New to squirrel- need advice from squirrel experts!

[Kourtney12210]

About two years ago a little juvenile grey was digging in my garbage. This has never happened in 33 years. On several different days I found it in the garbage and not extremely skiddish. It would run but sit and watch me from afar. I felt awful and fed the little thing for about 3 days. Just left little pieces of cheerios and peanuts on the porch (no clue what the proper diet was at this point). Then it stopped coming around. We have a stray cat in the neighborhood so I thought the worse. Fast forward two years and the little lady never actually left. Shortly after last seeing her the first time on my porch I was making my daughter a bowl of cheerios. I dropped one or two while pouring and as I bent down to pick them up a little squirrel hand came in patting around the floor before swooping them up! I thought I was halucinating until I bent down and saw the little thief in the wall peering back through a little golf ball size hole! I gave her some food and bedding and sealed the drywall from the inside. She never tried to come back in the hole after that. So she left, I thought! A few months later she burrowed in our bedroom wall and there are no wires where she is so we let her stay. First year went fine, she left in the summer. She came back again to the same spot this year when we forgot to close the holes in the roof. However, this time she chewed a hole the size of a cantelope through the drywall into our bedroom closet! I have raised 8 ferrets so I am a small animal lover hence the reason we never served her an eviction notice. We did try to trap her ourselves but it was unsuccessful. I believe she is about to give birth so I dont want to put her out in the cold with babies in frigid temps. Especially since I fear she has no second nest and might not have a clue where to find one since she's likely lived in our walls during the winters for her whole life. So we are letting her stay. We covered the hole with cardboard and I put bedding and some food in from time to time. I consistently make the clicking sound when near the wall or removing the cardboard since I read they like that. Whenever I open the hole she will run since her bed is right there but she will come back just out of site to where I can hear her but not see her. She does this purring. It is a rythmic purring just like a cat. If you didnt know it was a squirrel you would swear its a cat! What is this? I just want to make sure its not a sick sound from aspiration or pneumonia. I have not found a video of this sound on you tube. It does not sound aggressive and she is not aggressive. My other question is about the bugs and parasites they have. Have any of you been infested with mites or lice from the squirrels? Should I have her removed? Does it put us at risk of these parasites infesting our home? Are there any safe ways to treat her for these things and fleas without touching her. Also does anyone know if they (a professional trapper) will euthanize her. I know some places its mandatory and they will not relocate. I have done research and in no way want to domesticate or raise this animal as a pet but I am such an animal lover that I feel obligated to do something for her. Thanks for your time and attention reading this. Sorry if I am ignorant about anything. I am a ferret expert so I know how I get frustrated with others who are ignorant about ferret matters.

[stepnstone]

About two years ago a little juvenile grey was digging in my garbage. This has never happened in 33 years. On several different days I found it in the garbage and not extremely skiddish. It would run but sit and watch me from afar. I felt awful and fed the little thing for about 3 days. Just left little pieces of cheerios and peanuts on the porch (no clue what the proper diet was at this point). Then it stopped coming around. We have a stray cat in the neighborhood so I thought the worse. Fast forward two years and the little lady never actually left. Shortly after last seeing her the first time on my porch I was making my daughter a bowl of cheerios. I dropped one or two while pouring and as I bent down to pick them up a little squirrel hand came in patting around the floor before swooping them up! I thought I was halucinating until I bent down and saw the little thief in the wall peering back through a little golf ball size hole! I gave her some food and bedding and sealed the drywall from the inside. She never tried to come back in the hole after that. So she left, I thought! A few months later she burrowed in our bedroom wall and there are no wires where she is so we let her stay. First year went fine, she left in the summer. She came back again to the same spot this year when we forgot to close the holes in the roof. However, this time she chewed a hole the size of a cantelope through the drywall into our bedroom closet! I have raised 8 ferrets so I am a small animal lover hence the reason we never served her an eviction notice. We did try to trap her ourselves but it was unsuccessful. I believe she is about to give birth so I dont want to put her out in the cold with babies in frigid temps. Especially since I fear she has no second nest and might not have a clue where to find one since she's likely lived in our walls during the winters for her whole life. So we are letting her stay. We covered the hole with cardboard and I put bedding and some food in from time to time. I consistently make the clicking sound when near the wall or removing the cardboard since I read they like that. Whenever I open the hole she will run since her bed is right there but she will come back just out of site to where I can hear her but not see her. She does this purring. It is a rythmic purring just like a cat. If you didnt know it was a squirrel you would swear its a cat! What is this? I just want to make sure its not a sick sound from aspiration or pneumonia. I have not found a video of this sound on you tube. It does not sound aggressive and she is not aggressive. My other question is about the bugs and parasites they have. Have any of you been infested with mites or lice from the squirrels? Should I have her removed? Does it put us at risk of these parasites infesting our home? Are there any safe ways to treat her for these things and fleas without touching her. Also does anyone know if they (a professional trapper) will euthanize her. I know some places its mandatory and they will not relocate. I have done research and in no way want to domesticate or raise this animal as a pet but I am such an animal lover that I feel obligated to do something for her. Thanks for your time and attention reading this. Sorry if I am ignorant about anything. I am a ferret expert so I know how I get frustrated with others who are ignorant about ferret matters.

