Flying Squirrels Living in Attic for Decades

Does anyone know if flying squirrels can survive this time of year trapped in the attic without water? Can they get enough water from berries or any other food they may have stored? I am the homeowner and here is a brief history:

Two local ADC companies have been employed during the last two years and only one southern flying squirrel has been caught. Once the main hole was sealed up, no one has ever been able to identify another entry hole. The first ADC company never went into the attic at all and the second company placed traps on top of 2 feet of blown fiberglass insulation. Both companies admitted before they started that they didn't have much experience with flying squirrels.

Recently the entire house has been sealed up including a new ridge vent. Sadly the Cobra ridge vent did not have hardware cloth installed under it. My carpenter was confident that it wouldn't need it although he has never been involved with flyers. He did however install the shingles very low and tight but even as good a carpenter as he is, I don't think he realizes what we are up against.

I just ordered some stuff to try trapping them in the attic myself. Any advice or information would be appreciated. I am located in central Ohio.

No, they can not survive without water BUT their water needs are low and there is usually more than enough condensation somewhere in most attics to provide sustenance.

Simple fact, if you still have fliers your house is not sealed!

I could post all I know about fliers but it would be easier if you would just give me a call @ 6785728269 as there is alot of ground to cover on dealing with fliers.

BTW, I'm in Georgia so I ain't trying to sell you anything. Just hacks me to see someone have to deal with still having issues after paying others to solve it. It may be giving away the store but in your case you need the help and it will be freely given.

David, I'm happy that you are taking that viewpoint, but what went on in Ohio could just as well have been our company in Wisconsin a decade or more ago. I had never seen a flyer in my life and I would love to tell everyone that it was my great attention to detail and my intense study of the subject that got the job done, but that would be a lie.

Just like every other unfamiliar species that we've had to tackle, I had Someone watching over me. I had no idea what I was doing but I had great customers that kept me informed and we basically learned together. We had one customer who had more than fifty flyers over the years and every time we thought we had them closed out, we were wrong. They haven't had flyers for years but they are still one of our most faithful and regular pest control customers.

Yes, Paul, but if you had taken on the job you would've done whatever it took to know all about fliers before that job was done.

You got me David! I actually grew quite fond of those goofy looking rodents. I have a rehabber with a license that will take every flyer I give her. ( And I'm sure she will spread them all over the place, which will eventually allow more business for us )

Post some pictures of your house. All 4 sides would be good.

I'll try to get those pictures tomorrow or Friday.

Flyers., animals up to grey squirrel size will be supported by the loft of blown-in insulation, but anything mouse-size or larger will make troughs in the stuff relative to its body width.
Setting traps on the attic trails can be very effective.

Dave, Nate used a nutty fruity lure and placed it on two snap traps and in two small live traps but the flyers never touched them after months and months up there. Nate suspects that they now fear human scent after one of them died overnight in a live trap set on the roof by the 1st ADC company.

I doubt that they fear human scent. I have had them to be cage shy

Flyers, I had a customer prefer I cage trapped flyers out of their attic ...took out 63 with the same traps (using 11 cages) one after another..same human scent on cages...same flyers watching me set up.

On another occasion I was kinda in your fix..flyer everywhere and nothing touching a single trap ... I sealed up everyhole they could exit the dwelling ..set gang set with Rat traps....I mean a lot of traps .... I had heard a long time ago that flyers panic when they can't get outside and therefore the only way they calm down is to eat (bait on traps)..I nailed every flyer in that house like they were going out of style...What Gives ?

Short of the questionable new ridge vent, I only have two more roof flashings that need to be sealed. Unfortunately I can't safely get up there by myself and will need to pay someone to do it. My carpenter doesn't believe that the top end of these flashings are possible entry points, but he is the same guy that didn't install hardware cloth under the ridge vent. All of the other flashings have been sealed at both top and bottom ends.
Joe and Paul, this is really good info regarding the trapping. I plan on using some snap traps soon with some Jameson flying squirrel lure and some black oil sunflower seeds. I was also planning on trying some Golden Malrin in Pepsi but will wait and see how the snap traps work first. In fact after hearing numbers like 63, I may wait quite a while before resorting to the Pepsi.

My first question is why do you think you still have flyers? Is it noises you are hearing or are you actually seeing them? I've had easy flying squirrel jobs here in Ohio along with several very difficult ones. About the only thing they've had in common is that each one was unique to itself.

One of the most unique jobs involved only two flyers. It took me almost three months before I finally removed them as they were not using the house every single day. In fact, they only used the house when the weather allowed an opening to happen on a dormer corner. When temperatures were above 50 degrees, the materials expanded enough to keep them out/in but when daytime temperatures dropped to 35 degrees, a very small opening occurred when you lifted up on a shingle that they could exploit. I had different styles of traps placed at multiple locations on the house and had checked that specific corner at least 6 different times before I finally installed a one way trap out of frustration to prove that nothing was there and caught the culprits.

