Why You Need a Squirrel Removal Service in the Summer?

A squirrel may look cute and cuddly but only from a distance. The majority of people think that squirrels are pretty harmless. However, squirrels can cause significant damage, particularly with their teeth. The potential damage increases significantly if you have squirrels in your attic, since they might chew wires or duct work, or defecate in your insulation, eventually making it unsanitary.

‍Since squirrels in the attic can cause huge structural damage to your property, it is important to contact a squirrel removal expert that can guide you on the most effective and efficient squirrel removal plan, based on your specific situation.

‍In addition to causing structural damage, squirrels can cause many sleepless nights for homeowners due to the noises in the attic from them running around and creating nests. They will build their nests and leave their urine and feces wherever they go. It would be difficult for anyone to witness their lovely home deteriorate due to squirrel infestation. Therefore, if you want to keep your house safe from any squirrel infestation, it is necessary to know how they can enter your living space and how to get rid of them humanely.

How Do Squirrels Get Into Your House?

Like all other animals, squirrels also sneak into people's homes to build their nests somewhere safe from predators. From our experience providing squirrel removal services, we can affirm that the best way to stop squirrels from entering your home is by sealing all the weakest points of your attic. Some of the most common locations that squirrels can use to gain access to your property are: 

Roof Edge:

Whether it's clogged gutters or a missing drip edge, both can prevent precipitation from running off properly. With improper water flow, the wooden edge of the roof, the fascia boards, or the soffit boards, may start to rot out, providing easy access for squirrels.

‍If not taken care of preemptively, squirrels will take advantage of the weak building materials and create a hole along the edge of the roof, making it easy for both squirrels and other rodents to enter your property.

Roof Vents

The purpose of these roof vents is to allow proper air circulation in your attic. However, these vents can also give squirrels easy access to the inside of your home. In addition, these plastic or aluminum vent covers can be easily chewed by squirrels to invade your attic.

Wall Vent

Squirrels can also gain access to your property through the kitchen, bathroom, and dryer exhaust vents. Unfortunately, most of the time, these vents are of low-quality plastic material easily chewed through by the squirrels.

‍Wall vents are a common location for building nests because they share resemblance with tree cavities. However, squirrels' nests inside a vent can also cause a fire hazard if not taken care of immediately. 

Signs of Squirrel Infestation

If you suspect a squirrel infestation in your house, it is advisable to inspect your property closely and look for signs that will indicate the presence of squirrels in the attic. Squirrels typically prefer to build their nests in the attics, so this is the area of the property that you should inspect first.

‍When we provide squirrel removal services, we see some signs that help us identify if we have this critter at home. Check this out some of the common signs of squirrel infestation are:

Loud Noises in Your Attic

Noises in the attic is one of the most evident signs of a squirrel infestation on your property. Squirrels are generally heavy and very active animals. Therefore, the noises are often accompanied by thumping sounds and loud banging around the loft. These noises are most often heard at dusk and dawn, but can also be heard throughout the day. If you hear noises at night, you may also have rats or mice in your attic! It is often the mice and rats scent that draws in the squirrels in the first place!

Visible Nests

The squirrels' nests are sometimes visible and usually appear as a heap of insulation around the attic corner or at the loft's edge. However, it is not safe to directly approach these nests as squirrels can be quite aggressive if they feel threatened.

Footprints and Scratch Marks

The presence of squirrels in your attic can also be indicated through their footprints and scratch marks. In addition, they are pretty visible in the dust.

Damages Equipment in the Attic

Squirrels most often cause damage to the equipment stored in the area where they are active. The cardboard boxes are stripped by the squirrels for building up their nests. They can also chew insulated hoses when looking for nesting material.

How to Rid Your Home of Squirrels 

Some of the tips on how to get rid of squirrels safely, effectively, and humanely are:

Installing a Motion-Activated Sprinkler

As Squirrel removal experts, we can tell you that these animals are naturally active and jumpy creatures. They only have jaws and teeth to fight off any danger. When they are faced with something scary, they will run away rather than stay and fight off.

