Squirrels may look cute, but they can damage a home seriously. They chew through drywall and support beams and cause dangerous electrical wiring problems.

They also leave behind droppings and urine, creating a health hazard. In many cases, what homeowners think is water damage is squirrel urine soaking through drywall and insulation.

Trapping

Squirrels are wild animals that can be unpredictable and aggressive if they feel threatened. Approaching a squirrel in your home can cause it to panic, which may lead to further damage to your house or personal injuries (not to mention possible disease and bacteria from its claws).

To prevent this from happening, get all pets out of the room and close off any doors leading into or out of it. You can also block entry points with wire mesh, expanding foam, caulk, or other construction materials. Be sure to check the eaves and trees around your house as well; squirrels can jump pretty high, so they might be able to find an escape route even if you seal everything up.

You can also use a live-catch trap, which can be bought online or at a local hardware store. Bait it with pretzels, acorns, or birdseed, and set it where you’ve seen squirrel activity. When you catch one, cover it with a blanket and carry it to where you can humanely relocate it or find affordable solutions for squirrel removal in Toronto.

Extermination

Squirrels can be beautiful and entertaining in the wild, but they become a nuisance when they invade your property. They can wreak havoc in your garden, cause damage to your walls and attic, and destroy your home’s exterior.

If you’ve exhausted all non-lethal squirrel removal methods and the animals aren’t leaving on their own, it may be time to call a professional to exterminate them. This can involve trapping, luring them out, or poisoning. Poisoning is a last resort, as removing the dead squirrels can be hard and lead to other issues.

Squirrels love to gnaw through wood, plastic, and insulation, and their constant activity can cause thousands of dollars in damages to the attic and walls of a house, including chewed electrical wiring and rotting of cellulose. It’s important to address squirrels quickly and thoroughly, as they can re-enter your home through existing entry points. Many homeowners turn to repellents that use smell, sound, and predators as deterrents.

Prevention

Squirrels are part of our natural environment, but they must share our homes with other animals. It’s best to prevent them from entering homes in the first place. Ensure the roof and eaves are properly sealed and all entry holes professionally repaired—store pet food in squirrel-proof containers.

Remove fallen nuts, acorns, and berries to keep them from being gnawed. Trim back vegetation, especially near the house, to stop squirrels from using it as a bridge to enter: cover vents and air conditioning ducts to prevent squirrels from gaining access.

If you have an attic squirrel problem, ammonia-soaked rags or commercial repellent can help drive them away. But remember that relocating them to a new area could be dangerous because of their highly aggressive, territorial instincts and high youth mortality rates.

Repairs

Squirrels can cause significant property damage when they invade homes. They chew on insulation, wires, and stored items, costing thousands of dollars in repairs and potentially causing fire hazards. Ground squirrels also dig caves and tunnels, destroying gardens and lawns.

Skedaddle’s Wildlife Technicians can help prevent these costly problems. We offer a comprehensive property inspection to locate entry points and close them off. This is particularly important for attics where soiled insulation and urine-soaked wood are often present.

We can use an ultrasonic noisemaker to drive the squirrels out of their nests, walls, and ceilings before closing off their access points. Sometimes, even this isn’t enough, and lethal action may be necessary.

Once the squirrels are removed from walls and attics, we recommend sealing the holes with metal flashing. This will keep the squirrels from trying to re-enter and create new ones. We can also remove their food stashes by searching their hidden places, such as in corners, under solar panels, and inside insulation backing.