Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Trapping UP Michigan "flying squirrels"

This past winter I helped a friend of mine do some trapping, which I had never done before. In some fox/coyote sets and some small conibears we caught a bunch of squirrels I had never seen before. My friend is an experienced trapper, and he says I wouldn't have seen them because they are nocturnal. Has anyone seen these? They aren't like southern flying squirrels. I had never heard of nocturnal squirrels before. Why were they attracted to our traps?

When I started years ago, Flying Squirrels were not a very common call we would get. Now we get calls for them on an almost daily basis. There are some core areas local to me that have very large populations of them. I believe most we find are Southern Flying Squirrels, where in your area both may be common, but more so the Northern Species which is a little larger. They are a communal animal, and once you find the location are easily caught, sometimes 20-30 can come from inside one home. Their infestations can sometimes mimic a mouse issue, being that they are nocturnal , people will describe scratching, scurrying around in the ceilings at night. I do not find them so much around conifers,(Red Squirrel habitat) but hardwood areas with mature growth trees such as walnuts-oak-beech etc., or around yards that have bird feeders. We will usually try to live trap them, and my son will hold over numerous one till spring, and then do a release in an area we know is suitable for them. They are also easily caught with Rat Snap traps. Not sure why they would frequent your sets in the winter, but my guess would be he was using some type of meat for bait, and the fat attracted them like suet would at a feeder. Really interesting and very docile animals. Hope this helps.

I see them sometimes, while bowhunting, right about dark. they are kinda neat, a friends spin feeder was stuck last winter, and there was a Flying squirrel frozen between the barrel and the spinner, dont know how it got in there!

I had never even heard of these, let alone seen one. The fur is actually kind of nice.

Any pics?

Sorry, no. I should have gotten some, but I didn't even think of it.

Do you have them identified? Or might they be sugar gliders?

I've never heard of sugar gliders before. The guy I was trapping with called them flying squirrels. They had some loose skin between the rear and fore legs that with a little imagination could be thought to resemble wings.

It would be pretty surprising to find wild sugar gliders in Michigan.

Flying squirrels are fun to watch. I haven't seen any in a long, long time.

Taxidermists will sometimes buy flying squirrels (frozen whole).

We used them as bait.

Youper, we had them in the attic of our old house prior to some renovations to keep the weather out (newaygo county). At first I thought they were just small reds until I shot some.

I trapped & released the survivors with a live trap. That was quite a while back and I haven't seen any since--but unless you see one gliding in the evening, it may be a tough call.

the DNR lists them as a "northern flying squirrel"

DNR Squirrels

Those ones in the link are the ones. They are about as long as a red squirrel, but twice as big around and have a head twice as big. The tail has shorter hair, and looks almost rat like.

https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/13556735.jpg

https://www.texvetpets.org/wp-conte...lstein-sugar-glider-image-01-610x428.jpg

I have them here in Ohio. My wife has some as pets. (They are marsupials that come to you when called, and like people)

looks tropical...:)

I hope you are joking and not really that dumb...

What, you don't think sugar gliders could handle UP cold???
Or even Ohio?
Just because they are tropical and cannot stand to be even slightly chilly?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/69357.jpg


Do I look like I'm kidding, dumass?

There are sugar gliders all over the country. Folks raise them for sale (as we do) and some get loose. (So I wouldn't be too surprised to find them in Michigan) They are no more indigenous to this area than pigs are to Texas, but they do exist.(ask any Texan about if pigs exist) Both gliders and flying squirrels can glide, but they are very different. Squirrels are rodents, and gliders are marsupials, among other differences.

And the likelihood of a sugar glider surviving a Single UP cold snap?

The Virginia possum is far better suited for cold, yet they seem unable to colonize the UP even after centuries of spreading. There is a huge difference between a lone feral specimen and a reproducing population... or even a single sugar glider in midwinter cold.

Not likely. But that is why I asked about pics. However, it was thought at one time, that Ohio had no poisonous snakes and that was proven wrong. We have at least 3 species. I've seen photos taken by a reliable source, showing a mountain lion in Florida. Sometimes, nature disagrees with our own reasoning.

Where flying squirrels are common it is quite a leap, and glide, to consider sugar gliders in numbers great enough to allow someone to trap "a bunch" of them in one weekend...

Ain't nobody coming along next week with pictures of herds of gliders descending on Ishpeming through the falling snow.

Now that's a thought! Hmmm....breed flying squirrels to lemmings and vampire bats! Damn, why did I never learn how to Photoshop? That would go VIRAL!! Lol.

