Anyone ever have a squirrel in their attic?

[luvmarypoppins]

Well we believe we have a pesky one. We have never seen it but hear it gnawing and scraping above our closet. I dont want to call an exterminator and dh and I have different ideas of how to catch and dispose of the creature. Need some advice quick. I am starting to dread going to bed at night. DH believes it is under the insulation.

 

[Disney Ella]

Me! A few months ago, I trapped and removed five from our attic. Every day, I didn't think there could possibly be another squirrel in the attic, but there was. I used a Hav-a-Heart type trap that does not injure the squirrels, then set them loose at a local park a few miles away. Some humane societies/SPCAs will loan or rent you a trap.

I didn't realize that they were actually getting into the attic at first, but thought they had just chewed away a spot in the trip under the gutter. I called a pest removal service because I couldn't get up to the roof and they charged me $250 to remove two squirrels. That's when I started trapping them myself. The siding company started replacing all my trim today, so hopefully I will never find another squirrel in my house.

Releasing them from the trap is easy. They run right out.

 

[KimR]

Scatter mothballs around the floor in your attic. The squirrels hate them and will leave.

Kim

 

[mcnuss]

Originally posted by KimR
Scatter mothballs around the floor in your attic. The squirrels hate them and will leave.

Kim

Been there, done that. Doesn't work. They just find a spot w.o mothballs and chew there.

We had them in our attic a few years ago, and they are darned hard to get rid of. I refused to murder them, so we used the Hav-a-Heart traps also. The problem is that there's never just one. Once one little critter moves in, the rest of the neighborhood seems to follow. We ended up removing 7 of them. They got in by chewing through both wood and screening covering our soffit vents. When we replaced it, it was supposedly with animal proof screen, but I am now of the opinion that they can eat through anything. We moved away before we could test the guarantee!

Good luck, this is a pesky problem. One thing to remember is that unlike mice, squirrels are unlikely to leave your attic, so don't be scared of them. They are just looking for a warm place to nest, generally not food.

 

[Val]

My father, God rest his soul, had a PhD in pharmacy. Was a brilliant academic. Was a lousy "Norm or Steve"- couldn't home repair himself out of anything. We had squirrels in our attic when I was a kid. My dear father decides HE can get rid of them. Sets up a series of flashing yellow lights to "scare" them out of the atttic. By George, all is quiet. So he sends my brother up in the attic to make sure the squirrels are gone. My brother about dies laughing- sends the rest of us up. Not one squirrel- only about 20. All sitting stone still, mesmerized by the flashing lights. My father had managed to attract every squirrel in the neighborhood with his contraption. At that point, my mother called the exterminator. He did a slightly better job!

 

[olena]

Originally posted by Val
My father, God rest his soul, had a PhD in pharmacy. Was a brilliant academic. Was a lousy "Norm or Steve"- couldn't home repair himself out of anything. We had squirrels in our attic when I was a kid. My dear father decides HE can get rid of them. Sets up a series of flashing yellow lights to "scare" them out of the atttic. By George, all is quiet. So he sends my brother up in the attic to make sure the squirrels are gone. My brother about dies laughing- sends the rest of us up. Not one squirrel- only about 20. All sitting stone still, mesmerized by the flashing lights. My father had managed to attract every squirrel in the neighborhood with his contraption. At that point, my mother called the exterminator. He did a slightly better job!

LOLOLOL!!!!!

 

[Kallison]

Val that is hysterical!!

I was gonna say play a recording of a cat meowing or maybe just loud music?? We don't get the squirrels, just mice once in awhile.

 

[catsrule]

We had a couple in our old house in the attic. Didn't even know it if it was for Mr. Simba. He went nuts one morning chasing it when it got out of the attic and trapped it in a corner. We called a critter trapper company and they found how they were getting in (small hole under the gutters) and put a cage there with peanut butter and goodies in it. They caught 3 total and released them in the woods and fixed the hole, and we never had them again. We made sure we got a company that had a 'no kill' policy and trap and release policy.

 

[jfulcer]

Been there. Done that. Took pictures.

We borrowed FIL's have a heart trap, loaded it with peanut butter and peanuts and set it in the attic. No more than 2 minutes later, we heard a SNAP and we had caught it. He was NOT happy. Took it to a park a few miles away - he ran out of that cage so fast you would think his tail was on fire.

 

[Cindyluwho]

No squirrels in the attic but my husband has accused me of having bats in my belfry.

 

[kaygela]

We had squirrels in the attic and didn't know it until one chewed a hole through our den ceiling. We saw it just in time. The thought of them getting into the house itself and running around creating havoc gives me shudders.

 

[my3kids]

Yes! They chewed in at a corner under the gutter. This sounds crazy but is so easy, inexpensive and it truly works:

A feared enemy of a squirrel is the red fox. You can buy small disks impregnated with red fox urine. We threw a couple of those into the attic and never heard from the squirrels again. At our next house we had some creature getting into our fish pond. We put a few around and it solved that problem also. Since this doesn't harm anything, you don't encounter the problems that using poision can create and there isn't a risk of being bitten by a wild animal.

We found them in a regular local hardware store years ago. Someplace that sells hunting supplies would likely also have red fox urine scent.

I swear to you, it works!

 

[mtdevine615]

Get the thing out of there. Not to scare you but right before New Years we went to a house fire that was caused by a squirrel chewing the insulation off the electrical wires. It wasn't a total loss and now one was hurt but it caused about $100,000 in damage. All from a little furry critter.

 

[TINKTWINS]

We had them too. We used the have a heart traps too. An exterminator told us to make sure you drive several miles away with it, they have very strong tracking and will come right back if not.

 

[Beanie]

You should ask Mackey Mouse this question...apparently she is an expert on the subject!

Seriously, she has had them in her attic, quite a few and could probably help you with this question!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I had several in my attic.. this was a new house and they moved in while it was being worked on.. It even passed the home inspection without the inspector catching it.. Actually these were flying squirrels, makes my skin crawl to think about it again.

I called an exterminator, he came, set traps to see what we were dealing with. They were in fact flying squirrels. He then set other traps and put in one way doors so that they get out, but cannot get back in. Caught it and disposed of it for me. I had my roof checked and blocked up any entrances... I hope I never hear from those flying squirrels again..

I also had my attic cleaned since they were using it as their own personal kitchen and bathroom.. Yuck and and replaced any damaged insulation. Good luck.