The reason for acquiring a suburban area is often the desire to leave the hustle and bustle in the city, be closer to nature, relax, breathe fresh air. If the site is located near a forest or a park area where squirrels are found, friendship with these funny animals can bring a lot of pleasant moments. Squirrels are curious and friendly animals that often settle close to human habitation if they do not see danger to themselves in this neighborhood. A do-it-yourself squirrel house will be that manifestation of care and attention that the animal will undoubtedly appreciate.
Step-by-step construction of squirrel
The choice of material for a comfortable home
The little rodent has its own predilections, which should be considered when choosing material for the future house. In nature, squirrels prefer to settle in hollows of oaks or coniferous trees. This wood should be preferred. You can make a house of birch and aspen, but this is a rather risky choice. If you build a house for squirrels from poplar, then such a structure will definitely be empty.
Squirrel - a cute animal that will be grateful to you for a warm house
The principles of creating a house for a rodent
A squirrel is an animal with a character that manifests itself even depending on the area in which it lives. Local farmers do not like American squirrels, because they pose a serious threat to the harvest of corn and grain. There the persecuted rodents show amazing coexistence: even a cardboard box, a bucket or plastic containers lying around in the attic of a house can become their house.
Domestic squirrels are proud and picky, but the biker feeder attracted attention
Domestic squirrels are proud and legible. How to make a squirrel house so that it is not empty? It should be borne in mind that each individual needs personal space, although squirrels prefer to settle with families. Therefore, the best option would be a two-story house with an internal partition.
When creating a house should not be used toxic and odorous materials. The more natural the product, the more likely it is that the animal wants to live here. Too big a house is not necessary to build - squirrels can freeze in it. Inside the house, it is better to put moss or cotton from an old mattress - the squirrel will plug the excess slots and equip a cozy nest.
Tool required for work
Before work, you should prepare a tool so that everything is at hand.
- square for cutting;
- roulette;
- pencil;
- wood hacksaw;
- drill;
- nozzle "ballerina";
- sandpaper;
- screwdriver;
- odorless waterproof glue;
- self-tapping screws;
- pencil.
Now you can get to work.
Using Edged Board
To build the simplest, but convenient enough for the squirrel housing, you will need a three-meter edged board with a width of 30 cm and a thickness of 1.8 cm.The drawing of the house for the squirrel is enough to keep in your imagination, because there is no particular complexity in the proposed design. You can verify this if you sequentially perform the following actions:
- measure 55 cm of the board and saw off the workpiece: the back wall of the house is 55x30 cm in size;
- on the back wall, it should be noted 5 cm below and above - these free parts are useful in order to attach a house to a tree for them;
- side walls should be cut so that two parts 45x25 cm come out;
- for the device of the internal partition, a part of 20x25 cm is cut out;
- the top cover of the house should be 30x30 cm, and the bottom - 25x30 cm;
- two small planks are useful for making a porch;
- in the upper left part of the facade, using a "ballerina", make a hole for entry with a diameter of not more than 7-8 cm.
As you can see, you can, without resorting to the drawings, make all the details of the future house. Now it remains only to assemble the design itself. All details of the home should be carefully processed with sandpaper so that the animal does not hurt. First, the base of the house needs to be assembled for glue, and then, making sure that everything is in order, fix it with screws. If the glue has a pungent and persistent odor, discard its use.
Stages of building a squirrel from an edged board
Using logs to build a house
Log houses are more reminiscent of squirrels their natural housing - hollow, so they settle in them with pleasure. The log required for construction should not be less than 40 cm in diameter. Work procedure:
- saw off a wooden circle 4 cm thick - this is the roof of the future house;
- the next detail is a log 40 cm long, which will form the basis of the dwelling;
- in the log you should hollow out a cavity of such a size that the thickness of the bottom and walls is about 3 cm;
- make an entrance, nail the roof of the house and attach a thick branch for the porch at the entrance.
Such a squirrel looks natural, so there can be no problems with matching its site design.
Similar squirrel looks natural and matches any design
Features of the installation of the finished structure
Finished squirrel does not need to be varnished and decorated - this "beauty" will only frighten away the squirrel. In addition, the natural is always more attractive and durable than the artificial.
Five meters from the ground - a height that provides the animal with a sense of security
At installation it is necessary to consider:
- five meters from the ground - a height that provides the animal with a sense of security, so it is not worth placing the belgian below;
- the inlet should be oriented east or, in extreme cases, south;
- Consider the most frequent wind direction in your area so that the entrance to the house is not blown;
- it is better to fasten the house than to nail: take care of the trees.
Now that the house is ready, expect fluffy neighbors. A little trick: arranging next to the house feeders can significantly reduce the time you wait.