Sugar gliders are illegal to own in Pa.
Concern of them going feral, supposedly.

I've had many encounters with them over the years, but 2 stick out in my mind. One year while bow hunting just at dark, I had one glide in and lands in my lap. Before I could comprehend what had happened, the little bastard ran up inside my jacket. Still not knowing WTF was on me, I did my best drunk Ninja moves ever 20 feet off the ground. All I can say is I thank God I was wearing a harness that day. The second memorable time was when I rat trapped 13 in one weekend out of my cabin. The first 12 were all males in full squirrel rut. Number 13 was the female. As soon as I got her I never saw or heard another one in the cabin.

I have a flying squirrel living in the wall of my box blind. I haven't seen him but I hear it land on the roof and then crawl over the eave and into a gap in the outside wall. A brief bit of rustling noises and he is curled up for the day. At dark the noise and movements reverse.

Occasionally, a flying squirrel will be seen in the tray feeder but not often as the deer tend to clean it out as soon as it's filled. Every now and then one will hear a thump as a squirrel lands on the tray and shining a light will yield a pair of eyes looking back. They aren't very tame as any movement has the squirrel heading up the tree and gliding off to other parts. That reminds me I have to get a couple bird houses up for them to use. I keep putting it off but I really need to get going on that. The Owls need something to eat...

This brings back memories while doing Air Force survival in the Canadian woods. We had them gliding about where we were but one night one didn't make it to the next tree as it got intercepted by an owl that was passing through. You could see them with the moon light and all of the snow. Cheers NC

I can't believe in Michigan that they're a protected species and cannot be taken by any means at any time. Yet, weasels, which are not very numerous in Michigan, can be killed at any time for any reason. Virtually every woodlot is infested with Flying Squirrels, just most folks don't see them because they're nocturnal.

Our DNR are morons.

I better look into that. I had no idea they were protected. Furthermore I have no idea how to keep them out of the traps. These were coyote sets for cryin' out loud.

Direct from the PDF guide:

Eagles, hawks, owls, spotted fawns, spruce grouse, flying squirrels, wolverines,
lynx, moose, cougars, cub bears, and sow bears accompanied by cubs may not
be taken at any time. All nongame birds are protected, except starlings, house
sparrows, and feral pigeons.

You misspelled dumbass.
Youper, I have seen them at night when I go outside to put some corn out for the deer. When ya get a pic on the trail cam and you see some eyes glowing in the brush or somewhere, likely it is a flying squirrels eyes shining. My son left a pound of chocolate covered peanuts on the stand one night. Figuring it was going to be 0 out , the coons wont get them. The next morning they were gone. Flying squirrels no doubt.

I spelled it the way I chose, to make sure it didn't just say "bleep"

Yes. Pretty much nocturnal. Only time I see one is sunlight, it's abandoning a firewood tree that just starting to tip over.

I have seen the northern flying squirrel in Nova Scotia kind of look like a cross between a red and a hamster used to see them when logging old timber and at night.or evening. Been a long time since I've seen one probably something to do with toilet paper and pulp. I have seen the southern flying squirrel in VA in the evening while bow hunting they're small like a big mouse.

The northern flying squirrels I have seen up close eyes about the size of a dime definitely nocturnal. Not close enough to the southern but I'm sure they're very similar.

Good luck and shoot straight all

Weasels (ermine) are predators very efficient and kill animals much larger than them selfs...they are more common than you think....only time they are really seen is on the high side of there population cycle....I have targeted them trapping my usual buyers are taxidermists.....

We have ermine in our deer camp most every year up in the western end of the UP.They keep the mouse population down.Fearless little turds.Had one tagging along with me one time when hunting a cedar swamp.
When I would find a good spot and sit, out would pop this little white head watching me.

Youper,

We have them in northern WI as well.


A big flood light outside the cabin would reveal the little bastids in the shadows.
Their diet is pretty diverse - eating nuts, seeds, fruits, insects and bird eggs mostly but they'll chomp on meat when it's available.

Flying squirrels are very common in Da U.P., but one hardly sees them. They are very nocturnal.

I’ve mostly seen them as ‘incidentals’ in certain types of traps. Loggers May see them as den trees are cut. A relative has a bunch in the backyard that are visible with dim lighting at night.

We have them pretty thick in southern Houghton County. The odd thing is that as the flying squirrel population has increased, we don't see as many red squirrels in the area. I was wondering what I kept picking up on my trail cameras, until I finally got a few good pictures of them. I've also seen them in Copper Harbor, so they've made it to the tip as well.