$20 Squirrel House Pt 2

Pt2 of my design for building a Squirrel House.

[@robindestasio7563]

This is the best tutorial I've seen on how to build a squirrel house :) :) Thank you ! I wanted to buy a few of them, but can't afford it. So, as a 67 year old Grandma type, I'm going to attempt to build a few :) I put bird feeders up for the first time this year, got squirrels instead :) :) I get such joy from watching these little critters :) Never thought much about them before, now I worry when they show up late, very concerned about our cold winters here in NH. I'll make these houses for them and then have my son hang them for me :) :) Thank you again :)

[@PappyfromtheKeys]

Built one today out of a 1x12x12 instead of a 1x10. Our little rehab squirrel "Hope" took to it in less than two minutes. Mounted it inside the back porch until we can do a soft release with her. She carried all kinds of stuff in there to make it snuggly within just a few more minutes. Thanks for the plans! Like the design and so does Hope!

[@HandyGuy2016]

That is Great! Thank you for sharing :)

[@bryanbree5915]

I live in Florida and Ive been feeding my local squirrels with feed from Walmart. I even built them a wooden saloon that holds the feed so they can sit on the bench while they eat. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ian killed 3 of them . Their nest along with their soaking wet bodies were discovered in my truck bed the next day. I need to build a solid house for the squirrels that are still out there so this doesn’t happen again.

[@HandyGuy2016]

That is terrible ☹️

[@jonettehoward9164]

Thank you so much for this video very much appreciate all the details explained❤❤ AND...OH my Gosh....Hurricane Ian... and finding your babies in your truck bed, just brought me to tears😢 We just had a really bad rain and strong winds here in North Carolina East Coast I stayed outside on my carport worried to death about my squirrels. I've made one courthouse and it took me so long but I made sure I had two levels and tried to follow everyone's tips and tricks. I am searching for a plan that I can put together faster because I want to make several.

[@kasskohrmann414]

This will be our GS project! Thanks for the great step by step!

[@ratmonkeyify]

Hey. Good job on the house. Squirrels absolutely love using these houses as temp shelter, sometimes raising their young in them for a season. I've been building squirrel houses and bird houses for many years, since where I am originally from (England) a certain type of squirrel was going extinct. Anyway, I moved to the states and continued building them, even though people here don't seem to like them much, I still build houses and feeders for them. One thing I've learned over many years is that squirrels do not usually pee in their own houses, but the babies do, and you need to make the bottom at least 12 degrees on an angle, as well as a decent gap of around half inch on both sides. This helps drainage a lot and also air flow, which is important. Squirrels create a lot of humidity.I'd also make the hole a couple of inches higher and on the inside provide some ladder type mechanism. If you don't have a router you can just add a 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch piece of wood with a 1 inch gap between them going up from the bottom near the hole. This helps the babies exit when it's time to explore with parents. Other than that, a solid little house. You can build this with cedar for cheaper if you buy 5 ot 6ft picket fences, They are about 4 1/2 inches wide, but you can easily cover the gaps on the side by joining together in a similar fashion to what you did with the top, but inverted (inside the box). Costs about 2.50 per picket fence so with 4-5 of them you should be able to do a box for about 10 bucks. Just some tips from someone who has made over 200 boxes and found improvements over time :) Good video.

[@synergizerer21]

Jay Bee thanks for the extra info. I'll have to revise my plan a bit for drainage.

[@LORDVADER357]

How you can make the house to be only for squirrels? And not birds. Feeders can be designed to open tops so birds cant open. But houses. And is it possible to make feeder house combo? Hybrid. Internal ladder can be just round log piece placed diagonally.

[@zubrov_v]

thank you so much for building this houses and giving those angels some shelter

[@MS-in3sl]

Sometimes the bottom gets angled when the box is attached to the tree. Any technique you’ve developed and preferred hardware for attaching boxes so they can be removed?

[@jonettehoward9164]

@ratmonkeyify Do you mind explaining exactly what you mean about the bottom having a 12° angle and a decent Gap or could you reference a website for me to go look at it's hard for me to visualize... thank you for the extra tips and tricks

[@lazylizard67nigro87]

I have 3 squirrels here and I feed them everyday. My son also has three squirrels at his house and they broke into his shed to stay warm. Well he found this video of yours and sent it to me so that I can make the babies a home in his tree. Of course I will be making a house or two for my house too! Thank you again. Liz

[@Pruner15]

Great instructional video ! I just made one of these as per your measurements and it turned out great. The only thing that I'm concerned about is once the squirrel is inside the box, how does it get out without some sort of ladder or shelf on the interior ? Can they just jump up to the entry hole ? Thanks for making this video !

