# Had a visitor last night...



## DAKSY (Nov 25, 2012)

I came out of my tools closet & looked this little critter right in the eye. I didn't exactly jump outta my shorts, but I will say it DID surprise me. So I grabbed the camera & attempted to blind it with the flash...
First one I've ever seen in this area...


----------



## loon (Nov 25, 2012)

Cool Daksy..What is it?

loon


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 25, 2012)

loon said:


> Cool Daksy..What is it?
> 
> loon


 
I had to look it up. It's a variety of Flying Squirrel. Susan said she saw it glide off the table last week when she surprised it in the middle of the night. Gonna TRY to trap & release it, but if worse comes to worse...


----------



## milleo (Nov 25, 2012)

DAKSY said:


> I had to look it up. It's a variety of Flying Squirrel. Susan said she saw it glide off the table last week when see surprised it in the middle of the night. Gonna TRY to trap & release it, but if worse comes to worse...


Not very cute to look at but one of Gods critters, hope you can move it out of your area so he doesn't get into your attic etc.


----------



## rottiman (Nov 25, 2012)

Had them try to nest in one of my chimmneys one summer.  They are predominately nocturnal although they do move around in daylight.  Hope you are able to trap and move him.


----------



## Gasifier (Nov 25, 2012)

I found that a large fishing net is good for catching bats that have squeezed into the detached garage. I try not to kill them because they eat so many bugs. Maybe if you have one you could snag him in that. Is he trying to winter up in there DAKSY?


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 25, 2012)

Gasifier said:


> I found that a large fishing net is good for catching bats that have squeezed into the detached garage. I try not to kill them because they eat so many bugs. Maybe if you have one you could snag him in that. Is he trying to winter up in there DAKSY?


 
I haven't seen it anywhere but in areas that I can't get at with a net. That picture was up on top of a stud walI...I may be able to lure it into a Havahart, but I think that because of the areas I baited with DeCon for the deer mice, it may be too late.


----------



## firefighterjake (Nov 25, 2012)

Hehheh . . . at first glance Daksy I thought that squirrel had a battle ax in his grasp . . . and that would freak me out if I came out and found a squirrel advancing on me with a battle ax in his paws.


----------



## WellSeasoned (Nov 25, 2012)

I think hes eyeballing that copper pipe. Better keep an eye on him


----------



## save$ (Nov 25, 2012)

My old black Tom cat kept the squirrel population down.   After 17 years, he went out one night and never was seen again.  Now we have this little deaf cat who adopted us.  She came in our yard nearly dead with starvation.  Being deaf, she is just a house cat and makes no attempt to go near the door.  Now those darn squirrels are chewing their way into a lot of places I never had them before.


----------



## Adabiviak (Nov 26, 2012)

That's neat... I live in flying squirrel country, but have only seen maybe two of them.


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 26, 2012)

We're gonna grab a Havahart tonite at HD on the way home. Hopefully, the little critter has let the deer mice eat the DeCon & we'll be able to trap & move it to somewhere where it can live its life...After reading up on them & the damage they cause, not to mention the potential for rabies carried in their saliva, I'm definitely gonna get it outta here... It's recommended that it be moved about 10 miles away, or it'll find its way back... I sorta feel bad throwing it out in the impending cold, but it's managed to fatten up a little on cat food, so maybe it'll find an area to nest & settle down for a long winter's nap...


----------



## yooperdave (Nov 26, 2012)

Cute little buggers, they are.  Better than a regular squirrel, in my opinnion.  As far as the rabies goes; isn't it all carried and transmitted through saliva??  It seems that everytime people get a bit close to wildlife, they jump the gun and think it must be rabid...(not you, Daksy, just people in general)


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 27, 2012)

$23 later & a heaping teaspoon of Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter & TAH DAH! No more Flying Squirrel in residence. Took the little critter about 10 miles away & downhill from our place & released it into the woods. Had a pic of it in the Havahart Trap, but I can't upload it from work...


