Squirrel damage.

15 years ago

I've for fun and before I knew how they can damage a home ( My fathers home) started feeding the local squirrels/birds ( corn/birdseed/stale oats,nuts) We have an Albino one that quite pretty to watch. ( I know these are wildlife and not pets and know they can damage if brought indoors but I didn't know outdoors they could sill do it to a house in reasonable shape)

However Dad has told me to stop feeding them as he says we are getting damage in our actic. To where or what extent remains a mystery to me.

I want to get this under control before babies come in spring and stuff-I was thinking humanely repelling them from the area.

Which ones are good to use?.

How much does it cost to send someone to exam an attic/ house to see if there is any damage, I'm guessing..... a lot.

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Comments (8)

davidandkasie
15 years ago
to check for damage, jsut go up there and look for yourself. they will find the smallest cubby holes to nest in.

the humane thing woudl be to seal ALL holes into the house from outside. jsut liek with a rat, if it can gets it's head thru teh body will follow. if it cannot get it's head thru, it will chew it's way along to make the hole bigger. so seal them all.

the only real "repellant" would be several outdoor cats. and even then that is not 100% effective since the cats will tend to wander off from time to time.

now, the BEST thing to do is trap them and remove them far from teh property.
sdello
15 years ago
from firsthand experience once these rats decide to nest in your attic the only way to get them out is to have someone exterminate them.

Squirrels tend to be territorial and don't "relocate" well, unless someone wants to trap them and drive some significant distance and release them back. If you only go a couple of miles they'll find there way back. They really like to nest where they were born so if they've had a chance to have a litter at your house the next generations will stay there too.

I closed one out of the attic and you should have seen how maniacally this thing was attacking my house to get back in. They don't simply go away.

The previous owners let the squirrels from the woods behind create winter nests in the attic. Over the years these things completely stripped the house of all insulation an stuffed it into the soffits where they nested. They chewed wires and made holes in the exterior. You could hear them running around at night while you were sleeping. From the attic they got into the walls and found their way into the house.

Get rid of them now and DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME NEAR YOUR HOUSE. If you want to observe nature then set up some feeders in the woods.

We have rather large soffits on our house
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sierraeast
15 years ago
We have several areas on our build where the soffits plane into the next roof line. It allows critters to get in the soffits if you dont run heavy gauge screen wire and block the access where the soffits meet up. The access is small, but squirrels can get in amazingly small access, so make sure any point of entry is taken care of or you will have problems that sdello mentions along with the possibility of one getting up in there and dying, which wouldn't be pleasant!
manhattan42
15 years ago
Exeterminating them is the only way.

If you block the squirrels access holes with wood or even wire mesh, they will chew right through it...I've watched them do it.

If you cover the holes with sheet metal, they will find another location and chew their way in or out.

Kill them professionally.

It's the only way.
dan_martyn
15 years ago
In my old house I had a bad squirrel problem, they chewed the wiring, insulation and anything plastic in the attic. Someone suggested trapping them. I got a Havahart squirrel trap and put peanut butter on a cracker and set the trap on the ground near the hole they had chewed into the attic. Checked the trap later that day and caught my first one. Took him for a nice long ride, opened the trap, and away he ran as fast he I've ever seen a squirrel run.

Long story short, after catching five in one day and loosing count after 17 - No more squirrels in the hood. Sealed the hole with sheetmetal, no more problems. They Loves peanut butter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Havahart Traps
manhattan42
15 years ago
Add some Rat Poison to the peanut butter and you can save the gas, the cost of a HavaHart trap... and the stink.

Rat Poison dehydrates the animal and they will leave your house voluntarily to look for water...and die along the way.
sierraeast
15 years ago
Then the coyote eats the rat and dies, the buzzards eat the coyote and die, hell, lets just wipe out all the wild life in the area for our own convienence. It's not like they were there first! Yeah, im native american.

You are a kind person, Dan Martyn and i appreciate your method. It rocks!
runsnwalken
Original Author
15 years ago
I agree with Sierraeast.. Besides being cruel and dangerous to people and pets/ wildlife I'm sure its illegal in a lot of cities to do, something like that. I will repel them, I found a good effective squirrel repellent thats safe w kids and pets. I'll seal up the holes too But first I'll wait for the food to vanish( its pretty near that already)