Professional Squirrel Removal and Extermination Services

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• Florida

Do You Have Squirrels in Your Attic?

If you hear small rodent feet within your walls or attic, you should consider professional Wildlife Control Company. The best way to get rid of squirrels in your attic or house is to seal up all the entry points. However, it is not that simple.

You don’t want to seal up entry points while squirrels are inside your home, so observe their habits to decide when to take action. Do they leave for food during the day or at night? When they are out of the house is best time to seal up their doorways. Make sure shrubs and trees are farther from the house than your particular species of squirrel can leap: about 5 feet is a good distance to prevent squirrels from jumping inside.

During the day, head up to the attic and look for light shining through cracks or holes in your home’s exterior. Squirrels come in through holes as small as 2 inches or as big as a baseball. If you can’t access the attic from inside, use binoculars and watch from your lawn chair outside. Are the squirrels going in through siding, soffits, fascia, roof vents, or the foundation?

Seal All But One Entry Point When Squirrels Aren’t Home

Once you know when they come and go, seal up all entry points except the one that they’re using the most. Some sealing options:

• Stainless steel mesh, sheet metal, or aluminum flashing (they can’t be chewed through)
• Use caulk or foam sealant to close up holes (caulk and foam can be painted over)

When you’re sure all the squirrels are out of the house, close off their main entry point.

Figure Out If Baby Squirrels Are in Your House

If a mother with a litter is involved, getting rid of squirrels from your attic is much more complicated. If you seal the mother out of your house, she will spend all day trying to get them out. Plus, you’ll end up with dead baby squirrels inside your home.

Here’s how to check for babies:

• Put on a headlamp, gloves and a dust mask, then head into the attic or look under the house.
• Look for a nest within 20 feet of the squirrel’s entrance.
• Don’t get too close because if the mother squirrel thinks you’re coming after her young, she’ll attack.
• Make some noise and listen for babies.
• If there’s a squirrel family, the humane thing to do is to let them continue to live in your house for two months or so until the babies are old enough to leave on their own.

Otherwise, call in a wildlife control professional like Centurian Services to trap and remove them.

Anti-Squirrel Tactics

Drive them out with sound and light. Even squirrels enjoy a peaceful night’s rest. You may be able to get your intruders to leave by putting a radio tuned to a talk station and a lamp in the area where the squirrels have nested. Use a cool-burning LED bulb, not a hot incandescent.

Try a trap or a one-way door. The one-way door lets squirrels out but not in. The trap catches them so you can release them at least 3 miles away.

Put out predator urine. Putting some rags soaked in predator urine near the entryway or nest while the squirrels are out of the house may make them think a larger animal has moved into the neighborhood.

Other Ideas

Shooting squirrels with a pellet gun is not humane.

Setting off a smoke bomb in your gutter is definitely the wrong way to go about it. You might accidentally set your roof on fire.

A squirrel pot pie recipe may come in handy in areas where it’s legal to discharge firearms. If your taste runs to it, try squirrel pot pie.

Signs you have Squirrels in your Attic:

SIGN #1: YOU HEAR unusual NOISES IN YOUR HOME

There are the normal sounds you hear in your home at night, but wild animals like squirrels make a whole different set of sounds. For one, occasionally you can hear them gnawing away at any number of things they’re trying to get their teeth through like the wood frame in your attic.

The two most common sounds you’ll hear are either scampering and jumping sounds in your attic, or the sound of persistent scratching (if one of the squirrels has become stuck in your wall cavities or down your chimney). The majority of squirrel calls come from homeowners who hear scratching, but for the most part if the squirrels aren’t stuck anywhere they can go undetected for a long time.

What do you do if you hear strange noises? Be careful, but if you can, inspect your attic, your roof, and the perimeter of your home for intrusion points and compare with the other signs below.

SIGN #2: YOU SEE SQUIRREL poop

Squirrel droppings are quite similar to and can be mistaken for bat droppings, also known as guano. If you see piles of squirrel poop you may be able to determine if they’re from squirrels or not, but generally a wildlife removal company such as Centurian Wildlife Services will be able to tell with 100% accuracy.

What do you do if you see squirrel poop? If you see squirrel droppings in your attic or anywhere inside your home including your garage, you’re going to need removal and control services. Remember, like most wild animal feces, there is the chance of contracting diseases if you’re not careful or if you don’t practice proper hygiene and cleanliness after handling it.

