Insulating a squirrel house

[Ria]

Hi there,

I have a squirrel box made out of wood for shelter and was wondering what is the best way to insulate it for the cold winter months? Currently, there are wool blankets inside, but i was wondering if anyone else has some good ideas on how to keep the wind out.

Thanks!

[Daisey007]

Well, assuming that the box is built tight enough that most of the wind will be kept out naturally, you could use fleece or quilted fabric, or maybe thick foam or plastic place matts covered in a thick fabric would make a nice insulation. But do NOT ever use fiberglass!!!

I spent MOST of yesterday stapling a thick fleece lining inside one of my squirrel boxes. I had the box built oversized in diameter and depth so I could do this. I inserted a heating pad (without auto shut-off) on its side behind the fleece to provide a little heat when temps drop into the 20's and 30's. I was very careful to fully cover the heating pad and the wiring, in fact, that's what took so long! The pad lines two of the four walls. When attaching the fleece, I allowed it to gather and drape excessively to create the essence of 'covers', and I cut the blanket or bedding into smaller pieces so they can burrow down under it. I currently have 3 siblings that still bed together.

Maybe this gives you some ideas that will work ever better than mine! If so, pass it on so we can learn something!

[Mel1959]

Funny, I was just talking to my husband about an idea for insulating a nest box this evening. We don't have much need for it since we are in Florida, but I had the idea nonetheless. Our nest boxes are built like ones we have seen online, they have two levels. The lower level is the part I thought about insulating. At Lowes and Home Depot they sell 4 x 8 sheets of foam insulating board. Each side of the board is covered with shiny, heavy foil paper. The board comes in 1/4 and 1/2 inch thicknesses. My thought was to cut the board (it cuts with an exacto knife) the size of each wall of the lower level of the box. Then cut another piece of wood for each side of the lower level of the box to cover the foam board? Basically, you would "sandwich" the foam between two pieces of wood. You can secure the other piece of wood on the outside of the foam with screws, just be sure they are long enough to go through the outside wood, the foam, and secure into the interior piece of wood. Don't forget the bottom of the box. Ideally, if you were building a new box you could also insulate the piece between the two levels. The foam would be totally enclosed so the squirrels couldn't get to it. At least not until they chewed through the wood. :nono

[Scott]

Hey Mel, do you put sloped roofs on your nest boxes or just strategically place them. Just curious. I know very little about this.

[DarkLies212]

I *was* going to insulate the boxes until I put my hand in one after the squirrels emerged and it was very toasty in there! :eek Granted, we only rarely drop to single digits here, but still...I plan on leaving mine uninsulated - bad idea?

[Mel1959]

Hey Mel, do you put sloped roofs on your nest boxes or just strategically place them. Just curious. I know very little about this.


We do put sloped roofs on them and hinge them so they can be opened and cleaned out occasionally. We screw them closed. I think most places an insulated box wouldn't be necessary, but some places in the north, and in Canada, I would think it might be helpful. But then again when a bunch of squirrel bodies are piled in to it it probably does get toasty. :grin3. I don't know how most animals survive those relentlessly cold winters.

All I know is that we had our first cool (upper 50's) morning yesterday and my boys hung out in or near their nestbox for most of the day. They NEVER go back into their nestbox during the day. It was windy as well, so that may have factored into it. They're probably just spoiled from the usual Florida weather. :grin3

[Curtlawyer]

I built a "box" inside a "Box" for Rocky. The entrance to the inner box is opposite the entrance into the outer box, so wind doesnt blow directly in. The top is hinged should I ever need to get in. It seems to be very warm for him- he pulled a pillowcase inside and uses it for both lining and a"door"

[Rehabhelper]

A box within a box, with entrances on opposite sides, sounds like a great design for protection from predators, too! Rehabbers near me install a shelf under the entry hole as a sort of baffle, but predators with long arms (raccoons) have been able to reach past the shelf baffle to steal sleeping babies. There's no way they could get to the babies with the 2-box design! In fact, how about an outer box with entry holes on the 2 sides, and an inner box with entry holes front and back, so they can escape from tree-climbing snakes as well!
Also, I wouldn't recommend any electric heating methods... there's so much that could go wrong, and 2 or more fully furred juveniles or adult squirrels shouldn't need it in any of the "lower 48," especially if you are supplementing their winter food supply. Give them lots of choices for insulation -- dry leaves and pine needles as well as some polyester fleece -- and let them have the fun of packing their nest boxes to their liking. If even 2 squirrels sleep in a box, it will get quite cozy inside. If the squirrel is caged and is a loner in a temperate climate, just add lots of fleece and natural nesting materials for him to pack into his box, along with fresh food and unfrozen water in his cage. (If you're keeping a singleton in an outdoor cage in a cold climate, though, you might consider attaching a heat source to the outside of the cage, resting against the back of the nest box, but then you would have to put a cage around it to protect it from wild heat-seeking critters! Plus protecting the electric cord... and keeping the water from freezing... might as well bring Sparky into your living room till springtime and save yourself some trouble!)