Bushy tailed and bright eyed, we associate squirrels with being adorable little critters that eat treats with their cute little paws and collect food stores for winter. But what happens when they start to move into your attic or your basement and stash their winter food sources in your walls and under the floorboards? It might seem like their mouse cohorts would be more difficult to deal with, but in fact squirrel infestations can be so much more invasive and demand more attention to detail in order to properly remove them.
With the arrival of an early winter, critters are going to be looking extra hard for easy access into our warm, cozy homes. While mice and other small rodents will search for holes, cracks and other easy entry points, squirrels are much more destructive and will make a way in. Check your roof, side panelling, fascia board and shingeling for signs of chewing and damage and patch up any cracks and crevices you find. Even before you suspect a squirrel invasion, it’s a good idea to take preliminary measures and rodent proof your home. This means filling all holes in your foundation and siding with steel or copper wool as well as taking care to replace damaged or loose paneling and shingles. Caulking is much less efficient as rodents of all kinds will just chew their way through it! Trimming trees near the roof of your house to more than five feet is an option to make it more difficult for these bushy tailed critters to access your attic. Another viable method to reduce the possibility of an invasion is to use squirrel-proof bird feeders. Fewer food sources around your home will discourage a squirrel from trying to become your roommate!
If you detect a strong, foul smell in your house, especially in the attic, you might have a squirrel problem on your hands. Squirrel defecation is quite unpleasant and creates a smell that’s hard to miss, but to the untrained eye it can look the same as mouse droppings. They’re also not the quietest of critters and they will scamper back and forth in attics and even inside the walls. If any of this sounds familiar to you, it might be time to set up some small, steel traps to start to fight back against an infestation. Trapping and relocating is the most humane form of dealing with a squirrel problem, but if you’re uncomfortable doing this on your own, we are here to help. Squirrels are difficult to get rid of because of their resiliency, but our technicians at One Man and a Ladybug know just how to handle these pesky critters. Whether you need advice or you need to book a consultation, give our team a call and we’ll make sure squirrels are the last thing on your mind this winter!
