Your house is quiet. There isn’t a peep to be hard except for the rustling sounds you hear in your attic. You go up to investigate.
The intruder is gone but there are tiny little squirrel tracks in the dust on the floor. It’s important that you find out where your unwanted houseguest is coming in from so you can get rid of them and avoid any damage to your attic.
You’re not sure how to get rid of squirrels naturally but that’s the route you want to go with. Poisons aren’t the answer. We’re here to help you in this endeavor. Here is a quick guide that will assist you in dealing with your unwanted house guest in the most humane way possible.
1. Stop Them Before They Get in
The best way to get rid of squirrels is to not give them the chance to get into your attic at all. You need to remove anything that will attract them and limit their assessability to your home.
Remove Anything that Will Attract Them
Like most other animals, if you leave food out squirrels will come. That being said you need to keep your yard clean. Rake up any fruit, birdseed, nuts, or acorns that happen to fall from your trees.
If you have a party outside, clean up all the food from your guests. Do you have an outdoor dog? If so, you’ll want to remove any access food that they don’t eat during their meal times.
If you’ve got garbage cans outside, secure the lids. Replace your normal birdfeed with one that squirrels won’t touch. Safflower is a good choice.
Limit Their Accessibility
Squirrels can’t make it into your attic if they can’t reach it. Keep all tree limbs leading to your attic trimmed short. Make use of a chimney guard. If you have any holes or cracks in your chimney or roof have them repaired or do it yourself.
You can buy squirrel proof bird feeders to replace the ones hanging from your roof or add on a squirrel baffle.
2. Look for Squirrel Activity
If you think that you might have a squirrel in your attic but you’re not sure there are ways for you to find out. Look around for attic for holes where they might be getting in. If you don’t see any then check your vents and roof.
You’ll also hear scratching noises coming from your attic during the day. Squirrels are most active in the early morning.
You’ll start to smell odors from squirrel urine. Other signs include tracks, nests, and droppings.
3. Find Out if the Squirrel Has Babies
You want to check and see if there are any baby squirrels in the nest. If there are then you should wait for a couple of weeks before you try to remove them. If you manage to get rid of the mother before then you’re sentencing the babies to death because they won’t be able to survive without her.
Don’t try to relocate the little squirrel family yourself. You’ll need to call a professional.
4. Try and Scare them Out
If there are no baby squirrels in the nest when you look then you can attempt to scare the adult squirrels out of your attic. They don’t like loud sounds so you can bang on the rafters or even go into your attic and talk as loud as you can.
You could also shine a bright light into your attic and keep it on or douse a few rags in apple cider vinegar and lay them around. They don’t like the smell of it.
5. Pick Out a Trap
If the scare tactic doesn’t work then you can buy a squirrel trap. You want to get a small cage trap that has a trigger plate. Place bait on the trap.
You can use a variety of things because squirrels aren’t exactly picky eaters. The most effective form of bait is peanut butter. It will attract the squirrel and they can’t grab it and run with it so it’s more likely that they will trigger the trap.
If peanut butter doesn’t do the trick you can place unsalted shelled nuts or seeds in the peanut butter.
6. When it’s Time to Bring in a Professional
Again, if there are little squirrel babies involved you’ll want to call in a professional. They’ll know how to relocate the family without harm being brought to any of them. If you’ve tried every tactic that we’ve suggested and still can’t trap the squirrel then a professional can help.
It can be dangerous to get rid of squirrels. They won’t want to leave your attic without a fight. If you don’t feel comfortable with dealing with them then make the call.
7. Other Precautions You Should Make
When squirrels are in your attic for a long period of time you can pretty much bet that they’ve chewed up some of your wires. After the squirrels have been dealt with you’ll want to call an electrician to your home.
Trapping the squirrel and taking them to the woods isn’t a good idea. They most likely won’t survive that.
Even if you do decide to do this it’s not a permanent solution to your problem. Another squirrel will make itself into your yard within a matter of days.
How to Get Rid of Squirrels Naturally and Save Your Attic from Destruction
If you’ve got a squirrel problem you’re going to need to get rid of them as soon as you can. If you wait around then these little unwanted house guests will start to damage your property. Use some of these tips on how to get rid of squirrels naturally to remove them in the most humane way possible.
Do you need professional help with your squirrel problem? Go here to see if you’re in our service area.
Check out our recent blog posts on squirrels and rodent control:
https://synergy2ms.com/what-kind-of-squirrel-trap-bait-is-best-for-homemade-squirrel-traps/
https://synergy2ms.com/how-to-get-rid-of-squirrels-in-the-attic/
Interested in learning more about squirrel control? The following links provide excellent information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel
https://www.livescience.com/28182-squirrels.html
National Geographic: Squirrels
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/happy-squirrel-appreciation-day
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