It’s not uncommon for squirrels to enter your home. Whether they climb in your attic or rustle through your walls, your home is in many ways the ideal location for a squirrel to settle. It’s warm, it’s protected from predators, and there’s even insulation for nesting. Here’s what you need to know about squirrel control.

How to Tell You Have Squirrels

The easiest way to tell you have squirrels is to see them – either on your roof or in your attic. Squirrels will likely leave behind evidence in the form of droppings and damage to your property – look for chew marks or scraps of nesting material. Finally, if they’ve been inside your house for long enough, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to smell them, as they’ll leave urine and feces behind.

Why You Need Squirrel Pest Control

Essentially, you need to keep squirrels out of your house for three reasons:

1. They bring disease and pests inside.
2. The smell and noise are both offputting.
3. They can cause serious damage to your home by chewing through walls, pipes, and wires.

Squirrel Pest Control

By the time you notice a squirrel infestation, the squirrels are well established in your attic or the walls. By then, squirrel deterrents and repellents are not effective.

It is a very good possibility that a single squirrel found in the attic (especially during breeding season) will be a female looking for a nesting area. During non-breeding months there may be multiple squirrels in the attic.

Scent & Ultrasonic Squirrel Deterrents

There are many claims of deterrents that work to get rid of squirrels. There are multiple ultrasonic devices on the market and numerous squirrel control articles with DIY scent solutions. None of them work.

Squirrels usually always stay near the edge of the attic anyway, near a well-ventilated soffit, and the scent odors just don’t help because of this.

In addition, the entire attic is too well ventilated using ridge vents, attic fans, gable vents, and other ventilation. I have even seen the very cotton balls soaked with the deterrent scent incorporated into the nest in the attic. Research has confirmed the ineffectiveness of scent deterrents and ultrasonic devices.

Light/Strobe Repellents for squirrels

The practice of leaving a light on, or using a high-intensity light often isn’t annoying enough and the squirrels get used to it. If there’s a strobe light, they may move to another spot in the attic or just end up somewhere else in your home such as the walls.

Either way, squirrels are not going to leave an attic because of lights, most especially if they have already nested and young squirrels are present. Besides, the lights will have to be connected into existing wiring and/or batteries/bulbs changed etc. Crawling around in the attic is NOT fun and doing so repeatedly is even less so.

Let’s reiterate this, squirrel repellents such as light/sound/scent deterrents don’t work effectively. They certainly don’t work to evict an animal that has already moved in.

To solve the problem, the squirrels have to be removed from your attic and around the property.

Squirrel Removal Services

There are several humane ways to remove squirrels from your property. One way doors are popular – when the squirrel leaves, they can’t return. You can also set a trap and relocate the squirrel. However they are removed, one of the most important things to remember is this: after the squirrel has been removed, you need to seal the holes they used to access your home. Luckily, the technicians at Critter Control® are able to seal any entry points around your home for you.

Exclusions for Squirrel Control

Once you have gotten the squirrel(s) out of your attic/building, you must do everything that you can to keep them out. You will need to make certain your home or building is properly sealed. Without appropriate/proper sealing, you are letting not only squirrels into the attic, but possibly other wild animals too.

Squirrel trapping solves the immediate squirrel infestation. Your home has already been shown to provide ample resources for squirrels. Without exclusion, you are still at risk for future squirrel infestations.

Because squirrels only need a small entry point, finding all the potential weak spots takes skill and experience.

Exclusion methods keep squirrels and other nuisance wildlife from entering your home. Sealing all vulnerabilities in your roof, soffits, eaves, vents, and chimney is also important.

Contact Us for Squirrel Control

Don’t put yourself at risk by trying to remove potentially infected squirrels. Give us a call at 561-274-0224, or contact us online, and our experts will safely get rid of your squirrel problem.