When you select Critter Control, your wildlife specialist will arrive with the right equipment and supplies needed to effectively and humanely remove the squirrel from your home. The specialist will first perform a thorough inspection to determine the severity of the problem. They will then present you with a custom solution to trap and remove the squirrels. Critter Control will then seal all entry points to lessen the chances of future infestations. In addition, they will apply a sanitization and ectoparasite agent to clean up after these rodents, provide warranty options, and give you an estimate for preventive services.
Squirrels are a common sight throughout Nashville, and it should be no surprise: the state is home to five species of squirrels. In particular, the Eastern gray squirrel is most commonly found scurrying across front yards and public parks. Squirrels become a pest when they get inside your house and create nests. And like most nuisance pests, they’ve become accustomed to living amongst people. So when they need a warm, secure place to nest for the winter and raise their young, homes become a common choice of residence. Attics, walls, vents, and gutters are the most common places for squirrels to enter homes.
Problems with Squirrel Infestations
Squirrels are determined creatures and will chew and rip their way into your attic, creating a hole that can let rain and snow enter. Once inside, they will continue gnawing on wood, tearing insulation to use for their nests, and chewing on wires. These chewed wires create a fire hazard. In addition, they will defecate, and this causes rot as well as a health concern. Squirrels also carry parasites such as ticks, mites, and fleas that can infest your home.
Signs of Pest Squirrels
While we’re aware of all the squirrels around us when outside, we’re not always aware that they’ve come into our home. Because squirrels inflict costly damage and carry parasites and diseases, we need to be just as aware of these rodents as we are of mice and rats.
Although they are all rodents, signs of squirrel trouble are different than those of other rodents:
- Noises in the attic or in the walls, during the day or at dusk and dawn. Scratching, scurrying, and squeaking are all noises associated with squirrels. This is the most important sign because you will probably hear squirrels before you see another type of visual evidence.
- Squirrel droppings in and around the house. Squirrel droppings may be hard to recognize. They look similar to bat droppings. This is something a trained nuisance wildlife specialist would be able to confirm for you. Animal droppings are a sign of a possible infestation and should be investigated, as the feces of rodents and bats carry disease.
- Chewing damage on the outside of your home on the roofline, soffits, or shingles. The front teeth of squirrels continue to grow throughout their lives. They are sharp and are kept at a manageable length by the squirrel’s constant gnawing. They can chew through roofing materials and even metal.
- A foul smell coming from the attic, chimney, or crawlspace. If a squirrel has made a nest in your home, the smell of the accumulation of urine and feces will penetrate your living area.
- Yard damage is another hallmark of squirrel trouble. And you might even be able to catch them in the act. Squirrels will dig up the lawn for nuts, chew on the bark of trees and the twigs of your shrubs, dig up bulbs, and eat fruit off your trees and vegetables from your garden.
Squirrel Trapping and Removal
Depending where the squirrel infestation is will help determine how to get rid of the squirrels.
- Trapping – Squirrels are trapped live, removed, and brought to a safe place to live.
- One-Way Doors – Squirrels that live in an attic go out often during the day to gather nuts and acorns. A one-way door allows them to leave but not come back in.
- Deterrents – Deterrents make your attic a less attractive and hospitable place to live.
- Direct Capture – Direct capture is used if juvenile or baby squirrels are present. The babies are carefully hand-removed and relocated with their mothers. If the mother is not in sight and the young cannot survive on their own, a wildlife rehabilitation center is contacted to provide help.
Squirrel Exclusions
Squirrels only need a gap of 1.5 inches to gain entry. To ensure long-term squirrel control, we identify all current and potential squirrel entry points and seal them.
The most common squirrel exclusion locations on a home:
- Soffits – These are the finishing material, mostly made of wood or fiber cement, that covers the underside of a roof overhang. In addition to helping to make the roofline look aesthetically nice, soffits help keep moisture away from the rafters, reducing the chance of mold. Soffits that are not flush with the siding create a gap for squirrels to enter.
- Fascia Boards – These are thin, longboards that run along the lower outer edge of a roof, covering the entire roofline. They help keep water out.
- Ridge Vents – Ridge vents are air exhaust vents installed on the peak of a roof that provides continuous exhaust ventilation at the highest part of the attic. Squirrels are attracted to the warm air that comes out of these vents.
- Gable Vents – On a gabled roof, these vents are located at the peak where the two sides meet. They usually have louvers, allowing air to flow into the attic, which works to cool it down in warm weather.
- Roof Returns – This is the part of the roof that doubles back to the wall of the house. It is between the end of the roof and a home’s walls.
- Chimneys – Chimneys conduct smoke and combustion gasses up from a fireplace, stove, or furnace and can run through the attic of a house.
- Siding Corners – This is the trim used to keep your siding in a place where the corners meet.
- Gutters – Gutters capture rainwater and melting snow and channel it away from the house. Clogged gutters that prevent precipitation from running will cause deterioration along the roof edge through which a squirrel can enter.
- Plumbing Mats – This is rubber matting covering cylindrical vents on the roof that connect the plumbing system used to exhaust gasses.
Contact Critter Control for Squirrel Removal
If you have a squirrel at home, call Critter Control to humanely show them the exit. Squirrels can become aggressive when approached, especially if there are kits. They are rodents, just like rats, and they carry parasites and diseases as well. Professionals are the quickest and most efficient solution for squirrel removal in your attic, walls, or crawl space.
Critter Control has offices throughout the country. With over 40 years of experience and expert national, state, and local laws, Critter Control is your best choice for the effective and humane removal of squirrels from your home. Contact Critter Control today for your free inspection.