Squirrel Removal
Squirrels are a very unique animals that can be found throughout much of the United States. While many find these animals to be fun to watch and harmless, they can actually cause quite a nuisance when they make their way into your home. Continue reading to learn more about squirrels and how you can remove them from your home.
Why are squirrels attracted to my property?
While squirrels might seem to run around with no real goals in mind, they are actually creatures that are driven by two important desires. These are access to food and a warm, safe shelter. When squirrels find a yard that provides food and shelter, they will most likely flock to it. If your property is full of the various food sources that squirrels like to eat, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and many other items, they will likely try to find shelter on your property too. This often leads to them inspecting your home to find weak points where they can gain access.
What problems can squirrels cause?
While surprising, squirrels are very bad creatures to have around your home and property. Squirrels are very destructive, as they have a penchant for chewing on virtually any material. Oftentimes, if they want into your home, they will find a wood or vinyl structure and gnaw their way through. Once inside of your home, squirrels will chew through drywall, lumber, and many other materials and gain access to most of your home. When they are in attics, they will rip up insulation and create nests and then have their young in there. Also, when in the attic and in your walls, squirrels like to gnaw through any electrical wiring, which can potentially cause a very serious fire. One of the worst aspects about squirrels in the home, even with all their destruction, is that they usually die in hard-to-reach places and make your entire home smell awful.
The destructive tendencies of squirrels are very serious, but it pales in comparison to the diseases these small critters carry. Much like other rodents, squirrels carry many different diseases, each of which could potentially cause serious, even fatal, illnesses and health problems in humans and pets. Squirrels can even spread these illnesses in several different ways. One of the most common is through their droppings, urine, and saliva that they leave virtually everywhere they come into contact with. A less common, though very possible, method of transmission is through direct scratches and bites with humans or pets. Since they carry many harmful diseases and are very destructive, removing squirrels is a very good idea.
How can I prevent squirrels?
Keeping squirrels from entering your home and property might sound like a challenge, but it really will just take some time and effort. The best way to prevent squirrels is to follow a sealing-up process for your home. First, thoroughly inspect your home from top to bottom and identify any areas that could potentially cause problems. Seal any weak points with aluminum sheeting, new siding, or all-weather sealant. Then perform the same inspection on the interior of your home and repair as needed. This should be an excellent fix that will keep squirrels out. Be sure to regularly inspect your home, as natural wear and tear, as well as the weather, can cause new problem areas.
How do I remove squirrels?
Dealing with squirrels in your home might feel like a quick fix. Just put in a one-way door or set a cage trap and remove them one by one, right? As it usually plays out, squirrels present a big challenge, as they can be very intelligent and learn instantly not to get caught if another squirrel falls for a cage trap. In addition, removing any adult squirrels will cause any baby squirrels in your home to die slow deaths and eventually cause terrible smells in your home. Also be aware that trying to remove squirrels on your own can lead to exposure to serious, potentially deadly diseases. When squirrels make their way into your home, these are just a few of the reasons why it is usually recommended to hire a professional wildlife removal service, as squirrels can be a tough pest problem to fix.
Why hire New Jersey Wildlife & Pest Control?
If you have squirrels in your attic, in your walls, or anywhere else in any buildings, you need the professionals at New Jersey Wildlife & Pest Control. Here at New Jersey Wildlife & Pest Control, our experts use our patented removal method, providing for a humane, safe, and effective removal from your home. Whether you are dealing with flying squirrels or gray squirrels common in New Jersey, our patented tunnel system will get them out and keep them out! At New Jersey Wildlife & Pest Control, our specialists have years and years of experience in dealing with virtually every different pest control problem you may be facing, and squirrels are one of our specialties. We always seem to be removing squirrels that the other pest control companies simply couldn’t remove! Give us a call at New Jersey Wildlife & Pest Control if you want your squirrels gone as soon as possible.
How to Remove Squirrels from Chimney?
Although most people likely keep squirrels’ problems limited to their scrambling outdoors, these little creatures will often find themselves indoors too. Whether it’s thanks to accidentally leaving the back door open, an improperly fixed chimney cap, or anything else of a long list of entrances, squirrels will find their way inside if they can. It can be challenging to remove these little guys generally, although chimneys can be an especially difficult place to protect. So, here’s how to remove squirrels from a chimney.
Freeing the Squirrel
While squirrels may make a chimney their home, if used sparingly, most scenarios have squirrels getting stuck after being a bit too nosy. In these situations, squirrels might find their way up your property in curiosity before falling or climbing into your chimney.
The issue is that chimneys can be very difficult to escape, especially if constructed of a slippery material like steel or another metal. So when squirrels enter your chimney thinking they’ll encounter a material like the rest of your house, they’ll likely find themselves disoriented or even unable to escape.