SIGN #3: DAMAGED ENTRY POINTS

Most people don’t know that squirrels, like raccoons and mice, can almost chew through any material – at least the material that a home is built with--including metal.

Their teeth and chewing capabilities are quite strong but their entry points into homes have different characteristics compared to other animals.

Mice will sneak in through small holes, raccoons will create larger holes, but squirrels can get through tiny holes which at first glance don’t even seem to be there until an actual inspection is done.

You’re likely to see damage around the fascia boards, shingle damage, damage to eavestroughs and outer panels with all kinds of damage along the roof line.

What do you do if you see signs of damaged entry points? If you see these signs, you need to call wildlife removal experts because there are a set of strategies that need to be implemented in order to repair the entry point, remove the squirrel humanely and to prevent future damage.

You could try to apply prevention methods yourself but we suggest you call the professionals at Centurian Wildlife Services to ensure the job is done right, and with a guarantee.

SIGN #4: YOU SEE INTERIOR DAMAGE

Most of the interior damage you’ll see from squirrels will be in your attic, so you should inspect it yourself from time to time. Other times squirrels may be stuck in your walls or chimney sweeps. If there are squirrels living in your attic, you will find damage in the form of chewed out wires, wood chips all over the place from chewing through the attic structure, air vent damage or damage to virtually anything in your attic.

If squirrels decide they want to enter other parts of your home, you can expect a lot of damage to the wall-boards leading into your home or ceiling. The longer a family of squirrels lives in your attic, the higher the chance they will cause damage, and the need for an attic cleanup and repair will be in order.

What do you do if you see damage inside your home or attic? Call the experts at Centurian Services because it is a clear sign that your squirrel problem needs to be controlled immediately. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may also need to pay for repairs. So if you see any of these signs, arrange for squirrel removal as soon as possible.

SIGN #5: YOUR GARDEN IS DESTROYED

Squirrels love fruits and vegetables like the rest of us. Some of their favorite treats are strawberries, flower buds, pears and apples--just to name a few. They’ll also dig up areas of your garden where they’ve previously stored the foods that they’ve helped themselves to and leave traces of their work in the form of lumps in the soil and half eaten fruit and vegetables.

When a squirrel inhabits your garden, there’s a 50/50 chance he’s living in your attic too. If your garden is being damaged and you see some of the other signs mentioned above, you can assume your wildlife problem is squirrel, if you need the help from the profesions you can visit the national Wildlife Control Directory.

What do you do if your garden is damaged? The only way to determine if garden damage is done by a squirrel is to either catch him in action and combine this with a few other signs that he’s in your home. If you see a connection, you know it’s time to make the call.

SIGN #6: YOUR SHINGLES ARE CHEWED UP

When we say squirrels are determined animals, we mean it. In less than an hour they can chew through a layer of shingles and gain entry into your attic to start nesting. If you apply weak steel barriers or screening to keep them out, they’ll chew right through it again. As mentioned above, squirrels can and will chew through steel if they’re determined to get back into their nest.

Squirrels will chew through the shingles around roof vents, ridge vents, dormers and around chimney and plumbing vents. Shingle damage will be obvious.

What do you do if you see shingle damage? You will need to do two things: one is the process of humanely removing the squirrel and securing the entry point and, secondly you’ll need professional attic repair.

Most of the time severe shingle damage is done after squirrel has been locked out of its nest and its babies which clearly points to the fact that careful and professional squirrel removal is necessary. Call the experts.

SIGN #7: YOU SEE SQUIRREL FOOTPRINTS

It’s pretty easy to determine if the footprints you’re seeing are from squirrels or not. The front paws have four toes and are slightly shorter than the hind paws, which have five toes.

You might see squirrel tracks in the snow, on your deck, in your garage, in your attic and even in your garden. You won’t always see squirrel footprints but if you do, be aware that it is a potential problem.

What should you do if you see squirrel footprints? If you see footprints combined with a number of the other signs in this list it’s time to take action to protect yourself.

SIGN #8: YOUR OUTDOOR FURNITURE IS DAMAGED

Unlike raccoons, squirrels will chew through different outdoor furniture like wooden lawn furniture, pool sidings and deck railings. It’s assumed that squirrels gnaw through your furniture as a teeth strengthening process and is a sign that squirrels are living in your attic as well.

