Squirrels are often attracted to trees because of the fruits and nuts on them, so you are prone to have squirrels in your house if you have a yard with trees or if there are trees close to your house. These animals may seem mild, but they can cause you many problems if they get into your house, becoming a nuisance in the long run and attracting more squirrels.
The problem with squirrels is that they can build a nest in your attic and fill it with their droppings, which causes odor, health problems, and producing pheromones that attract more squirrels. However, squirrels are not the only animals that can get into your house and poop inside of it, so you have to know how to identify squirrel’s waste and differentiate it from other animals’ droppings such as rats.
You must learn to identify squirrel’s droppings since you can’t deal with squirrels the same way you deal with other animals, so making a mistake and treating squirrels like they were rats could end up worsening the problem. We are here to help you, so keep reading this article to learn everything you need to know to identify squirrel poop and get rid of it!
Why Do I Have Squirrels in My Attic?
Many things could attract squirrels to your house and help them get into your attic, making this issue a common one in the US. However, you must identify the causes of this issue to address them and lower the threat of critters in your household. Here are some of the most common things that make squirrels appear in your yard or house:
- Trees with nuts or fruits.
- Bird feeders with food and water.
- Poorly maintained yard with thick vegetation.
Preventing Squirrels from Getting into Your House
You can do many things to prevent these little wildlings from getting into your home. Naturally, there are some things that you can’t control, such as trees close to your house, but you can still make an effort to lower the risk of these animals coming into your home and leaving their droppings all around the place. Considering that, here are some of the things you can do to prevent this issue with squirrels from happening:
- Removing or Squirrel-Proofing Bird Feeders: Food and water can attract not only squirrels but all sorts of animals too, so you should do something about it. Try squirrel-proofing bird feeders or putting the bird feeders in a place where squirrels can’t reach them, making them stop trying and going away.
- Use Strong Odors to Scare Them Away: Squirrels hate strong odors such as black pepper, garlic, and peppermint, so sprinkling those around your house and in your yard could help to keep them away.
- Use Squirrels Repellents: Squirrels are skittish animals, so the odor of a predator or something that could represent a danger to them makes them go away fast. Some repellents use those odors, so try looking for some that could mimic the scent of a red fox or a coyote since squirrels are particularly scared of those animals.
Identifying Squirrel Poop
If you see or hear a squirrel wandering around your attic, you probably have droppings all around your attic, too, along with its nest and other squirrels. You can’t ignore that issue since letting it progress only worsens it by allowing more squirrels to get into your house and spread diseases to your family and house guests.
Squirrel waste is similar to other animals’ but has some characteristics that could help you know if you are dealing with squirrels or other pests. If you see the poop randomly mixed with other debris and nuts, it’s probably squirrels since they don’t tend to organize their droppings anywhere.
This animal’s waste has a unique smell that you can identify from a considerable distance, becoming a disgusting nuisance to you and the people living in your house. You can also tell if it’s squirrel droppings by its shape since squirrel’s poop is cylindrically shaped with rounded edges. Their poop is normally about 3/8 of an inch in length and becomes lighter when time passes, becoming red or brown.
How to Know If It’s Rat Poop or Squirrel Poop?
It’s essential to determine if you are dealing with a rat invasion or squirrels, and the best way to do that is through their droppings. Some people tend to confuse rat droppings with squirrel droppings, but there are a few ways to determine which one it is and how to address the situation.
The first thing you have to check if you want to know the animal you are dealing with is the location of its droppings. As mentioned before, squirrels spread their droppings randomly around their nest, mixing them with other debris, while rats make a pile of poop and place it in random places around your house, commonly being confused with dirt.
Rat’s droppings are bigger than squirrel’s, being an average of 3/4 of an inch in length and having a darker color than squirrel’s poop. You can also check if the droppings are pill-shaped with blunt edges or more cylindrical with rounded edges; it’s not easy to tell the difference, but it could help you if you have a good eye for those things.
Removing Squirrel’s Droppings
You have to remove squirrel droppings as soon as possible to prevent more squirrels from coming into your home since the odor attracts more of them. You can do that by yourself, but you need to protect yourself with a mask and gloves because you could catch an infection or a major disease due to contact with poop.
However, if you see that your squirrel problem is getting bigger, we recommend you call a professional pest control company to address the problem for you.
Conclusion
We know it can be disgusting to think about squirrel’s poop and its shape, but it’s necessary to help you address a major critters issue and protect your family from bacteria and illnesses. Regardless of that, we don’t recommend you try to deal with squirrels and take them out of your house by yourself since you could get hurt. Call pest control experts to deal with them before critters start damaging your home and harming your family!
If you’re looking for the right team to handle the issue for you, Synergy² is here to help. We provide trusted services throughout the area, so contact us for the best pest control services around.
Feel free to read more about us and decide if Synergy² is the right company for you. We have over 270 Five-Star Google reviews for pest control service in the Jackson metro area (Jackson/Madison/Brandon/Ridgeland). Check out our newest location reviews for pest control service in Jackson, MS here at Synergy² Jackson Pest Control!