[@HandyGuy2016]

Yes, they are very acrobatic and they can grip the wood really well.

[@frankster1969]

Thanks for posting, built one myself and it turned out great. The only thing I changed is that I took the leftover piece from cutting out the porch and mounted it inside the house a couple of inches below the hole. Our squirrel likes to stand on it and hang halfway out the opening...

[@HandyGuy2016]

frankster1969 Cool idea

[@kasskohrmann414]

That also blocks predators from reaching in and down!

[@markopolo5695]

That's a serious amount of screws

[@pje8244]

I am going to use your design next time. I made one squirrel box based on a different design using pallet wood. I can get old pallets for free, so free wood is pretty nice! I have to glue the pieces together to make them wide enough. It worked quite well actually. It is very rustic looking.

[@jonettehoward9164]

What did you use to weatherproof

[@tpw84101]

A small shelf on the inside just below the doorway hole acts as a predator guard

[@mariekiraly100]

Why don't you make the large section of the roof with hinges so you can rescue the babies if the momma dies? Nice job. I will make one!

[@HandyGuy2016]

Great idea!

[@lazylizard67nigro87]

Awe poor squirrel 🐿. I’m so happy you made them a house. Your so kind and thank you. Any update on the squirrels using their new home?

[@HandyGuy2016]

We have 7 of them in our back yard, and most of the time they are occupied. My wife and I really enjoy watching them and watching babies step out for the first time.

[@mikeymike758]

@@HandyGuy2016 Nice! :-)

[@jonettehoward9164]

​@@HandyGuy2016how many houses do you have in your backyard for your seven squirrels!? What type of platform feeder design would you suggest for squirrels

[@HandyGuy2016]

7

[@jonettehoward9164]

@@HandyGuy2016 dang I thought you meant you had seven squirrels! So I was curious how many houses you had in your backyard didn't know if any shared! LOL if you could do anything different next time you build one what would it be? If anything? I know you've already been told this but it is true this video is one of the best Squirrel House tutorials on KZbin thank you very much! Oops one more, did you put anything on the Pine to preserve it

[@rockyjjones8989]

If you pre drill you screw holes it will hold your screw better while using you drill to screw them in. Like your Squirrel box.

[@techgeek1162]

Very Inspiring video. In chicago I feed birds and squirrel every day during the whole winter because that's the time they need food the most. I will definitely build one in summer for them. We have two resident squirrels on our backyard. I will get block of woods cut in HD or Menards. I can drill screws on the wood parts. How big is the squirrel hole ? Did you have a success getting squirrel in the box let me know.

[@HandyGuy2016]

2.5" hole and they use them all winter.

[@AIRx77]

How did you cut the RIGHT side (22") and LEFT Side (11 1/4") at an angle?? And thank you for this video! I'm gonna try to make one, then maybe more.

[@HandyGuy2016]

Yes, at an angle to create the roof pitch.

[@AIRx77]

Ha ha, I meant "How did you do use the saw to cut at an angle, did u use circular saw and where do you start, across one side to the other? (Sorry I am a very amateur carpenter if you call it that). Thanks in advance. I just want o give the squirrels here a safe/ comfy homes.

[@HandyGuy2016]

@@AIRx77 circular saw, cut from the short side to the long side.

[@AIRx77]

I found a small circular saw and it can be adjusted to do angled cuts....WOW This was an "AHAH" moment for me, so cool! hey thanks again! I'm subscribed and follow you/ Now i can make more squirrel houses.

[@NataliedeClare]

So, where did you put it? I want to see where it went.

[@HandyGuy2016]

About 10 feet above the ground on any tree they currently nest in.

[@mikeymike758]

HandyGuy 2016: What direction/side of a tree do you suggest for mounting the home? North, south, east or west side of a tree? I'm thinking of the heat from the sun? Cheers,

[@HandyGuy2016]

All of ours face West.