On another job I removed 47 fliers from a house that to this day I can't say why they even had them in the first place. Do not use any type of poison for anything that it is not registered for and there are no poison's authorized in Ohio for flying squirrels that I'm aware of.

If you plan on using snap traps (which is now legal in Ohio) make sure they are rat size and have the small metal trigger, not the big plastic one. Tie a salted peanut still in its shell to the trigger with a zip tie or bread tie and then put some creamy peanut butter on it. If you don't have a good spot to place the trap, use a 2 x 4 to span the trusses and screw the rat taps to it. Not only does this give you a place to put the traps, but it makes it very easy to maintain.

Before the old rotted deck was removed and porous bandboard replaced a couple of years ago, I had red squirrels, mice and flying squirrels. It was impossible to tell which animal was making which noise. But I am very confident that the red squirrels and mice have been gone ever since the ground level entry points were resolved. There is one particular noise that tells me I still have flying squirrels.That noise is a loud distinct picking up of electrical wiring and dropping of those wires onto the ceiling right above me. They have burrows right on top of the ceiling drywall under 2 feet of blown insulation. I believe that the burrows run along the path of the electrical wires. Many times I will hear about 4 distinct "wire slaps" right in a row as they move along the wire in their burrows.
Now the frequency of these "wire slaps" is way way down since the house was sealed up but there is still evidence of at least one living flying squirrel in the attic. Last winter, the only day that I heard any wire slapping was one day that got up to 60 degrees F. So I do believe they enter a state of inactivity during winter as I have read.
Eric, thanks for the trapping advice as I'm sure I'll need everything I can get.

Don't use poison...could get to smelling...put a trail cam or 2 up there pointed at a bait pile ...(clear out at spot in the insulation for one and put the other on top)... of black oil sunflower seeds and some lure for a few days...see what you see how about droppings of any kind...relevant or no ?

Trail camera; good idea-

Swampdonkey, The insulators built a baffle or whatever it's called around the attic entry hole and I can't get up there anymore at my age and agility level.
But I am going to incorporate some of your ideas starting today. Since I can get my torso up in there I am going to build some shelves coming out of the roof rafters. On these shelves I will place Victor rat traps and one professional snap trap after it arrives from WCS. The bait will include the items you recommended as well as the unshelled peanut/peanut butter Eric likes to use on different traps. And I do have high quality trail camera too. I'll keep everybody posted. Thanks.
And Paul, I'm having trouble getting the house pictures to come from my gallery on my Android tablet as an inline download to this website.

Shelves installed in the attic, 3 snap traps set and I plan to have someone seal up the top ends of two dormers which have yet to be plugged. Need to wait until the ice and snow melts first. And the trail camera is on. I won't even go up there for a week so I don't disturb their environment.

Doug thanks for emailing me the pictures of your house. Try to post them this is a great house to look at and discuss. Lots of roof changes. Some new guys will learn something from this post. Like me I'm always learning!!!

I have had luck with a two foot square piece of cardboard lying on top of the insulation to put traps on. When using cage traps it would be preferable to use plywood. I have also had luck using a shoebox with a two inch hole cut into it with a snap trap inside baited with peanut butter or nutcracker.

Paul we ALL seem to learn something new every day.

For instance I learned yesterday when you put a cage trap in a cellar and the customer says "I will monitor it and call you if we catch anything" you should probably verify that he isn't leaving the next day for a two week trip to Florida.

Wrapped up nice flyer job tonight

I just use oneway doors on my flyers hasn't falled yet and comes with a 5 year warranty if does . Flyers are protected here so really couldn't trap them with out permit needed anyway . I basicly treat them like I'm doing bats works for me I'm not changing it till it needs fixing .

In order to use one way doors, you need to know where the entry/exit hole is located don't you PeskyCritter? No one around here can find the hole.

FlyersInOhio, this is not that uncommon. We had one job where we caught over 50 flyers in a several year period. The customers were very pleased that we stayed with them that long and thanks to their older kids, we were eventually shown where a very unique remodel took place and were able to solve the problem. Not everything is cut and dried in this business and no matter how long you live, new stuff keeps popping up every day. I guess that's kind of why we love this work!

Sounds like you need a exclusion done by a wildlife control company that does good exclusion work the repairs will need to hold up against attack by rodent . Fixing couple holes is fruitless the whole house needs gone over hands on

Looking back, I would agree that a good exclusion is what was lacking. Neither of the two ADC companies told me that a full house exclusion is the only way I would be successful.
My carpenter and I may have done it now though. It's so quiet now in the middle of the night that you could hear a pin drop. We'll see what happens.

Sure in hindsight, it would have been best to have a company like yours(assuming you would travel that far) come down here and seal the house with a 5 year warranty, but these are things I didn't know back then.
Going forward, until I've got some evidence that this new Cobra ridge vent(without metal screen) vent is not doing the job, I'm going to assume that the house is sealed and if I hear anymore wire slapping, I'll keep trying to trap/kill flyers which must be trapped in the attic getting enough moisture to survive. But right now things are very very quiet.
If in the spring(when they become active again) all this optimism of mine blows up in my face, I'll probably throw my hands up and give you a call Peskycritter.

