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How to Get a Squirrel Out of An Attic

September 17th, 2016

Squirrel

Chances are you’ve seen a squirrel before — the bushy-tailed creatures are all over the United States and in Southwest Florida. They’re fairly common, with 200 species worldwide, and their populations are quite robust, with mother squirrels often having multiple litters per year. Because they are so common, many homeowners have experienced the pitter-patter of squirrel feet and high pitched noise of babies in their attic. While it might sound cute, squirrels can cause a significant amount of damage and should not be allowed to continue to live in your home. After all, squirrels are rodents. In an effort to help keep our customers informed, we’re going to provide you with some easy tips to get a squirrel out of your attic.

Determine How Many

If you just have one squirrel, possibly a mother attempting to make a nest and preparing for a litter, you’re in luck. Once a mother has a litter, you’ll need to remove the babies by hand because they won’t be moving around yet. If you leave them there, they can die, which can bring forth unpleasant smells, bacteria, and other bugs. If you aren’t sure whether or not you have a litter or just an adult, it may be worth a trip into the attic to look around. If that’s not up your alley, be sure to call your local pest control company. This is a very common occurrence that can easily be handled by a professional.

Trapping and Removing

If you have an adult squirrel, you may want to set a trap. However, keep in mind that this may be difficult to do if you are inexperienced with setting traps. You will also need to frequently check your traps as you do not want the animal to get caught and suffer. Trapping takes some skill and you may need to set multiple traps in hopes of catching the squirrel. Typically, traps are the first step in squirrel pest control management.

Another option is to install a one-way door. Once you have determined how the squirrels got into your home, you’ll want to make sure it won’t be able to happen again. If there are no babies, you’ll be able to install a door which will allow the squirrel to get out to forage for food, but not back in again. However, keep in mind that the young babies do not move about by themselves for the first couple months as they are completely dependent on their mothers. If you trap the mother out, you may end up starving the babies, causing their death. Then you will need to remove their carcasses. Not only is this not very humane, but it causes additional problems because you will need to deal with the biohazard of the remains.

What About Poison?

Although squirrels are rodents, rat poison typically won’t work as squirrels avoid it. You may use some repellents to prevent them from coming back, but sealing their entry is the best way to prevent them from inhabiting your home.

Moving Forward

If you’re confident that you have removed the squirrels, it’s imperative that you examine your entire home to see if there are any spots vulnerable to being penetrated by a squirrel. Seal any and all of those spots to prevent squirrels from entering your home in the future. Additionally, if the squirrels were in your home for some time, you will likely want to decontaminate the area from their droppings and/or any remains.

Call in the Experts

If you try these tips, and you’ve still got a problem, or if this seems like too daunting of a task, be sure to give Alford Wildlife and Pest Management a call. This is a very common problem that homeowners face. Because this is something that we regularly deal with, it’s not a problem for us to come out and help you solve the problem. We’ll also complete an inspection so that you don’t have this problem reoccur. We are here if you need us!

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