Flying Squirrels Prevention – Humane Wildlife Removal

How to Prevent Flying Squirrels

Flying squirrels are fascinating in many respects. However, they are most interesting due to their ability to glide in the air, covering more than 150 feet in a single glide. But when they find their way into your property, they can cause immense damage to your yard, garden, attic, and other spaces. They’ll feed on fruits in your garden; chew wood, electrical wires, and even insulation material in your attic. That’s why you want to keep them away from your house as much as possible. This post will explore how to accomplish that.

Eliminate Potential Shelters

Flying squirrels love to reside in attics and other human structures because of the warmth it provides. Therefore, you have to find ways to prevent them from gaining entrance. Ensure that you seal all potential entry holes with a strong wire that they cannot chew through. Also, make sure that you install a chimney cap to prevent entry.

Since flying squirrels are significantly smaller than gray squirrels, they can get in through very small holes. Make sure you do a thorough inspection of your property to ensure there are no entry holes. Also, make sure you cut all tree branches extending into your property or close to your roof. Flying squirrels can use them to gain access to your roof.

Eliminate Food Sources

Ensure that you eliminate all potential food sources from your property.

If you have a bird feeder, make sure that you rake your yard regularly to remove seeds from underneath it. In your garden, make sure that you remove all fallen fruits. If possible, you can squirrel-proof your garden. Also, ensure that you properly close your trash cans.

A common mistake some homeowners make is to feed these creatures. Never do that! They will just keep coming back for more and before you know it, they’ll find their way into your house.

Repellents

Although repellents aren’t very effective, they can contribute to keeping these nuisance critters away. Repellents like mothballs and peppermint oil irritate the animal’s sense of smell and may cause them to leave voluntarily.

Putting black, Serrano, cayenne and jalapeno peppers in your garden can help keep them away. Similarly, you can sprinkle spices like nutmeg and cinnamon around your vegetable garden.

These spices are benign to your crops but may keep flying squirrels away. Again, remember repellents aren’t a foolproof method of prevention. Even if they work, the moment you stop applying them, the flying squirrel returns. Therefore, repellents should be used with other methods.

Deterrents

Natural predators of flying squirrels include domestic cats, raccoons, snakes, birds of prey, foxes, dogs, and coyotes. Having a domestic dog or cat around can help keep them away.

Similarly, spraying the urine of foxes or coyotes on your property can help mark it as a predator’s territory. The problem with this approach is that the smell easily wears off, especially after rainfall. Therefore, it has to be constantly applied.

Furthermore, making use of motion-activated lights or water deterrents can help keep them at bay.

Dealing with a Flying Squirrel Problem

Sometimes, flying squirrels eventually find their way into your attic irrespective of what you do. In such instances, there are two major ways of getting rid of them. They include:

Exclusion

Before you can exclude flying squirrels from your attic, you have to identify all potential entry holes. Thereafter, seal all of them except one. Install an exclusion device in the last hole. This allows the flying squirrels to go outside but it prevents them from getting back in.

Trapping & Relocation

Instead of installing an exclusion device, you can set a repeater trap in the last hole. This helps to capture many of the flying squirrels as they try to escape. Thereafter, they can be relocated to a location far from your home – at least, 5 miles away – depending on the relocation laws in your area.