If they’re just disoriented (but still enclosed), it’s best to give the animal a moment before attempting to do something like scaring it back up the chimney. You can try rattling something or making loud noises if separated from the squirrel, but don’t put it in danger if you can. For example, if your chimney consists of brick or another grippy material, squirrels can quickly scale it on their way back up, and the noise helps give them a reason to leave.
However, that doesn’t work too well for those with metal chimneys, which may require you to give it space to go. Now, it’s not necessarily the best idea to just let it free at the base of your chimney — this idea will depend on your situation. There are three easy ways to remove a squirrel from a chimney:
- Calling animal control or a control company like New Journey Pest Control for assistance or information
- Sending a rope down the chimney for the squirrel to climb (tying it to the top)
- Setting up a cage trap to remove the squirrels
The first idea is the easiest; calling local animal control or a local company will let you hear exactly what to do or give you physical help removing the squirrel. Sending a rope down the chimney allows the squirrels to climb up, eventually, although it’s not guaranteed. They’re not likely to leave if you’re dealing with a family, especially if they settle.
Lastly, there’s the potential to set a cage trap, which will humanely capture the squirrels and wait for you to release them. The main issue with this way is that if done incorrectly, it can either kill the children in a squirrel family (if the mother’s separated) or let the squirrel right back up to your chimney.
Removal and Preventing Re-Entry
The first two ways are straightforward, although setting up a cage trap requires more effort. With cage traps, you’ll have to set bait and leave the trap in a place that will hopefully attract the squirrel towards it. On top of this, the trap can’t be used on mothers, as the separation and stress placed on their babies will frequently kill them. That’s why calling is the most common solution, as there are too many variables to keep track of.
Plus, even after capturing and removing a squirrel, it or another animal can come right back to the spot without the proper prevention methods. Fortunately, you can quickly fix most chimney problems by purchasing the right-sized chimney cap, which will prevent squirrels, leaves, branches, acorns, and other animals from being able to enter the chimney.
With all these methods and ideas together, you’ll be able to not only remove a squirrel from your chimney but also keep them and much more away.
How to Remove Squirrels from the Attic
Squirrels are playful, seemingly harmless animals that are very comfortable living around humans. Often seen in parks and yards, these animals have plenty of human interaction. With this being the case, this often leads to squirrels making their way into homes. This more often than not leads to squirrels in people’s attics or walls. Continue reading to learn how to remove squirrels from the attic.
What attracts squirrels to a property?
Squirrels frequently find a property and then make that their permanent home. They often determine where they will live by looking for easy access to food and shelter, like most nuisance animals. Squirrels will love to live in any yard that has plenty of tall trees and some cover, as this keeps them safe from weather and predators. In addition, they can commonly be seen feeding on garbage, vegetables, or other flowers, or eating from bird feeders.
What problems do squirrels cause?
Squirrels are very harmful creatures to have around, particularly when they are in your attic. Like other rodents, squirrels love to chew through all kinds of materials. This often leads to them chewing on electrical wiring, which can potentially cause fires. In addition, they often chew right through lumber and drywall, and can create new entry holes into your attic for other critters, as well as gain access to more parts of your home.
In addition to their destructive tendencies, squirrels are also very hazardous to human health. These critters are often found carrying tularemia, typhus, and ringworm, each of which can potentially be fatal for humans. A big problem with squirrels is that they leave droppings, urine, and saliva all over the place, spreading diseases to unsuspecting humans and pets. Since these critters can cause serious health issues to both humans and their pets, as well as destroy your home, it is very important that they are removed from your attic as soon as possible.
How can squirrels be prevented?
Squirrels are a tough animal to prevent completely, as they often chew their way right into any place they want to go. One way to prevent squirrels is to examine your entire home, paying special attention to the roofline and the attic. Look for any weak points that could make access easier for squirrels. Once you have found some problem areas, you can set about repairing them by using all-weather sealant, aluminum sheeting, new lumber, or whatever other material you need. Another easy method to keep squirrels away is to put away any easy food sources, such as bird feeders, unsecured garbage, and fallen fruits and vegetables.
How should squirrels be removed?
Squirrel removal from an attic seems simple from the start, but there is a lot more to it than most suspect. One of the common reasons that a squirrel moves into an attic is because it is a mother looking for a place to raise her young. This complicates the removal process, as removing only the mother will leave the young to die and cause nasty odors throughout your home. In addition, there are health risks associated with disease when trying to remove squirrels on your own.
Since these problems can be serious, it is recommended to hire a professional wildlife removal service to perform the removal for you. The experts at these companies know exactly how to find and remove the squirrels, including the babies, in a humane and effective way. In addition to removal, wildlife removal companies also offer animal damage repair to fix anything the squirrels destroyed, as well as a prevention service in order to make it harder for future wildlife to get into your attic.