‍In order to scare away squirrels, you don't have to do much. You don't need to cause any harm or pain to these small creatures to remove them from your property. A sudden sound or movement will be enough to make them run away from your house. A motion-activated sprinkler will get the job perfectly done. 

Plant Flowers That Squirrels Hate

Many people might think that squirrels love all green plants and trees. However, in reality, squirrels hate plants and flowers that are either brightly colored or emit a strong smell. In order to get rid of the squirrels from your property, plant flowers that squirrels hate, such as geraniums, mints, daffodils, and many other fragrant flowers.

Remove Food Sources

For a successful squirrel removal, it is necessary to cut down all the food sources for them. If you feed them, they will keep visiting your property again and again. On the other hand, if you are hanging a bird feeder, scattering plant seeds, or keeping your garbage can open in your yard, you create an opportunity for easy meals.

‍To get rid of all the squirrels in your house, it is necessary to keep your yard clean from any underlying food sources such as fallen fruits, nuts, and seeds. Also, use garbage cans with a tight and heavy lid to keep the squirrels away from the trash.

Enlist Your Four-Legged Pet 

Keeping a dog or a cat pet can help you keep squirrels away from your property. When a cat or a dog chases squirrels, it reduces their chance of returning to your property. However, if you don't have a pet dog or a cat, you can also place plastic owls around your property to keep the squirrels away from your property. 

Importance of Squirrel Removal Services During the Summer

All of the methods mentioned above may not effectively work if squirrels severely infest your house. In that case, you are left with no other option but to call a professional squirrel removal service-providing company. Summertime is the perfect time to safeguard your property against squirrels because most of the time, they are outdoors, jumping from tree to tree.

‍Some of the reasons why getting help from a squirrel removal company is better instead of doing squirrel removal on your own are: 

It Is Often More Than One Squirrel 

Many homeowners often don't realize this, but most wild animals enter your homes to build their nests and give birth to their offspring.  While the babies are too little to make a noise, you may not know about their presence in your attic. They are often tucked away in some corner of your attic or somewhere else where they are difficult to find.

‍It takes skill and knowledge of squirrel's habits to track down the babies. You may successfully remove adult squirrels from your house, but what about their babies? Your property will still not be squirrel-free ultimately. 

‍It is better to let the best and experienced squirrel removal company, such as Critter Stop, remove the squirrels from your house. 

Squirrels Can Be Aggressive:

Many people may not think that the small creature is capable of anger. However, squirrels can be quite aggressive and dangerous. When you get too close to a squirrel, especially a mother protecting her babies, she can jump on you, scratch, and bite you. 

‍Although not all squirrels but some squirrels carry rabies and can also infect you. So it is better to consult with a squirrel removal company to rid your home of squirrels.

Repair and Cleanup Required:

Once you get rid of all the squirrels from your house, you will also have to get a lot of repair work done. Squirrels chew on everything, and all this time, staying in your attic, they must have caused a great amount of structural damage to your property.

‍It means your attic needs to be thoroughly inspected and patched up after squirrels are gone. After the squirrel removal from your property, proper cleanup is also required. It is better to call a professional squirrel removal company if you don't have carpentry skills or want to deal with tons of squirrel poop. 

‍Conclusion

Squirrels may look harmless but can cause a huge nuisance for the homeowners after gaining access to their homes. They can be pretty aggressive and also rabid. It is not safe to remove squirrels from your home by yourself, as they can bite and infect you. If you suspect any squirrel infestation in your home, it is better to ask for help from any reliable critter removal service provider such as Critter Stop. We have experience handling all sorts of different wildlife and have helped hundreds, if not thousands, of customers get rid of squirrels. We will protect your home from further damage while also practicing humane squirrel control. Contact us at (214) 234-2616, and let us take the critter away!