I moved house just before Christmas and put up nest boxes straight away......... 2 of them were positioned on tree trunks.........(one of them is a camera nest box which is exciting!). I have had lots of activity at these boxes and I can see in the camera nest box that Blue Tits have started bringing in nesting material. I am a little concerned as I regularly see a squirrel....sometimes 2.....in the garden and I am now getting uneasy about them discovering the nest boxes in the not too distant future. What is the best way to protect my little visitors. If I should put metal plates around the nest box hole.....will that deter the Blue Tits as they have already started pecking away at the holes. Is there anything that I could make to put around the tree trunk to baffle the squirrels?? I know that I should have done something at the time I was putting the boxes up, (hindsights a wonderful thing!!)............can any of you advise me please?????
'My favourite weather is bird chirping weather'.........Terri Guillemets
Well - a dilemma for sure - i wouldn't recommend adding anything to the nest box at this stage - it's possible they might not be affected but there's obviously the risk that they might and that would be shame....
How thick is the tree trunk? would you be able to get a baffle round it? (perhaps not that one but something similar) or you could try to make some sort of guard from chicken wire above and below the box - squirrels are very clever when it comes to getting at what they want so you're going to have to outsmart them - make it difficult for them and perhaps distract them with a plentiful supply of food in another area of the garden when the crucial time comes.....
Be aware that the squirrels have evolved to live in trees, so acrobatic climbing is what they do for a living! can they get to the tree from above? or jump from a fence/nearby wall/shed? if you're putting up guards/baffles you need to think like a squirrel(!) and whether thay'd be able to get round, over or through it easily.....
Good luck, let us know how you get on
LRB
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Thank you for getting back to me, I'm really grateful for any help and advice.......one tree has a circumference of approximately 50 inches and the other slightly less. There is a dedicated squirrel feeder on a nearby tree but they just don't seem to be interested in it and prefer to hang upside down from the bird table to get at the peanuts there!! There is a fence and other trees close by, so jumping from one to the other is going to be pretty easy for them. I could certainly have a go at making some sort of barrier with your suggestion of chicken wire..........if I were to put some holly into it maybe???? One good thing is that both nest boxes are pretty close to the house.....the camera nest box is only about 10 feet from the kitchen door so at least I'm on hand to watch what's going on. If you have any more ideas.......?????
Holly's a great idea - or anything similar that's going to make their life difficult
They'll always go for the easy option, maybe that's why they're ignoring the squirrel box?
Well I have spent the afternoon making big chicken wire sausages full of holly!!.......My holly shrub is now looking a trifle scrawny, but what the hell !!! I also wove some lengths of barbed wire amongst the holly sausages as I was attaching them to the tree.....so we'll have to wait and see if I've done enough to deter Mr Squirrel !! Thank you LRB for your advice!!
You're welcome! The holly will grow back in time - Hope it works...i wouldn't want to climb over it - do let us know if it's a success
Liz R said: You're welcome! The holly will grow back in time - Hope it works...i wouldn't want to climb over it - do let us know if it's a success
Just to bring you up to date....the baffle WAS a success!! The Blue Tit parents hatched 9+ eggs just over a fortnight ago in my camera nestbox!! They have been working their little Blue Tit socks off feeding their noisy family and they are all just GORGEOUS!!!! I suppose they will be leaving the nest soon and I know that I'll miss them sooooooo much!!.......... (Even macho workmen working in the house went all gaga watching the antics in the nest box!!!)..........I'm so proud to have been able to help this lovely little family!!