A family of squirrels are living in your attic! Now what? Don’t wait. Here’s how to get rid of squirrels in the attic!
You hear rustling around in your attic one evening. It sounds like fuzzy, scratching and burrowing. Oh oh, it could be a family of squirrels who have taken up residence in your attic! Now what?
If you live in an area where there are a lot of trees, that means there are probably a lot of squirrels, too. But as cute as they are, squirrels can do a lot of damage to your home. These small critters should not be underestimated when it comes to the damage they can make to walls, roofs, attics, insulation, wiring, and more. Nevermind the damage they can do if they get trapped inside your home!
When to Watch out for Squirrels in your Attic
The late summer and early fall is a prime time for squirrels to start building nests, gathering nuts and preparing for a long, cold winter. As a result, squirrels will be looking for warm, cozy places to make a home. Often times, they find your attic to be the perfect place! This is the best time for homeowners to check their roofs, chimneys, attic vents, and gutters for areas where squirrels can get inside. After all, squirrels are just doing what nature tells them to do (hunker down in a safe place). And if they can find a way into your attic, they will turn it into a permanent AirBnB.
How to Get Rid of Squirrels in the Attic
The best methods to get rid of squirrels involve several steps. The first step is to trap the squirrels with a live trap system. Luring the squirrels into the trap will require a little incentive (squirrel bait) such as an irresistible squirrel treat of peanut butter.
Keep in mind, if you have more than one squirrel living in your attic, it may take several attempts, a lot of trial and error with traps, or more than one trap to get the job done. Trapping squirrels isn’t a one-time task unless you’re a wildlife pro. Professional squirrel trappers have trapped thousands of squirrels and other wild animals, so their expertise will be truly appreciated when they show up at your door!
If you aren’t experienced with handling wild animals, we advise to never attempt to catch squirrels with your bare hands, with nets or other containers. Risking a bite from a rodent is a quick way to end up at the doctor’s office for stitches, or worse, a series of rabies shots. Live trapping is the best method to catch squirrels for removal and relocation.
The quickest way to get rid of squirrels is to call wildlife removal experts in your area and let them do what they do best. In most cases, they can remove the squirrels on the same day.
Squirrel Exclusion
Many wildlife removal experts will remove squirrels and other wildlife from a structure by exclusion methods. The exclusion is set up to allow the animals to leave, but not be able to re-enter. Many exclusion services such as these are performed with rodents, birds, bats, raccoons, and squirrels.
The best method for squirrel removal is squirrel prevention! Keeping squirrels out of your attic by means of exclusion will not only save you a lot of money but a lot of headaches. Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners rarely think of squirrels or other rodents invading their attics, roofs, crawlspace, or walls until it’s too late. An exclusion will be necessary after any squirrel or wildlife inhabitation to prevent this situation from happening again.
After you have trapped and successfully removed squirrels from your attic, the dirty work of repairs, exclusion and clean-up will have to be done. Many times, if squirrels have been living in your attic or walls for a while, there will be droppings and urine to clean up, wires to repair and walls to fix or replace, depending on how much wood has been chewed through.