Squirrel Removal and Control - Professional Wildlife Management

SQUIRREL BIOLOGY: (Sciurus carolinensis) Squirrels are usually gray, sometimes red, brown, or black. Adults average about one pound in weight. They can supposedly live for up to ten years, but life expectancy in the wild probably isn't more than 3-4 years. Squirrels give birth to two litters per year - one in late summer, and one in winter. The female gives birth to 3-4 young after a 44 day gestation, and the young grow quickly, and are weaned in about ten weeks.

SQUIRREL BEHAVIOR: Squirrels are most active in morning and evening. Squirrels eat mostly nuts and seeds. They live in a variety of habitats, both forest and suburban or city areas. They establish home territories, and often communicate via scent, chattering, and flickering of the fluffy tail.

NUISANCE CONCERNS: Squirrels love to live in attics. They also love to chew, and will chew on houses or wires, ducts, pipes once inside an attic. People don't like the noises of squirrels running about above the ceiling or in the eaves, but it's really the chewing that's a problem. If squirrels chew on electrical wires in an attic, it can create a real potential fire hazard. Squirrels also bring in nesting material and leave urine and feces in an attic.

SQUIRREL DISEASES: No real important diseases, though they do carry parasites, and thus are vectors for the diseases that fleas, ticks, etc can transmit. They also leave a lot of droppings, which pose the usual excrement health risks, such as leptospirosis or Salmonella. Click here for photos of squirrel poop.

HOW DO I GET RID OF SQUIRRELS? If it's just squirrels on the property, the best bet is trapping and removal. If it's squirrels in the attic, then all of the open holes and vulnerable areas through which they can enter should be sealed shut with a material that squirrels can't chew through, such as steel. The squirrels can then be trapped and removed, or excluded through the use of one-way exclusion doors and tunnels.

To learn how to do it right, please read my squirrel trapping guide.
Read how to get squirrels out of a house using a one way door.

CAN'T I JUST USE A REPELLENT? There is no registered or effective squirrel repellent available. You can find some products on the market, such as mothball-based or urine-based repellents, but they are bogus. Go ahead and try them. And those high-pitch noisemakers? The FTC has issued a warning against them - ultrasonic sound emitters do not work. Some people put noisy radios or strobe lights in the attic, but these also prove ineffective. There is no quick and easy fix when it comes to squirrel removal and control. It's best to have a professional trap and remove the animals properly.

Click here for a nationwide list of 100's of professional squirrel trappers serving all 50 states.

Phoenix Squirrel Control - Los Angeles Squirrel Control - San Diego Squirrel Control - San Jose Squirrel Control - Denver Squirrel Control - Orlando Squirrel Control - Miami Squirrel Control - Jacksonville Squirrel Control - Atlanta Squirrel Control - Chicago Squirrel Control - Baltimore Squirrel Control - Boston Squirrel Control - Minneapolis Squirrel Control - Charlotte Squirrel Control - Portland Squirrel Control - Philadelphia Squirrel Control - Houston Squirrel Control - Seattle Squirrel Control

Squirrel Email From Reader: Hi David, Hope you can help. A squirrel tried to get into my soffit or attic. I called some good professionals, they put in a one way door trap. The squirrel left. All the corners of my house were sealed with a stainless wire mesh doubled. The squirrel has been working on that wire to get into another corner. This started the first week in December, and probably before she had any babies. Now some six weeks later, she comes to my attic, makes a lot of noise trying to rip up the steel mesh. I bang on the windows, and I see her go back down. It's the same squirrel, I'm pretty sure. She's now larger, and probably ready to give birth. She takes the same path, over a fence and climbs up the brick wall of my home. The company I used has come down several times, and even added another layer of wire. So far, she has not gotten in, but she's determined. How can I stop this? The corner is over my bedroom, and she's coming by at about 8 a.m., and I hear her making a racket when she's working on ripping out the wires. We've been in the attic, and there is no nest, no babies, no smell. So, she hasn't succeeded yet. Thank you.

My Response: If your house was properly sealed by the wildlife company, she won't be able to get in, and she'll have to find another spot. If she's chewing on wood, spray Ropel or hot sauce on those areas to discourage it. It sounds as though this particular squirrel has become urbanized - it knows of no other place to have young than inside an attic. What happened to good old-fashioned trees?

Squirrel Email From Reader: When is the best time (i.e., what time of year) to catch and relocate squirrels? I trapped and relocated 3 squirrels last summer (after they figured out how to get the food out of the bird feeder). We now have 3 new squirrels sitting on our deck eying the bird feeder, trying to figure out how to get to it. It is only a matter of time before they are up on the feeder. I want to trap them (with my very own "Have a Heart" trap the I got for Christmas) and relocate them. But I think right now is not a good time. They have their stash of food for the winter, and if I move them now, what will they have to eat? If I wait until spring, and they have babies, what will happen to the babies? Do I need to wait until summer? I just want to relocate them, not harm them. What do you and your colleagues think? Thanks. Lenny

My Response: Interesting question. Squirrels are territorial, and I think relocation is a bit hard on them at any time. They have babies twice a year. The food stored in the ground for the winter? - They don't retrieve it by memory, but by smell. Yes, squirrels steal each others' nuts. I guess the best times to relocate are any month except September or March, when the young are newborn.

Photos of squirrel tracks for identification purposes.