Outdoor furniture damage is not a sign in of itself because the squirrels could be living elsewhere, but considering the close proximity of your backyard to your home, there is a good chance you will find squirrels in your attic.

What should you do if your outdoor furniture is damaged? Do a DIY inspection for the other signs in this list. Note that for the most part squirrels don't spread rabies, but you don’t want to get bit by one because their bite can be pretty nasty. If you encounter a squirrel while doing your rounds--back off and give the experts at Centurian Wildlife Services a call.

SIGN #9: It smells bad IN YOUR HOME

Sadly sometimes squirrels fall into gaps behind the walls and in the attic and die. That’s when you’ll start smelling a pungent odor coming from somewhere in your home. Another way squirrels die in a home is by being accidentally locked in by a home owner or after a roofing company has done repairs. If the squirrel is young and isn’t able to fend for itself, there’s a chance it will die there too.

What should you do if you smell a dead squirrel? If you can find out where the smell is coming from, protect yourself with gloves and a mask and safely dispose of it yourself. If you can’t find the dead squirrel then you’ll need to have experts inspect and trace its tracks to find and remove it.

SIGN #10: YOU find “WATER DAMAGE” ON YOUR WALLS AND CEILINGS

The longer squirrels live in your attic or walls, the longer they are going to leave behind their trails of feces and urine. In larger homes and mansions, a family of squirrels can go unnoticed and unheard of for years, and when the damage is done it could cost the homeowner a lot of money.

This waste buildup by squirrels and other wildlife will eventually have to go somewhere and it’s going to be in the home. When it does, the insulation and wood need to be replaced and the entire area that’s affected will need to be cleaned and decontaminated.

Squirrel poop and urin cleanup is a big process and can get expensive, but if you let squirrels live in your attic without removing them, you can basically expect this to happen.

What should you do if you start seeing damage to your ceiling or walls? At this point the problem is urgent and you need to call the experts. You’re going to need to do a lot of repairs and also find out how the squirrels are getting into your home. No one ever wants to see this happen to anyone but it occasionally does.

Tips if you find Squirrels in your attic:

TIP #1: Let it find its way out:

• Close all doors of that room that open into other parts of the house.
• Open all doors and windows that lead outside.
• Leave the room yourself, and let the squirrel find its way out.
• If the squirrel is an an attic or upper-story room, open only the windows that are above grass, trees, etc. - not windows over concrete.

TIP #2: If #1 is not possible, try baiting:

• Bait a large humane trap with peanut butter.
• Set the trap on the floor near the squirrel in your attic (but don't get too close!), and leave it alone for a few hours.

TIP #3: If neither #1 nor #2 are possible, try the blanket approach:

• Put on heavy gloves and hold a blanket in front of you.
• Slowly approach the squirrel, then quickly drop the blanket on it and roll it up.
• Don't roll too tightly or push too hard, to avoid injuring it.
• Carry the burrito-wrapped squirrel outside, open it away from you, and it will make its escape.

TIP #4: If the squirrel is inside your chimney

• Make loud noises at the fireplace to scare the squirrel and encourage it back out to the roof.
• Carefully attach a long, thick rope to the top of the chimney, and drop it down. This will provide the squirrel with a way to climb out if it thinks it is stuck.

TIP #5: If adult squirrels are in the attic

• Try frightening the squirrel in your attic with loud noises: Bang on the floor, walls or rafters, yell loudly or bang pans.
• If this doesn't work, set up a bright light in the area and leave it on throughout the day and night. Use a radio, television, or other music or sound and leave it on to play. Or try soaking rags in cider vinegar and set them around the attic. Squirrels hate all of these things, so they are likely to leave.

TIP #6: If you find a family of squirrels in your attic

• It is best to wait until the babies grow old enough to leave - they may do this naturally in a few weeks when they are old enough to move around with mom.
• If you don't want to wait, hire a professional who can safely relocate the family.
• If you seal the entry points (see #7) and the squirrels continue to get back in, it may be that there are babies trapped inside. In that case, a professional should be called.

TIP #7: Keeping squirrels out

• Once you have gotten the squirrel out, find out where it came in -from look for tracks around the fireplace, inspect the attic for nests, and check the foundation and exterior of your home for holes.
• Seal any potential entry point to prevent other squirrels - or other wild animals - from coming in. Metal flashing can be used as a sealant, as the animals cannot chew through it to get back in.
• Cover chimneys with chimney caps.
• Keep doors closed when not in use.