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How To Keep Squirrels Out of Your Home
Squirrels are expert chewers, as are all rodents. Wood is a primary material for them to wear their teeth on. They can chew right through the wood of your house in
order to get inside. If you want to keep squirrels out of your home, first of all you should trap and remove them, but then you should repair the entry points. It's silly
to trap and remove squirrels but to leave the entry points open - vulnerable and exposed. New squirrels will just come in! After the squirrels have been removed from the
building, it's a good idea to seal up the entry points. Steel of some kind, often in the form of steel mesh, or hardware cloth as it is known, is a good choice. Squirrels
can't chew through steel. See the below photos for a couple examples of repairs to areas that squirrels have chewed open.
Here's a hole in a soffit that a squirrel chewed. Notice the flimsy screen in the soffit vent gap. Squirrels love to chew their way into weak areas like this. The flimsy screen is replaced with a steel screen that squirrels can't chew through.
Here's a case in which a squirrel has, for some reason, chewed a very large hole right through the wood. They don't need this much space to gain access
to the eave and the attic, but squirrels do like to chew. They are rodents, after all. In this case, I installed a steel screen across the entire span of the soffit, because this squirrel was really into chewing.
Here's a hole right in the wood, at the seam. Once a squirrel gets its teeth around any bit of wood, it'll chew it's way through.
Here's a dopey little photo of an early repair. I usually use better repair techniques now, but I don't take many photos of the hundreds of squirrel repairs
that I've performed.
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If you don't live in Florida click my Nationwide Directory of Wildlife Professionals serving almost every town, in all 50 states.
For more squirrel trapping information, go back to the Orlando squirrel control page. If you need professional wild animal control for
squirrels in the Orlando Florida area, you can call me directly. I run a nuisance wildlife control company, and serve central Florida.
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PHOTOS: For great pictures of squirrel trapping and removal, click on my: Squirrel Photographs gallery. |
Here is a complete list of my squirrel control pages:
Baby Squirrels in the Wall
Squirrel in the Chimney
How to Get Squirrels Out of Your Attic
How to Get Rid of Squirrels in the Attic
Squirrels Chew on Your Home
Squirrel Control
How to Get a Squirrel Out of the Wall
Squirrel Photographs
How to Get Rid of Squirrels
How to Keep Squirrels Away from House
How to Kill Squirrels
How to Catch a Squirrel
How to Trap a Squirrel
Ways To Chase Squirrels Away From Your Home -
Once squirrels have infested your home and garden, it can feel like an almost impossible task to get rid of them. Even if they are on your property but not yet in your house, it is important to chase them away as soon as possible, otherwise you risk them sneaking into your house as soon as they find a crack or a hole in your wood or brickwork. There are several helpful ways you can adjust things in your home and garden that will discourage squirrels from sticking around, although you must be aware that the most effective way to get rid of them is to trap or kill them.
If you have bird feeders in your garden, there is a good chance that squirrels are using it as a permanent source of food. They love nuts and seeds, so it’s perfect for them, especially in winter when food supplies are scarce. You should invest in a squirrel guard for your bird feeder pole, and ensure that they are positioned as far away as possible from trees and ledges. On top of this, if you have plastic bins you should replace them as soon as possible with metal ones, as squirrels can chew through plastic easily but not through metal!
Will Squirrels Chew Wires -
When you discover wires that have been chewed in your home, the first thing that comes to mind is that you have a mice or rat infestation. That is sometimes the case, but people should know that squirrels chew wires as well. Before you find a way to get rid of the pest that you have, you should know exactly the beast that you are dealing with. The ways to catch a squirrel and mice are different and therefore if you try to catch mice when you have squirrels, it may be prove useless. If you have spotted the squirrels then you should act accordingly.
When you have squirrels in your home, you may feel as if they act as if they have to chew wires. If that thought ever crossed your mind, then you would be right. They must chew or their teeth will grow to the point that they can no longer eat and therefore die. The teeth also grow very fast and that is why they may do a lot of damage to the wiring. Squirrels chew wires, but if you want to stop them you may want to use metal cabling around the wires; however nothing is more effective than getting rid of the squirrels altogether.
Do Squirrels Chew Pipes -
If you have ever wondered or worried about the question whether squirrels chew pipes, you need only to remember that squirrels are rodents. Rodents have front teeth that need to be “ground down.” If rodents cannot chew on things, their incisors will grow to such lengths as to become unmanageable. In fact, their front teeth can grow so long that they can’t use them any longer for eating and they will literally starve to death. It is in the squirrel’s best interest to chew on anything and everything it can. Some materials on which to wear down their teeth are better than others but in general, squirrels don’t much care what it is they chew on, unless it’s food.
Squirrels may not purposely choose to chew on pipes, preferring something edible, but they will certainly try. Copper pipes are fairly soft and can be chewed up, causing all kinds of problems, like flooding your house. Determined squirrels can also chew through PVC pipes. Even lead pipes have been reported to be chewed through. If they chew through a natural gas pipe, it can actually cost someone’s life. For this and other reasons, it is important to get rid of squirrels.
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