[@mikeymike758]

@@HandyGuy2016 That's what I was thinking, west or north, as the Squirrel nests that they built are way up in my large maple tree are on the west/north side. Thanks for your reply. Cheers, :-)

[@jonettehoward9164]

​@@mikeymike758I was reading on some wildlife site where they mentioned positioning the house East or South away from prevailing winds

[@millieatr]

Very good job sir ,,, i have found for me it turns out better if i use a Maxwell House can instead of Folgers 😃

[@HandyGuy2016]

😂😂😂 good stuff

[@jayh9529]

At least they got somewhere to hang there coats

[@MonicaEGolak]

Hi there just bump into you here. Nice work! If that is not really love for those little creatures,Well... I don´t know what is then!

[@JesusIsaFlatEarther]

Sounds like a great idea, but how do birds know not to move in?

[@HandyGuy2016]

Isaiah40:22 It is funny to watch, but the squirrels chase them away :)

[@PeacefulThoughts303]

They do. They bicker and fight over who lives in it but the squirrels usually always win. One time a bird almost ran a squirrel off, so I ran outside and shooed it away. Now only squirrels live in all of the houses.

[@DanielGarcia-gl2ol]

You write squirrel house on it

[@terrilynn1771]

How come you didnt use just 1 piece for the roof ?

[@HandyGuy2016]

Tee Lynn So that the roof would hang over for shade and protection.

[@terrilynn1771]

Ooo ok thank you

[@terrilynn1771]

You inspired me...so I went to home depot and got the pine piece you said ... it was 70 percent off it had the tiniest chip on the end. Thank you so much for sharing your video

[@MikeG-gd3sy]

Only making 20 bucks an hour after material and editing. 😂 Jk. It's good.

[@georgiaparker9836]

Thank you for this!!!!

[@shattered0717]

I would love to see how to attach it to the tree I have always wondered about that.

[@HandyGuy2016]

I used outdoor treated screws to attach it to the tree top and bottom.

[@petericeman100]

Thanks, I have to build 2 this week.

[@maxiesheba1438]

45 degrees for whose simplicity? That makes it difficult for the young ones to climb up to the roof and hang on to it, or climb down and stay on it. 15 degrees or 30 max is what my friend squirrels told me.

[@gavinplayz3621]

awesomeeee

[@erikvonbold]

How do you attach it to a tree?

[@HandyGuy2016]

Depending on the tree type, screws, ratchet straps, or cleats.

[@MS-in3sl]

if the toenails came through to the inside of the house, they will injure the animal, especially the tail.

[@mikeymike758]

Not ! Squirrels run into all kinds of pokey sharp things in the wild. They climb and eat roses and thistles. Just saying. :-)

[@MS-in3sl]

@@mikeymike758 A thistle in the wild and a nail in the nestbox are in no way comparable. Obviously, no one making nestboxes wants a nail to poke through. I’ve been tempted to use Liquid Nails, but you don’t want to use chemicals because they chew on everything. Maybe we can use thistles as fasteners 😉. Anyway, there’s no perfect design. Observing how they use their nestbox always gives me ideas for innovations when making the next one.

[@mikeymike758]

@@MS-in3sl No disrespect, but did he say "just let the toenails just be exposed in the house"? You build yours and upload how you did it. Cheers

[@MS-in3sl]

@@mikeymike758 we’ll just never know about those toenails. I put the bottom (hinged) on last, so the interior can be seen after all the screws are in to make sure none have come through.

[@boom-bm1kl]

Why does the inside back wall have a face on it..

[@HandyGuy2016]

Lol, never noticed.

[@xenarose3120]

I want this

[@zubrov_v]

I am gonna try and make a house.

[@HandyGuy2016]

You can do it 👍

[@zubrov_v]

HandyGuy 2016 thank you 🙏

[@animallivesmatter7852]

how can I purchase some

[@HandyGuy2016]

I don't sell them, just show how to build them.

[@xenarose3120]

How to buy it

[@HandyGuy2016]

Not for sale, step by step to make it yourself.

[@MikeG-gd3sy]

Hope they don't decide to jump around and get stabbed by all the screws sticking inside.

[@robindestasio7563]

The screws aren't sticking inside, the screws go into the wood.

[@XxProRider]

Sooooooooo slooooooooooow

[@HandyGuy2016]

You are welcome lol 🤣

[@HandyGuy2016]

I didn't make you watch it.

[@mikeymike758]

Get a life Troll. Make a faster video and prove yourself better!

[@pf2007]

@@HandyGuy2016 He must mean he is slow....lol. or dense....

[@pf2007]

@@HandyGuy2016 Great videos and I love the you are making the homes. My squirrels are ground squirrels so I am trying to figure out how to make a rock formation so they dig a home near it...I tried a giant bird house but they won't home in it.