Flying Squirrels!

[Blue Thunder]

As GB states, they may seem cute and cuddly, but they are widely known for the property damage they can do if they get into your home or cottage. For those of us that close up for the winter, if they are around, you always run the risk of unbelievable damage if they get in looking for food or shelter. I have a friend who just heard from the guy who does "Winter Watch" for us over here on Sebago (Frye Island) that his new house is absolutely trashed from a red squirrel getting inside. I always used to tell my wife she didn't need to take everything home when we closed up, but after seeing what damage they can do, and they can get in the smallest of openings, I gladly pack it in the truck! One easy precaution we take is to close every interior door before leaving for the season. If they get in, I'd rather they trash just one room.

Blue Thunder

[mg2107]

We also had an attic full of flying squirrels. They sure are cute but once they get in they will do a number on your house. They are very prolific as well.

[TICTOC]

My Aunt & Uncle owned a cottage in Alton Bay from 1946 to 1991 and never had an intrustion of these little pests while all the cottages around had them.
The reason ? Just before closing up each fall she would throw moth balls all over the place, under the bed, on the bed, in drawers, etc. It smelled to high heavens when you returned in the spring but soon aired out with the windows opened. It's a cheap solution to perhaps a costly alternative. I hope this helps somebody.

[gravy boat]

We have a camp on Winni and every fall close it up, including the annual rite of spreading mothballs. Most of the time it works -- but only where the mothballs are spread. One year we forgot to put them in the trundle bed and in the Spring found many droppings and nesting materials -- everywhere else was untouched -- including the top portion of the bed.

This year we closed the camp later in the season -- late-October. By the time I opened the linen closet to relocate the towels for the winter, I found droppings and nesting material! We hadn't been to the camp in 2 weeks -- they certainly didn't waste any time!

Gravy

[ApS]

Originally Posted by mg2107

We also had an attic full of flying squirrels. They sure are cute but once they get in they will do a number on your house. They are very prolific as well.

1) There's no more damaging critter to over-winter in your place than a red squirrel, like my neighbors did. Much more so, if they don't survive the winter in your place!

2) Critters other than red squirrels get a bad rap from "reds".

Chew-mark evidence on your personal items that measure 3/16" across are likely red squirrel damage. Red squirrels will make nests using mostly dead leaves outside, but any fabric left outside is sure to get "sampled" at minimum. One unscrewed a cap (with his teeth) on a bottle of bird seed I'd left outdoors!

Mice, on the other hand, leave tiny toothmarks, and will shred stuff into a fibrous, messy, nest—and stink to high-heavens!

3) I'd no sooner shut off the computer and picked up a copy of Science Weekly magazine, and discovered this article showing that the ancestor of today's flying squirrel shared Planet Earth with the earliest of birds—including our own Winnipesaukee loon!

Excerpt:

"...Gliding squirrel-like mammals that lived with the dinosaurs at least 130 million years ago may have conquered the skies around the same time as birds, or even earlier, scientists say....
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/s...06/1811398.htm

From fossil remains, it is known that this ancestor-guy (below) had the sharp teeth necessary for his diet of insects, and a heavy tail—rather than the "feathery" tail of modern flying squirrels.