What Are the Steps Involved in Squirrel Removal?
Squirrels are nuisance wildlife that often cause damage to homes and structures. They are known to chew through wires, duct work, chimneys and insulation. Homeowners are alerted of squirrel infestation by hearing gnawing and scratching sounds, and finding droppings and nesting materials inside.
A professional wildlife control specialist at Lookout Pest Control (formerly Any Pest Inc) can quickly and affordably take care of these pesky pests.
Trapping Squirrel control into homes and other buildings to find shelter and food. They often enter through unoccupied attics or through holes in eaves or the roofline. They may also gain entry through a chimney that has not been properly sealed. Squirrels can be trapped safely and humanely using live traps.
Before setting a trap, it is important to inspect your property for signs of squirrel activity. These include droppings that look like small pellets with rounded ends, and tracks around the exterior of your home. It is also a good idea to check your trees and branches for hollow areas, nests, and damage to bark.
Once you have caught a squirrel, take it to a location away from the house. Do not attempt to touch or hold the animal, as this will scare it. Put on heavy gloves before approaching the squirrel, and use a blanket to wrap it. This will keep the animal calm and help prevent it from running away. Once the animal is comfortable, carry it outside and place it on the ground far from your home.
After squirrels have been trapped and relocated, it is essential to modify your property to make it less attractive to wild animals. This can be done by cleaning up woodpiles, leaf litter, and other debris. It is also a good idea to seal any entry points that might allow squirrels to enter your home, such as gaps and cracks with caulking. For bigger openings, you can use a product such as Xcluder Fill Fabric or metal flashing. You can also purchase a product called Critter Ridder, which is an insecticide that will repel squirrels and other pests.
Exclusion Once a squirrel has been removed, preventative measures should be in place to help stop them from returning. This involves modifying the environment to make it less attractive and preventing access points from being used. This includes clearing away debris and woodpiles, limiting exterior seed food sources, covering chimneys with caps, and keeping all doors and windows closed when not in use. It is also a good idea to trim tree branches that hang over the roof or eaves. Finally, sealing cracks and crevices where squirrels can enter should be done with caulk or metal flashing to prevent them from chewing their way back in.
Squirrels can be difficult to remove once they have nested in attics and loft spaces, as they tend to gnaw their way out of walls and through insulation, and they can cause substantial damage. Typically, homeowners will know that there is a problem when they hear scratching or gnawing noises during the day. Additionally, they may notice urine odors or foaming or bubbling in the ceiling or walls.
In some cases, it is possible to frighten squirrels into leaving homes by banging on the attic rafters, playing a radio around the clock, or putting rags soaked in apple cider vinegar inside the attic. However, it is important to remember that trapping squirrels in cages can be stressful for them and they can die of heat stroke or injury. It is always best to hire a professional who knows how to humanely catch and relocate wildlife from attics and other out-of-reach places in buildings.
Preventative Measures While squirrels can be fun to watch, they do not belong in your home. When these rodents invade your house, they often cause significant damage that requires immediate attention. The best way to deal with the problem is to prevent it before it occurs. This requires modifying your environment to be less attractive to squirrels and closing any entry points into your house.
Squirrels will usually enter your house through attic vents, damaged shingles, cracks in the foundation, or openings around utility penetrations. Detailed inspections of your property must be done to find these entry points. Caulking or hardware cloth can be used to seal these gaps, preventing reentry by squirrels. You should also regularly inspect the exterior of your home and trim any branches that hang low or close to the roof, preventing access.
Inside the house, signs of a squirrel infestation include droppings (foul-smelling pellets with rounded ends that resemble mouse poop) and urine, and gnawing or chewing marks in walls and ceilings. You may also hear gnawing and scratching at night or during the day.
The best preventative measures are to remove food sources and water sources that can attract squirrels, such as accessible garbage bins, bird feeders, and pet food. You should also use deterrents to discourage them, such as motion-activated sprinklers or ultrasonic repellents.
Inspection Squirrels seek to invade homes primarily for three reasons: food, shelter, and nesting areas. Preventative measures like removing accessible outdoor food sources and using natural deterrents can help homeowners address squirrel infestations without resorting to lethal means.
Thorough inspections of a property can help identify entry points that squirrels use to enter and exit a home. These include gaps around roof vents, gable vents, attic vents, and construction gaps that occur between the fascia board and roof sheeting. These openings can be sealed with caulk, wire mesh, or hardware cloth to prevent squirrel re-entry.
A homeowner can also seal up potential pestemite entry points by removing plant debris in the yard and blocking access to woodpiles, piles of leaves, and other places that squirrels may shelter or raise their young. The removal of bird feeders and modification of feeding schedules can further limit outdoor food sources for squirrels. Inside, homeowners can reduce their vulnerability to a squirrel invasion by keeping all food in tightly-sealed containers.
Finally, one-way doors can be used to humanely trap and release squirrels that are trapped in a home. These can be purchased from many online and local hardware stores, and they are easy to install. Before attempting to install a one-way door, homeowners should carefully locate all entry points the squirrels are entering and leaving through. They should then ensure that there are no gaps or holes around the one-way door and that it is secured with galvanized steel.