A Squirrel Den Against My House

[MarkF786]

I live in a townhouse and a squirrel built a den against the side of my house, supported by a drain pipe. He (or she) is a nice squirrel and I don't want to "evict" him but I am worried that he could damage my house. There is nowhere he can get into my attic from where he's at, but I don't want him to chew my vinyl siding or do anything similarly destructive. I've attached a couple pictures, though they weren't taken with this post in mind so it doesn't fully show the placement of the den.

Is it safe to let him stay?

Will he be gone come spring? Or if he's a she, will she be gone after having babies? Though I don't mind him, I don't want him here for the next ten years.

Is it safe to give him unsalted peanuts (in the shell) occasionally?

What type of squirrel is it (I live in Southern New Jersey)?

Thanks for the advice!

Mark

http://home.comcast.net/~mark.fenkner/Squirrel1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~mark.fenkner/Squirrel2.jpg

[Mars]

That's an eastern grey squirrel. It's an unusual place to nest. At this time of year if it is a female babies may be on the way. Greys have two litters a year. The further south you are the earlier the first litter is due.

[Gabe]

That is an unusual place for a squirrel. Looks more like a bird's nest. An occassional unsalted peanut won't hurt. :D I don't see how he/she can cause damage from that spot. If you would like to evict, make her uncomfortable. Go in and out the door frequently. Shine a light into the nest, play loud music. Those are a few ideas. I think she may be desperate however to have built there. Wonder what happened to her original nest?

[Gabe]

Just thinking some more here. It is amazing she stood for the picture. She doesn't even have any aggressive body language. Very calm appearing. Could she have been raised and released by somebody in your neighborhood? That is just too close for comfort for most squirrels. Maybe someone released her recently, and she doesn't have a nest. Just thoughts.

[Mrs. Jack]

She looks like she's smiling at you. ;)

[squirrelygirl]

I don't think you have to worry about him living 10 years. they only live that long in captivity where there are no predators and an unlimited supply of healthy food.
I don't know how long he (or she) will stay in one place. I would say you could have him for a year at the most. and of course if you feed him a lot of yummy treats, he will want to stay longer. It looks like you will have a lot of good stories and pictures with that buddy. He's really big and cute! x_biggrin

[skwerls_R_soft]

Giving her peanuts certainly doesn't put out the "Un-Welcome" mat :)

Seriously, how long did it take her to make that nest, or did you just notice it one day??

[Mrs. Jack]

It does look like a bird nest.. is also in a place a bird would build its nest.. swallows are pretty brave about building in areas like that. I suppose a squirrel could've put it together depending on what supplies were available, but I've never seen one like it here!

[squirrelfriend]

I am jealous! I want a nest on my porch. I have never seen squirrel nests on a porch like that but I have seen nests that look like that. It couldn't be a swallows nest. they are much smaller and made with mud.

[Mrs. Jack]

:thumbsup thanks squirrelfriend. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of nest it was I found on the ground. It was mud and grass woven round it. But I don't think I've seen swallows here.

[Mars]

Do you have Pheobes? They make nests as you describe.

[TexanSquirrel]

Those pics are so cute!

[MarkF786]

You're a very observant group ;) Yes, it was previously a bird's nest which a mother bird used two years in a row. The squirrel came along a month or two ago and started renovations, bringing up small branches and building out the nest. Coincidentally, there is another bird's nest on the front on my house, nestled behind my outside lamp. It seems animals are attracted to my house, because when I look at my neighbors' houses, I see that they don't have the same problem/blessing.

I think the reason the squirrel built the nest there is because the only trees in the area are saplings. I live in a developed area of townhouses and condos, so there are not any mature trees for the squirrels to live in. That's why I feel bad about evicting him because I don't see any better spots for him to live. As long as he behaves himself, he can stay.

Yes, the squirrel is very friendly - because I'm feeding him peanuts! ;) When I come home from work, I rattle my keys or make a clicking sound and he pokes his head out. Then when he sees I have nuts, he climbs up the drain pipe to the porch roof where I throw him a nut, which he catches before it rolls into the gutter. Then I'll leave him a few nuts on the ground for later.

So do squirrels commonly chew vinyl siding? That's my one fear. When the squirrel finally leaves, I don't want to find a bit hole in my house. :(

[Mars]

no promises, but I have not known a squirrel to chew through vinyl. Wood - yes. What is the hole to the right of the nest??

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I had one that would come running from her nest when I opened the back door or pulled in the driveway. Giving her pecans made her my buddy, and she was sure a joy at the end of a hard day. I put a nest box on a tree for her, and she moved in within 2 days.

So, if want to keep your tenant, keep doing what you're doing. If you have a tree that you can hang a nest box from, then it may give her a more mutually agreeable home.

[MarkF786]

What is the hole to the right of the nest??

That is my neighbor's dryer exhaust vent, which some icicles broke the flaps off of. I don't think the squirrel would be interested in climbing into it since it's a long narrow pipe without much room for him.

I'll take a picture tomorrow from further back so everyone can see better where the nest is.

Mark

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

That is kind of you to let her stay, she is a beautiful squirrel.
And like Atlanta said after a day, (or in my case night) of work to pull in the driveway and see the squirrels waiting on you for a treat,well nothing can replace it. They are so cute. To know squirrels is to love them. If you have any trees in your yard you could hang a nesting box in one and in time she may decide to move into it. Just a suggestion. :Welcome to the board I hope you keep us posted on your new friend.

[Critter_Queen]

That is my neighbor's dryer exhaust vent, which some icicles broke the flaps off of. I don't think the squirrel would be interested in climbing into it since it's a long narrow pipe without much room for him.

I'll take a picture tomorrow from further back so everyone can see better where the nest is.

Mark

You might want to warn your neighbor to replace those flaps ASAP! We had the same thing happen and within a couple of weeks we had a sparrow's nest full of chicks in our bathroom vent tube. Against hubby's wishes, we let them stay until they were grown (hubby was worried about damage to the plastic/stretchy pipe thing that runs inside the ceiling of our bathroom to exhaust outside). But upon cleaning out the nest remains (man, there was a LOT) we never found any damage and promptly covered the hole with screen until we could replace the flaps.

Thanks for letting your squirrel buddy stay. :) Try not to feed too many peanuts (opt for walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds) as they are not that good for squirrels and can actually make them ill if they eat too many at one time. But for an occasional treat is ok. :) Pumpkin seeds are also very good for them and can be found in the wild bird section of most Petco stores.

Hope this is helpful!

[Mrs. Jack]

Will your neighbor be okay with the squirrel as a tenant?
Mars, don't think we have those guys. I wish I'd taken a picture of it before the squirrels ripped it to pieces.

[Mars]

Mrs Jack - another thought is Chimney swifts.

[MarkF786]

I took a picture of my townhouse so you can see where the squirrel nest is. What impresses me is that the squirrel was clever enough to find the spot in the first place since to access it he climbs a bush in front of my neighbors house (to the left, beyond the picture), crosses the common porch roof, then climbs down the drain pipe. For a quick escape, he'll sometimes jump into the bush by his nest, but he can't get back up that way.

Regarding the dryer duct vent, I've told my neighbors before that they should fix it since I've seen birds nest in other dryer vents in the neighborhood. They don't seem to care. I'm not worried what they think of the squirrel; they're so rarely outside to even notice.

Mark

http://home.comcast.net/~mark.fenkner/Squirrel3.jpg