Please don't call a trapper, animal control or your State's DNR. Pennsylvania is not a very compassionate State when it comes to squirrels and she would most likely be euthanized. The purring is just that, squirrels do purr. Squirrels can get parasites just like any animal, it don't mean they have them. Fleas would be your most concern, squirrel fleas are different then those of cats and dogs. They are slender, they don't jump. You could use food grade Diatomaceous earth. It will not harm her or babies if she has any but would take care of the fleas if she's carrying any. I would sprinkle it in and around her nest.
If you find you need to "evict" her I appeal to you to wait until spring. Since it's obvious she has been a resident of your home she would not be equipped for the winter months and most likely would not be able to survive. If she is about to have or has babies it would be a death sentence to them.
If you decide to "evict" and are willing, we possibly may have a member rehabilitator that could help you successfully trap her and keep her from being harmed.

Edit: Don't know where you have researched but don't believe everything you read pertaining to squirrels.
They are not the little monsters they are often made out to be...

[Kourtney12210]

Thank you for taking the time to respond!:hug Yea, I was not certian about how Pennsylvania handled them but certainly do not want her harmed. Where do you buy the food grade diomataceous earth you mentioned? I did see two different looking bugs. One looked like a dog and cat flea while the other was dark brown as well but skinny and long. It almost had the shape of a grain of rice. They got stuck in the tape around the cardboard. I am not concerned she has ticks since we live in the city. Only other two things I'm really concerned about are any mites and lice. I have notice itching and a sensation of something crawling on me since opening her hole several times. I held my hand in the nest on 3 different occasions. I am aware lice and mites do not jump but do believe I had enough contact for them to crawl on me. Does Ivermectin paste treat her for those? Can you treat for lice? I have read only a very small grain of rice size amount is safe since it can be toxic. What is your opinion on this? I have not seen her to observe any loss of hair etc.. However, even if I did it may be from having babies etc.. My husband swore he heard babies crying yesterday but I peeked in and didnt see nor hear any. Unless they were deep in the mush of the nest and not crying I don't think she's had them yet but must be getting close because her nest changed. It was different before. Its much more insulated now like the ones I've seen babies pulled out of in videos. Also, if I am going to give her food what do you recommend beside peanuts?. I have read bones are good for them to gnaw on for their teeth. Can it be a bone from any animal bone? I would definitely like to continue contact if at some point we do need to have her leave because I would prefer someone who won't hurt her and actually loves squirrels. You can tell she's a pretty sweet girl. Ps. I actually have an old video baby monitor peering in to keep an eye on any babies. If she does have them I have warm disks from my ferrets that you microwave and they stay hot for hours, can I put one in for the babies when she has them?

[Anne]

I would not try to treat her with Ivermectin, speciality if she is pregnant, DE can be purchased at any health food store and is safe to use around all animals and people. Squirrels often suffer from dry skin also and do scratch a lot, not a sign of any parasites necessarily. Thank you for caring about her :hug.

