Best Squirrel Removal Methods For Humane Removal
They may look cute and fuzzy but an infestation of squirrels in your attic is no bedtime story. These small animals can do a disproportionate amount of damage, besides the disturbance they create as they scurry around day and night.
Squirrels like attics particularly because they're warm and dry, at least compared to the outdoors. They're also a part of the house that's relatively undisturbed, with few people coming and going. They will happily nest in other parts of the house, however -- anywhere they can get inside and will feel safe.
Toronto Squirrel Removal Experts
Getting Rid Of Squirrels Is Easier Than You Might Think
"The trick to quick and painless squirrel removal is to hire a professional and not waste time trying to do it yourself. You wouldn’t try and fix your car without experience, especially if you have to rely on it working in an emergency."
Get your squirrel issue resolved right the first time with our prevention services. After our thorough inspection, you will know exactly what needs to be done to protect your roof and attic from wildlife.
Squirrels are surprisingly powerful and agile. Their jaws can deliver a very strong bite -- around 7,500 pounds per inch in adults. This makes it very easy for them to gain ingress to your house and attic. Even the sturdiest wood is no obstacle to a squirrel trying to get inside, and they're capable of chewing through shingles or metal. Squirrels will gnaw through aluminum, such as gable vents and fascia capping. What they can't chew through, they will shove aside or tear up: they can push bricks out of older brickwork and break slate or terra cotta roof shingles. They can climb the side of a house in seconds. Squirrels tend to get inside by finding a high, hard-to-access point on the roof and creating a hole they can use to enter.
Squirrels are territorial, marking their domain by creating a latrine at one end of the attic. The smell will tend to permeate the space, making it very easy to tell where the squirrels are nesting. They often work in groups, harvesting and storing food, rearing young and expanding their territory. These groups will often work as if they were in shifts, with one group operating at a certain time of day, another operating later or earlier, and others operating throughout the night. This leads to continual disturbance -- and continual damage, as squirrels will often create multiple entrances and exits into the space, they've claimed.
The squirrel's habit of storing large caches of food can cause its own problems. Food caches can be very large, more than the squirrels themselves may consume, and can sometimes be forgotten. These food caches then attract more squirrels and other pests like rats, mice and insects.
Squirrels are prone to carrying various diseases and parasites. Although rabies in squirrels is quite rare, they can carry it; a squirrel with rabies could conceivably transmit it to a human or a pet. Squirrels can carry E. coli and salmonella bacteria, which can cause serious health problems if transmitted to humans. They also carry tularemia, a disease that affects the skin, eyes, lungs and lymph nodes. The bacterial infection leptospirosis can be carried and transmitted by squirrels. Parasites like fleas and ticks are common, and these can be deposited in the home, where they can be transferred to humans and pets.
You may not see the squirrels themselves, even if the infestation is evident from the sounds, smells and damage to your property. Squirrels have very sensitive hearing and will hide when you approach. They can also warn each other that someone's coming using ultrasonic vocalizations too high for you to hear.
Once squirrels have set up a home in your attic, they can live there for generations. An average squirrel lives between three and eight years, raising litters of around four babies each spring. They sometimes have an additional litter in midsummer. This can lead to very large populations of squirrels if the situation isn't dealt with.
Removing squirrels from your home can be a complex task. While various DIY remedies are marketed as the solution to all your problems, these are often ineffective, dangerous or in violation of Canadian laws governing the human removal of wildlife. Replacing aluminum vents and fittings with similar ones is a common response; unfortunately, it's a waste of money as the squirrels can easily chew through these again. It's best to call in a professional service that can remove the squirrels humanely and effectively, advise you on preventing further incursions, and replace your vents with more effective steel models.