No doubt squirrels are one of the most amazing woodland animals. However, a squirrel inside your home can be trouble. The reason is, these creatures carry ticks and fleas along with them that could be transferred to your other pets or human beings very easily.
If you hear sounds like pitter-patter on your walls or under your bed, you should know the squirrels have entered in your home. It’s time you should take some steps to get rid of these tiny creatures. There are various types of squirrels, but the most common kind is the tree squirrels.
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Control squirrels outdoors
They first inhabit attics and then start causing damage. You can easily discover these because these create a lot of noise. The most common types of squirrels are Eastern gray. These tiny rodents usually adapt the environment where they feel cozy and comfortable. In the cold months they try to refuge and get warm that’s why in these seasons they are mostly found in attics.
Here are some tips and methods that will aid you to get rid of these outdoor squirrels in no time:
1. Remove all squirrel food
If you keep any food related to squirrels in your attics, remove that instantly. Their presence in the attic is not a new problem. You would know their presence by the scratching as well as by bumping noise above your ceiling.
Attics are the best places for storing food and squirrels remain warm in it. Don’t let any trash in attics because it attracts the squirrels tremendously. Perform a regular and detailed inspection of your attic at least twice a month. If you find doubt or you notice something strange, remove that without wasting any time. Remove all kinds of food as they can also get appealed by the aroma of food.
2. Squirrel-proof your bird feeders
The noise and existence of squirrels can be astonishing in your big backyard, but sometimes it can be annoying as well. By buying customized feeder and store netting pieces, you can easily dodge this tiny creature as it would save the food you placed for birds, and your birds won’t fly hungry.
The best and colorful bird seeds like black oil, sunflower seeds, as well as other nuts, seem very attractive to not only birds that fly around but also to the squirrels. The best thing you can do to avert squirrels eating these seeds is to put the seed around the bird netting. The cage should be small in size that the squirrels do not fit inside the cage. Keep the bird feeder area neat and clean so that the squirrels do not get attracted toward the aroma of residues of food.
Squirrel can only jump at the height of 10 feet or more, so try placing the cage of feeder away from the fence or trees so that squirrel finds difficulty in reaching the point.
3. Protect your garden with a fence
Are you still finding a way to keep the squirrel out of your garden daffodils? Or they are enjoying this season’s vegetable before you get to enjoy in your separate garden. The aroma of fresh vegetables and fruits can force the squirrel for jumping into your yard and getting his hands on these veggies.
Nevertheless, you should not worry as the perfect solutions to this problem are available. Read further to get to know these solutions:
4. Electric wiring around the garden
Electric wiring around the garden is one of the best solutions to get rid of squirrels. It is a live trapping squirrel method. This solution will surely give you lifetime relief from these squirrels. It is the best and most effective method to protect your fruits and vegetables from these creatures.
5. Wire mesh fencing
Another effective method to protect your garden is by installing C Fence. When a squirrel tries to climb the fence, he will end up falling on the ground. It is a method worth applying.
Remove the aroma of fruit, nuts, and seeds from your garden. Clear your garden before they get into it. Make sure you throw the trash securely so that squirrels don’t get attracted to it.
6. Use squirrel repellent
Squirrels look cute when they are climbing and scurrying from tree to tree, but once they get into your attics or garden, they result to become outright menaces. Act like a detective and find out the areas where there is a possibility for the squirrels’ residents. So are you looking for the best squirrel repellent? Here we go:
- Dry repellent
If you want to get rid of these squirrels away from the bird feeders, then go for dry repellent. Crush and mix well the combination of spicy seasoning such as spice rack, gather paprika and cayenne red pepper flakes. Then sprinkle this mixture on places where you want the squirrels to dig the ground.
The best thing of repellent animal control is that once you sprinkle it in the ground, the squirrels never bother to come back. You can also get several readymade repellents on the market.
- Sonic repellent
Sonic repellents can be used for this purpose, as the high tones emitted by this repellent annoys the sensitive sense of squirrels especially the gray squirrel type. If you sprinkle the sonic repellent around your attic and roofs, the squirrel will not come near your house.
7. Motion activated sprinklers
These will help spray the squirrels away when they get too close, added with the benefit of watering the lawn.
Damages done by the squirrels indoors
Small squirrels are very destructive. These little rodents start chewing wires and phone cables. They urinate around the attic and ruin all the surroundings. The existence of these tiny creatures can cause damage to your valuables and expensive things as well.