My company is the company in question.

It is true that we do not have much experience with flying squirrels. There simply are not that many calls for this type of service here in Central Ohio (6 flying squirrel jobs in over 20 years).

After a service fee of $149 we worked on this job for four months and charged NO additional fees. We identified the best possible entry point as the ridge vent and our client chose to have a roofer do the exclusion rather than us. I do not blame him as our price would certainly have been higher than that of a roofer. However, our recommendation to add wire mesh under the ridge vent was not followed. Apparently he is attempting to follow up on the other recommendations we have given also.

While I do not have the exact number in front of me, I am pretty sure we could have done a full exclusion for less than the $6000 quoted above.

I am not posting this to bash "Flyers in Ohio". I know he is frustrated, as am I. I searched the archives and old WCT magazines to try to come up with something. In fact, I was picking brains at the WCT and asked numerous people questions to try to see what other techniques would be feasible to try. Some of you may recall the question I asked the Critter Control presenter at the end of his presentation. This was just after his story about capturing the Flying squirrel in the drawer!!! Unfortunately I did not get the answer I had hoped for.

I will also admit I am a bit embarrassed that I didn't try our trail cameras, I thought a flyer was too small to trip it. After seeing LAtrapper's post I see I was wrong in that.

The main reason I am posting is so that you may see you only get one side of the situation when you reply to posts. Try not to make assumptions about what someone may or may not have done and whether it was appropriate for the situation at hand.

With the number of visits, the time searching for solutions, overhead, etc. etc. we certainly did not make money or rip anyone off (which I do not think "flyers in Ohio" was saying at all, but some others may have thought so). We made professional recommendations for exclusion that the client is following up on. If those recommendations are done in the appropriate fashion, it will solve his problem.

I must admit, after a lifetime of capturing animals and over 20 years in business I am still learning (and trying to improve)!!! I will also say that I am pleased and proud to see everyone here in our community so willing to share their knowledge and information to help someone solve their problems.

Everyone, if I had a problem with raccoons or any other kind of animal, I would be calling the 2nd ADC company in a heartbeat. That's how comfortable I feel working with Nate and Dirk. In fact the mention of $6000 for a bat exclusion may have come from the 1st ADC company and not the 2nd.
And Dirk, is correct, it looks like his recommendations are going to work.

Having the Handy man do the exclusion never seems to work to be honest I never know where all the holes are till I get on the house doing the exclusion but do know the week spots are . When giving a warranty got spot the future holes as well

Flyers in Ohio, we would be happy to provide services. Fortunately, in this instance, you were understanding and patient (not all clients are like that to be sure).

I appreciate you taking the additional time to respond and am pleased that you feel confident enough that you would contract our services again if need be. We will continue to work on our flying squirrel acumen, we just don't get that many chances here in central Ohio.

We certainly learn more from our mistakes than we do our successes.

If there is anything we can do to assist you, feel free to give me a call!!!

Not that I would deal with this normally, but to add to what you pros have said. I had trouble this year in my far northern bear camp with flyers. Strawberry rhubarb pie. Found by accident with cameras on bear baits they came at all hours, and also while I was still standing there, early evenings to less than 3 feet from me. Crazy for that stuff is all I can say. Cleaned them all up in no time then around the camp.

Call me weird, but if I had flyers in my attic, I would create a living area for them that would separate them from the insulation and wires and such. They are just too cool! I caught one as a kid in a homemade coffee can/mouse trap/hardware cloth live trap. My evil step-mother made me release him. I will never forget it running on flat ground, leaping, gliding, then repeating until it reached the wood line.

Ok, You're weird. Have you ever seen or smelled the mess they make. Don't get me wrong I think flying squirrels are very interesting creatures. I really wouldn't want them in a structure that I live in.

Steve, if my wife ever found out that I had flying squirrels all over the basement because I forgot to close the cage, I would be living in the attic for decades.

I'm working a flying squirrel job right now. It took me some time to figure out what bait would catch them but I've pulled 9 out since Monday.

They are endangered here and protected so I'll keep the ones I caught until I can get the whole family. Then when the weather warms up, I'll release them all together.

When I first looked at this house, I had gray squirrels in mind and was baffled as to how they were getting in. I could find no holes or cracks anywhere that they could slip through. It was only after I caught the first one and realized what I was dealing with that I was able to find entry exit points. Now I'm finding places all over everywhere where these little bitty boogers can slip through.

When I get them all caught out, me or the carpenter one, is gonna have a LOT of work to do.

Well stated. Many of us in the business spend a lot of time doing a lot of lethal control, and many of us have a weakness for certain critters. I felt the need to share mine.

Muddawg what kind of bait you using? If you don't want to tell it here in public but don't mind another company to know just shoot me a pm.