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 27, 2012)

Hmmm. I'd read that flying squirrels were likely to carry the rabies virus, but according to this web site, it ain't so...
http://www.flyingsquirrels.com/
They are more likely to carry a form of Typhus. Guess I STILL should take MamaCat to the vet...

Edit: here's the little critter before I took it out & released it...


----------



## yooperdave (Nov 28, 2012)

Wow, that was a quick catch!!  2-3years ago, I had a red squirrel problem...buggers took about 2 weeks before they entered the live trap.  I also used peanut butter and placed the trap in the same "run" that they used in the garage to get in and out.  I hope you got all of 'em.


----------



## DAKSY (Nov 28, 2012)

yooperdave said:


> Wow, that was a quick catch!! 2-3years ago, I had a red squirrel problem...buggers took about 2 weeks before they entered the live trap. I also used peanut butter and placed the trap in the same "run" that they used in the garage to get in and out. I hope you got all of 'em.


 
Hey, Yoop. I left the trap out for another nite & no traffic. I'll keep an eye on the dog & cat food bowls, tho, just in case. I kinda felt bad lettin it go in unfamiliar territory & with the cold weather, but it's probably better suited for being on it's own than I am...


----------



## stoveguy2esw (Dec 6, 2012)

flying squirrels, we have em down here in virginia but i usually only see them when i get up in the mountains the blue ridge  runs about 15 miles west of me so i spend as much time as i can wandering around up there.

really neat animals usually reclusive around here but fun to watch should you be lucky enough to watch them out in the wild


----------



## charly (Dec 6, 2012)

DAKSY said:


> Hmmm. I'd read that flying squirrels were likely to carry the rabies virus, but according to this web site, it ain't so...
> http://www.flyingsquirrels.com/
> They are more likely to carry a form of Typhus. Guess I STILL should take MamaCat to the vet...
> 
> Edit: here's the little critter before I took it out & released it...


Our big Tom cat likes to bring in unharmed stuff he has caught and let it go in our house. We had a flying squirrel brought in.  Used the woodstove gloves grabbed him from out behind a cabinet. He was pretty tame to hold onto...Guess with a cat and three dogs watching that was the smart thing for him to do.


----------



## basod (Dec 8, 2012)

I have a set of them that decided to nest in an old speaker box up under the gazebo.
They are cute little buggers - the GF holds peanuts up near the opening and they'll reach out and grab them.

They've come back year after year ~5yrs now(I gave up on the speaker) and to my amazement when they leave the honey bees have moved in and then left each year for the past 2 yrs
Seem like smart squirrels to let the bees store a sweet stash for them


----------



## Paulywalnut (Dec 10, 2012)

Bullwinkle can't be too far away looking for his little buddy.


----------



## DAKSY (Dec 10, 2012)

Paulywalnut said:


> Bullwinkle can't be too far away looking for his little buddy.


 
We get an occasional Bullwinkle (or Cow-winkle) around here, but not too often. Probably been 3 - 4 years since the last moose was seen in this area...


----------



## BrowningBAR (Dec 11, 2012)

Let me know when you catch his partner.


----------



## DAKSY (Dec 11, 2012)

BrowningBAR said:


> Let me know when you catch his partner.


Caught & released 10+ miles downhill from here so he won't easily glide back!


----------



## wingsfan (Dec 11, 2012)

8 yrs ago we bought an old farm house that was vacant for a couple yrs. After we lived there for a while we were sitting in the livingroom watchin tv and one of those damm things walk out of the kitchen and in front of the tv. SCARED the crap right out of us. Then the fun part started, trying to catch it. Sorry to say with my wife and varments,, ours was not as lucky as your.. lol.


----------



## begreen (Dec 12, 2012)

My sister would climb trees and catch flying squirrels. She had a pair of them that she raised. The local papers wrote up some articles on her. They would glide down to her shoulder out of our big oak tree to snack on peanut butter on a Ritz cracker. That blew away the reporter. I remember their fur being very soft and their high-pitched communications in the night.


----------

