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How To Get Rid of Squirrels in the Attic
If you have squirrels in the attic, the first
thing to do to get rid of them is to get them
out. Squirrels go in and out of attics several
times a day. They are not living up there 24/7.
They of course have to go outside to eat and
drink. They must be physically excluded from the
attic, and preferably trapped and removed. There
is no effective product that you can just buy
and apply to make them leave the attic. Examples
of bogus products include mothballs, ammonia,
hot pepper sauce, ultrasonic sound emitters, and
fox or coyote urine. Sorry, these tactics don't
work in the slightest.
1) Trap and Remove - the best way to get
rid of the squirrels in your attic. Of course,
once trapped, they must be relocated far away,
and most importantly, the entry points must be
permanently sealed.
2) One-Way Door - effective if properly
installed and if there are no other ways for the
squirrels to get back in. The squirrel exits the
attic as usual to go outside for food and water,
but it simply can't get back in.
3) Moth balls, ultrasonic sound emitters,
sprays, etc - these won't help in the slightest.
4) The most important thing is to eliminate the
entry points into the attic. See the below
examples.
Gable Entry Points Into Attic - Fixed to
Keep Squirrels Out
1) Squirrels were crawling in and out of
this wide open attic vent.
2) I cover the entire vent with heavy
gauge wire and bolt it down tight.
1) This is a typical gable vent. You
might notice the chewing in the
upper-left corner. I watched squirrels
go in and out of this spot.
2) After I trapped and removed all of
the squirrels, I sealed up the vent with
the heavy steel mesh.
1) This is another gable vent, as seen
from inside the attic.
2) The fan made it a bit more difficult,
but I still installed a steel screen to
keep out squirrels and rats.
1) Yet another giant gable vent, with
old & deteriorated screening.
Squirrels were going in and out of this
opening.
2) The steel screen must cover the
entire space in order to keep squirrels
out of the attic.
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squirrels out of your attic, click the
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Read more articles about squirrels here:
What do squirrels do
with their tails?
How smart are
squirrels?
How big do squirrels
get?
Do squirrels
remember where they bury nuts?
Do squirrels
kill mice, rats, or birds?
How to
identify squirrel tracks
What to do
about a squirrel in the fireplace
What does
squirrel feces look like? Where is it found?
Will a
squirrel chew through the ceiling?
What attracts
squirrels to your yard?
How to get rid
of squirrels in the attic
Do squirrels
attack or bite people?
Are squirrels
ever active at night?
I've written an article here about noises
in the ceiling at night.
More advice for How to get rid of squirrels out
of the attic
When you hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet in
your attic, a problem has arisen. It could be a
rat, squirrels, or many other rodents that have
an annoying habit of making their way into your
home and making a little tiny home for
themselves. One thing is for sure – you will
need to get rid of them, and if you don’t do so
properly and educate yourself first, you could
have a much wider spread problem on your hands.
The squirrels in your attic may be annoying to
the ear, with their teeny-tiny little feet
pattering around above your head when you are
trying to sleep at night, but they will also
bring with them a handful of other problems,
which in turn, could create a very expensive and
disappointing problem as well. Those family
heirlooms that you have nicely tucked away in
your attic could be nibbled by your rodent
problem, as well as your rafters, any electrical
wiring and even the floor and insulation. This
is why it is vitally important to get rid of
them properly.
So, what’s the right way to get rid of the
squirrels that have made their home in your
attic? One of the best ways, and perhaps one of
the easiest, is with traps, but this will come
with its fair share of problems at the same
time. You need to get the right trap, learn how
far away from your house to release the animal
so that it doesn’t come back, and even concern
yourself with a family problem – what happens if
your squirrel has had a teeny-tiny little
family? You may have gotten rid of the mother,
but what about the babies? If you take away
their source of food, (the mother) you will have
tiny little squirrels dying from starvation,
which will not only be incredibly inhumane and
painful for the little animals, but will also
attract many other rodents and bigger problems
if they smell the decomposing animals.
There are other ways that you can try to get rid
of squirrels from your attic – you could try
using a strobe light. This powerful pulsing
light will hurt the poor, sensitive eyes of the
squirrel and could drive them away in a more
natural manner, especially if you buy a good
strobe light and have patience in your quest.
Once you have trapped your animal and removed
it, or driven it away with the help of a strobe
light, it’s time to take a look at how they got
into your home in the first place. If you leave
the holes open, you could end up basically
inviting the squirrels to come back or worse,
invite rats and other rodents and animals in
your home.
The easiest way to get rid of squirrels from
your attic is to hire a professional. They will
not only be educated in how to effectively get
rid of any pests that you have in your home, but
will also be able to help you out at the same
time – giving you information on how to avoid
further pests, how to block up the holes that
they use to get in and out of your home, (some
may even do this part for you) and on top of
that, will give you the peace of mind that your
animal has been removed humanely and released
back into its natural habitat.
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