They are very hard to catch. Squirrel make holes in your walls leading to an immense damage. It leaves stains on the walls which are very difficult to remove. This act will also make your ceiling stink a nasty smell. Sometimes the ceiling breaks apart, and sometimes it starts leaking.
Moreover, it damages your indoor plumbing due to which your sewage system gets disturbed. The major problem that occurs due to the presence is that these squirrels love jumping and bumping from one tree to another. In result, these creatures carry nuts and pine cones from roof to roof. As they roll on your roof, they keep dropping their goodies into your houses and sometimes in gutters.
They clog the gutter making it miserable to solve the issue. The gutters then don’t work properly, and water stands all around. When it rains, the rainwater stream down the walls and creates a pool at the bottom of the surface. These squirrels lower the value of your property. Renovation after the destruction caused by the squirrel is very expensive.
Control squirrels indoors
You can use different traps to catch the squirrels and throw them out of your house. There are different traps available in the market as well as some home remedies which you can adopt to stop the entry of squirrels in your house.
Follow the below steps and techniques that will aid you to get rid of those unwanted squirrels.
1. Make sure your attic doesn’t have food in it
The first and the most important method you can take to get rid of the presence of squirrels is to remove the food from your attics and back yards. Food attracts the squirrels. If you hear the noise of these rodents’ feet, then waste no time and remove the squirrel food immediately.
Avoid the entry of fox squirrels. If there is some food in your garden, plan some consistent trapping program with the squirrels. If you want to keep these squirrels away from your house remove all kind of foods that can force the squirrels to get into your attics or garden.
2. Trim branches that hang close to your roof and chimney
The squirrels mostly use trees as their living homes. If some of the branches of a tree are near to your roof or chimney, these squirrels will reach your house. Therefore, quickly trim those branches. Squirrels love hanging on wall and trees. These pretty squirrels are mostly found on trees, and as mentioned earlier the branches of the tree are the most comfortable entry area to your house.
Squirrels are very good at jumping so make sure that there is no other way to jump from trees into your house. Observe all the trees and planting areas around your house carefully that are in the range of squirrel jumping length. They may also try to jump from a close tree directly in your attic.
3. Place a guard over the chimney
By hanging on trees, they can enter through the chimney as well. Try not to keep any food on the chimney so that the squirrels don’t bother to go there. It is observed that they roam during the daytime and rest during the night time, so the best advice you can follow is that go into the roof side during the day time and seal the areas which you consider as the entry points for the squirrels.
Set some smoke bomb in your gutter or in all entry points where there are chances that the squirrels can enter in your house. The gutter guards will help to reduce the entry points through different spots. Seal all the entry points. You can also set a trap at the possible entry points of the chimney.
4. Provide an escape route
Another important and effective step you can take is to seal all the entry and exit points for the squirrel. These squirrels are very adaptable to the environment, so their houses and living places depend on the location where they are living. You should observe that which locations are there from where the squirrels can enter and leave the house. You should only provide them an escape route. These tiny squirrels must have an escape route from the danger.
5. Buy a live trap
Using a live trap is an effective way to trap a squirrel. Buying a live trap from the market is one of the most effective and common methods used in eastern countries. Live trap is a common method because they are very easy to use. Look for traps which can catch the squirrels. Don’t get a trap that doesn’t allow the squirrels to enter into it. If the trap which you bought is very small, the squirrel won’t get into it. Squirrels love chewing wires so look for a trap that has wires. The squirrel will get attracted very fast. You can also get some plastic traps.
6. Call animal control
Animal control professionals should be called for the removal of squirrels. They make attics a beautiful place to living. You can call the animal control office for the removal services if you won’t like to afford the squirrels tearing up the walls and roofs. However, the best way is to first try all the different methods for the removal of these pesky squirrels.
Take necessary steps to stop the squirrels from making the attic their permanent living place. There are several one-way exclusive door traps available. It is one side open. These one-way exclusive doors allow the squirrels to exit the attic but then never allow them to enter again.
Conclusion
We now know that squirrels love attics. You can use different trapping methods to prevent the squirrels from entering in your attic. Squirrels are very cute as well as a small creature. They enter into the houses just for shelter, but their presence may sometimes be very harmful as well.
Once you get to know the entry points, from where the squirrels enter, quickly block them. You can shut these entry holes through steel mesh. They usually make noise by rolling the nuts and fruits on the ground. If you find noise in your house about some rolling or jumping off small creatures and you get annoyed, call the animal control center to get rid of them instantly. After their successful removal, fix all the affected areas by squirrels and enjoy your winters again.