would prefer your house....

[SammysMom]

Get yourself a Super Soaker water gun and fill it up with ammonia. It allows you to douse the traps from a distance if need be. I just watched the traps and released every squirrel they caught. Strangely, many of those traps didn't work any more after I took a close "look" at them. :sanp3
Maybe offer the jerk a piece of hardware cloth to cover the opening with. It will keep anyone from being able to get back in.

[SquirrelRefuge]

Most eastern grays have multiple nests sites (or so I have read from my research) but it sounds like this one was nice and comfy. She probably doesn’t have babies yet, but she sure could be expecting any time. If she does have babies, she will likely move them if she has somewhere else to go since the nest has been disturbed.

I make nest boxes for all of my released squirrels. Its pretty easy if you have a few tools and takes less than an hour. http://www.squirrelrefuge.org/squirrel_refuge_web_site_014.htm. If you have a lot of rain just run bathroom sealant along the inside edge of the wood when you build the box (where the squirrel cant get at it) to make it extra weather resistant. I have also used pillow fluff as bedding and the squirrels seem to like it. Squirrels like the box as high up in the tree as possible. The instructions say at least 10 feet but from my experience, it should be up much higher for the squirrels to want to use it. The higher the better. If you do buy one, try to get one at least 18 inches deep to keep ‘coons from reaching in for a baby dinner.

Hopefully he wont do anything else but if he really doesn’t want her there, he needs to block up the opening since trapping her wouldn’t solve his problem (another squirrel will move right in after her if its good real estate).

[SammysMom]

Anything new with Pola?:dono

[niapet]

Take her in! Keep her safe till the landlord isn't a threat and then re-release er. If that is an option?

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

:yeahthat

[Cleo_13]

Sorry for the lack of responses. Pola is still coming for nuts, so she's okay for now. I'm getting a nest box as soon as I possibly can. (With school and everything I have no time to build one.) Niapet- she once got inside and was chased all over by my two indoor cats so I doubt she'll agree to that:D She's a wild that started coming to me- I'm not a rehabber. Yet. Because of that though, I don't know how old she is. I only know that I've seen her since at least my freshman year in highschool. Even though she comes to me for food, I have to remember that she belongs to herself and no one else. I worry about her quite a bit, even before this, because I know I can't keep her safe from everything. (Although I sure as heck am going to try).

[Jackie in Tampa]

Cleo and Pola:grouphug
mean people are the pitts.:shakehead

[Rescue04]

Cleo, PM me your address & I will build you one and ship it to you today, I have plenty of wood and time.

[Cleo_13]

Cleo, PM me your address & I will build you one and ship it to you today, I have plenty of wood and time.
Really? PMing you now.

[Jackie in Tampa]

Cleo, PM me your address & I will build you one and ship it to you today, I have plenty of wood and time.
__________________
way ta go Brian!!!:alright.gif

[Cleo_13]

Just PMed you. :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou

[Cleo_13]

I just realized that I never posted the picture of where the nest used to be. It's sort of off topic now, as the nest isn't the problem anymore, but I hope no-one minds me showing off pictures of Pola's babies! They're from spring 2010.

Edit- Looks like I need to work on resizing my pictures now that I'm on my laptop and not my old computer. Yikes!

[Rescue04]

No problem, I will get on it tomorrow morning, work gave me some old crates made out of 1X10's. I just have to pick up some glue on the way home. Will let you know when it is on the way.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Awesome! Just Awesome!

[Cleo_13]

Thank you so much!

[gs1]

cleo they're adorable!!! that is the nicest picture!!! :Love_Icon :Love_Icon :Love_Icon

[Rescue04]

It is shipping today, sorry so crude but I know she needs it. The wood was aged.......ie it sat in the back yard for 4 months, because i was too lazy to use it! There is a door on the bottom, but it was such a tight fit, it was hard to open. There are two scrws on the side to remove if you need to open it.

[Cleo_13]

When it gets here, I'll need advice on how to put it up, as I've never done this before.

gs1- Glad you liked the picture:D

[Rescue04]

Did you get your nest box yet?

[Cleo_13]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33006
Yes, it arrived yesterday. Good job on it:thumbsup

[Garden71]

I just realized that I never posted the picture of where the nest used to be. It's sort of off topic now, as the nest isn't the problem anymore, but I hope no-one minds me showing off pictures of Pola's babies! They're from spring 2010.

Edit- Looks like I need to work on resizing my pictures now that I'm on my laptop and not my old computer. Yikes!:D

PRICELESS