[Mel1959]

You asked what is good to feed her besides peanuts? There is a squirrel block that can be purchased from Henry's Healthy Pets online. There are different varieties of blocks, one is specifically made for wild squirrels. Two of these blocks a day offer complete nutrition but can be supplemented with vegetables and fruits and a few nuts. There is a healthy squirrel diet food pyramid on this website that offers many suggestions for food choices. Thank you for being so caring about this little one. I'm glad she chose your house to seek refuge in and that you have the compassion to wait until spring to do any evicting, if that's what you choose to do. There are many people that would never give a second thought to removing and eliminating these precious little furry guys. :hug

[kcassidy]

Once the babies are older you can put a drop of cat Advantage for cats on her and that clears everything up easy peasy. If she will eat stuff you give her, then get Capstar tablets. You can crush them and put them in some food, this will clear up fleas, mites and lice as well.

As for food - Shelled nuts are a big treat as are black oil sun flower seeds all my wilds will eat these. I have found that they also like almost all squash's including Pumpkins, I cut them in half and put them out, they devour the seeds and nibble on the meat.

Avocado is usually a big hit as well. The rest of stuff I feed my rehab kids doesn't get eaten by the wilds, such as green leafy veggies, sugar snap peas, dandelion greens, cranberries, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, tangerines, apples & grapes. But since she was digging in your garbage can maybe she will. I basically feed a smorgasboard of food and mommy's always can use lots of choices.

I have a request though, please..... PICTURES, I want to see her home decorating skills and her nest and of course HER. We LOVE pictures here at TSB and I can't wait to see this girl, she sounds pretty awesome. Have you named her?

[SammysMom]

I haven't heard of using AdvantiX, but I regularly use Revolution. Just a drop between the shoulder blades and it takes care of all the critters...:grin3

[BigNibbler]

You could put a wooden box about 10x10 of pine wood with two three inch holes on opposite sides. Great if you could put a U shaped baffle about five inches across each of those holes. If you look up squirrel nest boxes you will get the idea.
Thing about doing that is that when it gets warmer, you could relocate it or put up another one.
What I mean is put it outside the house NEAR where she is entering. Put it so that you can ease it up and further away.
Ideally it should be at least 15 feet high and on a tree.
If you put one on a tree and ran a plank or even a some rope or ladder to it she would get the idea EVENTUALLY.

The words Shelled nuts have always confused me. But here it is meant that they be IN the shells. Not shelled, meaning removed from the shells. They need the shells to grind their teeth down and to be able to bury them till they want em and to keep protect the nutmeat from other critters like field mice etc.

Almonds are the best, but Walnuts are a real gem, greatly prized.
You don't want to put food out where other squirrels will become challengers to her.

I don't think she would chew on a bone from an internal animal bone, but maybe an antler type or part of shellfish.
You may want to give her rodent nuggets which are designed to be a balanced diet for lab animals.
This price fluctuates and it is higher than usual, but over many years I find this to be one of the best prices sources.
http://www.amazon.com/Native-Earth-Protein-4018-Rodent/dp/B00132ROS0/ref=lp_2597121011_1_1?srs=2597121011&ie=UTF8&qid=1454022531&sr=8-1

Maybe others have a better source. You can get something by Kaytee in petshops - small amount.

Don't give her too many nuts or corn and birdseed type products. Bad diet.
The HHB's would be the best for her to nurse her babies but if you want to buy the best for her.
She could be a lifelong neighbor :)
If you help her with a real nest in a tree, it would be the best of both worlds for both of you long term.

[flyer girl]

Advantix is not safe... Revolution is the safest for squirrels...

[kcassidy]

Well I've used Advantage (for cats) for 8 years now and never a dead or sick animal. Yup Revolution is good too, I usually just buy whatever is cheapest at Amazon Prime.

[kcassidy]

Hey All:

Just an UPDATE to my 2 posts in this thread, posts # 6 & 10. I said I put AdvantiX for cats on Squirrels and I actually don't I put Advantage for cats on Squirrels.

HUGE HUGE difference, there is no AdvantiX for cats made by Bayer. I've requested one of the Admins change my posts to reflect the correct info.

Sorry about that.