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Flying Squirrels

© Stephen Vantassel

Flying Squirrels are very little known in the public today. The reason for our ignorance lies in the fact that flying squirrels are nocturnal, they are active at night. Flying squirrels as their name suggests have the ability to glide through over some astonishing distances if they jump from a sufficient height. They have a skin flap between their front and rear legs with gives them ability to catch air as they glide. Just so we are clear, flyers are not true fliers like birds. They can't land on the ground and then take off. Flyers can only glide through the air. Their flat thickly haired tail is an excellent rudder. They are tiny creatures at only 1/3 the size of a gray squirrel at only 8-10 inches long including the tail.

It is their small size that make them rather difficult to control. Flyers only need 1/2 inch hole to enter a building in contrast to a gray squirrel which needs 1 1/2 inches. It is believed that many people who hear noises in their attic often wrongly accuse mice as the culprit when it is actually flyers. One can only wonder how many flyers have been poisoned by mouse poison used to control what the homeowner thought was mice.

How does one determine if you have flyers and not mice? Well the best way is to thoroughly inspect your building from the outside. Sorry folks this will require ladders and a good flashlight. (Follow all ladder and fall safety recommendations). Let me refer you to some tips provided in the June and July 2000 articles that discuss elements of inspecting your home. I suggest you pay special attention to attic vents, behind gutters, along dormers and ridgevents. These are the typical places for flyers to enter a building but remember they tend to enter anywhere two pieces of wood come together. If find a dark spot, shine a light on it. If it you don't see the building reflecting back to you then you have a hole. Cork the hole with some newspaper. Check the hole in a couple of days. If the newspaper is gone, then chances are you have an active hole. If the hole is 1/2 inch wide you could have anything from a rat, flying squirrel, red squirrel etc. depending on the species living in your area.

If you can't find a hole from the outside, then you will need to check from the inside. Wear respirator protection, of at least HEPA filter quality. (learn how to use it before entering the attic). I would suggest wearing more protection but the level is up to you. I consider HEPA filter protection for your lungs to a be minimal. Protection for your eyes etc is also suggested. Flyers have been implicated as possible carriers of Typhus. Wear gloves too. Flyers like bats tend to defecate where they enter and exit a building. But unlike bats, flyers excrete prior to leaving a building as opposed to defecating on the outside of the building. Next month we'll talk about controlling flyers.