Squirrel in attic

[bogey21]

Solutions?

George

 

[DeniseM]

-Service that provides animal removal

 

[raygo123]

The bigger challenge is keeping it out. Trees overhanging the house is the most common problem. That's how they get to the roof. Now how do they get in? Check for siding issues. Split levels are notorious where the two roofs meet. Also in the morning look for light penitration where it should no have light coming through. find where they are coming in, and fix.

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[DeniseM]

bogey21 is a senior, and I'm guessing this is not a job he wishes to take on himself. (Nor would I!)

 

[Passepartout]

Probably no good do-it-yourself solutions if you can't (or prefer not to) get in the attic and explore the nooks and crannies from outside on the roof. An animal control outfit might be necessary. Squirrels are clever and pesky critters, as anyone who put up a bird feeder and doesn't want to feed the squirrels can attest.

Good Luck with getting rid of them.

Jim

 

[DaveNV]

I dealt with this three years in a row. Finally resolved it, and haven't been bothered since.

1. Go buy a humane trap (sometimes called Hav-a-Heart traps.) Many feed or pet stores sell them. They have a wire frame, with a one-way trap door at one end. Animal steps on the bait tray inside, the door drops shut, and it's humanely caught. Place the trap on the roof near the hole where the squirrels are getting into your attic. If you're not sure how they're getting in, then place the trap on the ground next to the tree or whatever route they're using to get to the ground when they leave your house.

2. Use Fritos corn chips as bait. They're greasy and smelly, and squirrels love them. I used a plastic picnic tumbler with a dozen corn chips in it, connected to the cage, but laying on its side inside the trap. Sprinkle a few Fritos around the trap to draw attention to the bait.

3. Once the squirrel is caught in the trap, transport the trap with angry squirrel inside it, across town to an area with tall trees, and turn it loose. Wear gloves and do not try to touch it - the little beast will bite the heck out of you. Point the trap toward freedom, and open the door. Squirrel will run from you and up the nearest tall tree, cursing you in squirrel language as it goes.

4. Repeat the process until you have both adults captured and transported. If you think there may be babies, check your attic.

5. BLOCK THE ENTRANCE HOLE TO YOUR ATTIC with squirrel-proof wire grid, attached firmly. (This was why I dealt with this three years in a row - the hole-blocking was done by someone else, and not done right. New squirrels tore the wire off and got back into the attic again the following year. Once the hole was blocked permanently, the invasion stopped. I also trimmed tree branches that were giving them a little squirrel highway to my roof.

6. I don't hate anything, but squirrels are near the top of my "seriously don't like" list. Tree rats. Serve no useful purpose and annoy the heck out of me.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[susieq]

For a quick TEMPORARY solution, throw mothballs around ~ might give you enough time to close entrances.

 

[stmartinfan]

Take care in transporting the trap. My neighbor caught a pesky raccoon in one. Put it in his van to drive it out of our neighborhood. Raccoon got the trap open and started catapulting around the van as he was driving!

 

[raygo123]

bogey21 is a senior, and I'm guessing this is not a job he wishes to take on himself. (Nor would I!)

His city may have animal control and, in our city, will set a trap. In our city moving the animal to a different location is illegal so I would check first. Once the animal is gone, I would consult a "local" siding company to find the problem area. You must find the egress, otherwise others will find it.

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[pedro47]

My I suggest you use a bag moth balls in the attic.

 

[DeniseM]

My I suggest you use a bag mold balls in the attic.

What is that?

 

[silentg]

I think you mean Moth Balls?

 

[vacationhopeful]

I have a permanent squirrel solution method ... not exactly nice ... but extremely effective.

I think squirrels are nicknamed "tree rats" for a reason.

 

[PamMo]

3. Once the squirrel is caught in the trap, transport the trap with angry squirrel inside it, across town to an area with tall trees, and turn it loose. Wear gloves and do not try to touch it - the little beast will bite the heck out of you. Point the trap toward freedom, and open the door. Squirrel will run from you and up the nearest tall tree, cursing you in squirrel language as it goes.

This is what my sister just saw a "kindly" man do in the city park that borders my house. He was rehoming squirrels that were chewing on his roof/siding. Thanks, but I do not need any more squirrels!!!! My truck has gone into the shop every year for the last three years, because squirrels have eaten through cables, wiring, and hoses. Last time, they chewed a hole in my gas tank. Our garage stores the "good" cars, so I have no choice but to park my truck outside. After over $3,500 in "squirrel repairs", I'm ready to trap the next human that releases a squirrel in my lovely, tree-filled neighborhood!

 

[raygo123]

Yes that's exactly why my city does not allow that. An even bigger problem are raccoons.

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[pedro47]

What is that?

Should be moth balls

 

[DaveNV]

This is what my sister just saw a "kindly" man do in the city park that borders my house. He was rehoming squirrels that were chewing on his roof/siding. Thanks, but I do not need any more squirrels!!!! My truck has gone into the shop every year for the last three years, because squirrels have eaten through cables, wiring, and hoses. Last time, they chewed a hole in my gas tank. Our garage stores the "good" cars, so I have no choice but to park my truck outside. After over $3,500 in "squirrel repairs", I'm ready to trap the next human that releases a squirrel in my lovely, tree-filled neighborhood!

It wasn't me. I released the squirrels from my attic outside my city, in an uninhabited forested area.

Alternative options: The animal control company I contacted prior to doing this work myself said they'd drop the occupied trap into a garbage can filled with water. I'm not a squirrel fan (far from it) but I also don't agree that killing the little rodents is the right answer.

Dave

 

[Phydeaux]

Air rifle, or 22 will do the job.

 

[DeniseM]

Air rifle, or 22 will do the job.

So, you shoot a gun in the attic of your house?

 

[raygo123]

Air rifle, or 22 will do the job.

We used to take them behind city hall and shoot-em, but the country made us stop, too many complaints.
So now we send them .

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[Ty1on]

We used to take them behind city hall and shoot-em, but the country made us stop, too many complaints.
So now we send them .

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to the cornfield?

 

[raygo123]

No, a bunch of woods and a creek, tinker's creek. It was the county not country.

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[WinniWoman]

We always keep mice/rat poison in the attic. If we hear something up there, the next day we replenish it and it keeps the critters at bay. Most often, they eat it and go outside to die.

 

[Mister Sir]

This is what my sister just saw a "kindly" man do in the city park that borders my house. He was rehoming squirrels that were chewing on his roof/siding. Thanks, but I do not need any more squirrels!!!! My truck has gone into the shop every year for the last three years, because squirrels have eaten through cables, wiring, and hoses. Last time, they chewed a hole in my gas tank. Our garage stores the "good" cars, so I have no choice but to park my truck outside. After over $3,500 in "squirrel repairs", I'm ready to trap the next human that releases a squirrel in my lovely, tree-filled neighborhood!

I own a tree service and a squirrel family set up housekeeping in the boom of my bucket truck. They did over $5,000 worth of damage to the hydraulic hoses before I was able to evict them. I used a pepper spray type of product from Ace Hardware.

 

[PamMo]

I own a tree service and a squirrel family set up housekeeping in the boom of my bucket truck. They did over $5,000 worth of damage to the hydraulic hoses before I was able to evict them. I used a pepper spray type of product from Ace Hardware.

I feel your pain. I am at wit's end with our squirrels! We've been advised to use mothballs, coyote urine, rat poison, traps, you name it. My husband likes to feed the birds, so I bought him a Yankee Flipper (google it for grins) and the squirrels took it as a challenge. I feel like Bill Murray fighting groundhogs in Caddyshack.