I recently discovered that squirrels are living in a third floor crawlspace. I know how they are getting in and how to patch the hole however I want some advise on:
1. Should I be in hurry to get them out – or can I wait untill spring? there are elelctrical wires up there, but no other utilities. Would they chew through romex when there is abundant nesting materials outdoors?
2. When I do seal up the hole how do I ensure that they are all out? I don’t want some rabid squirrel jumping me to get out when I’m up on the ladder, and I don’t want a squirrel trapped up there which would stink.
3. Is a belfry different than an attic?
Thanks much!
Replies
Hopefully it's not a huge access hole or you can reduce it or repair it. Take some chicken wire, the stuff that has octagon shaped openings. This stuff wii streach a little. What your making is a sort of lobster trap, one way in no way out. Only this is the reverse.
Staple the wire around the hole extending a foot or so from the opening. This other end should be about the diameter of a medium to small apple. Trim the edge of the wire to allow for a pointyness. The whole thing should resemble a funnel.
The squrrel can force his way out but can't come back due to the small and pointy opening.
Hope this helps. I have know idea of a better time of year. As to the wireing I suppose if they bite through the wire and you can get to them afterwards I've fried squirrel is tasty.
My suggestion: seal up the hole first or use the wire funnel concept, then set a wire box trap (can rent it from a rental center, or some towns' animal control agencies lend them out) in the interior space. Use peanut butter for bait. Better yet, a slice of apple with a bit of peanut butter on it.
If it were me and when I caught the culprits, I would permanently eliminate them, as opposed to releasing them at another location. Get them out now before they start having babies in the Spring.
Squirrels will chew through electrical and phone wires, and can make a mess of fiberglass insulation.
A hole in the home attracts not only squirrels, but bats, too (which is a whole 'nother set of challenges).
Once the problem with squirrels in the house is over with, buy or borrow a pellet rifle and thin out the population in your yard a bit.
Have fun.
"Get them out now before they start having babies in the Spring."
Good advice. That is why you should not wait.
You basically screwed. Once they in - its very hard to get them out. You have to catch them with a trap - other wise they will try to get back in. You can rent a trap, or you can hire one of the pest control companies if you are a millionier... They can do a lot of damage - they can chew a hole in your ceiling through the drywall, they will rip appart all your insulation, chew wires etc., etc. They probably did that already. And of course, soon they will have babies. If you cach them - by law (which varies in different states) you have to let them free right where you cought them or put them to sleep right there. You can not take them to the woods or park (disease spread). Once they out you have to fix all holes with chicken wire, sheet metal or what ever. Remember they will try to get back in no matter what. And if they will bite you - rush to the hospital, your squirrels might have Rabbies. Good luck.
Also, when they will chew a hole into your room, they will get sceared and disoriented, and they will hide under your bed. You will have to open the window, close the door from the rest of the house and leave then alone. After some time they will get out of the bed and escape through the window. Have fun.
Trying to be funny, but that's all true
Best
Sooner or later, squirrels will venture out of the home to find food. If you know where they are entering, camp out below the spot with a pellet air rifle and take them out one-by-one. There will probably be 2 to 4 adults at most, unless this hole has been open for eons.
Squirrels only operate in daylight hours. On extremely cold days, they semi-hibernate. But once it warms up a few degrees with some sun (and it can still be 20deg F or so, they will come out. I assure you. Then set the trap to make sure no others are in the house.
This is a small problem that is easily managed.
BATS, on the other hand, are a HUGE problem to get rid of since it's so hard to locate the entry holes!
Build an air powered potato gun. In this case a squirrel gun.
Set it so as they enter thru the access hole they're crawling down the barrel of this SG and as they get to other end they trip the contact switch for the selenoid that releases the air charge.
The squirrel is moved outta town now. No mess to clean up. Everything is automatic. After a while there won't be a squirrel in a 10 block radius of your place. Squirrels are smart and after ride like that they'll figure out that it's best to stay away from your house. You'll be doing your nieghbors a service too.
As you remove the squirrels from your house there are a zillion replacements waiting next door to take the evicted's place.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
flyin squirrels 101..
LMAO..
Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
I had a plan for just that idea only more humane. I'd have a little air tight door above where the squirrel would be then before you launch them open the door and hot glue a parachute to their fur.
Fire away and watch them float to safety, this way some silly PITA person won't be mad at you.
Edited 1/28/2004 7:06:43 PM ET by JAGWAH
They're flying squirrels.. No parachute required..
They get get a world class glide run out of it... Who knows, maybe some will find their way back to experience the experience again and again....
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
You might also consider putting one of those pest control noise makers (they have battery operated ones) up in your attic for a week or so to drive them out before you close up the hole. I imagine the rodent setting might work on squirrels.
Bdub
Go for getting rid of them now. Trick I learned that works also with mice/rats is to rub the trap with sliced apple and bait it with peanut butter. Trick don't set it for three days but keep replacing the peanut butter. Day three BINGO
Mac
Get rid of the critters now.They bring food into the building and then you get flies.I find a Hav-a hart trap with peanut butter and prunes gets them every time.Then dunk them when they stop bubbling they are done .The problem is they leave a scent so another one will try to move in if you dont block the holes.Exterminators here use a lightly sprung flap door in sheet metal that lets them out but not in.After blocking the other holes with tin.Don't trap any in the roof as the smell when the weather gets hot is unreal.Lasts for about 3weeks before they dry up,then comes the squadrons of flies doing formation aerobatics! Trust me I've been there <G>
Another easy suggestion would be to demolish the house and build another one in different county.
Well, I've gotten pretty good at catching them, and I can tell you a bit about the mess they make.
I use a Havahart trap, model 1040(2A). You can see a picture of it at the manufacturer's website here:
http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/cageproduct.htm
I'm sure the model 1030 would work for me, but the 1040 was in stock at the local feedstore, and it wasn't much more expensive than the 1030. I like these models because there are two doors, and the squirrels don't get the feeling they're walking into a, well, a trap.
I covered the trap with 1/4" hardware cloth, because I've got little squirrels here, and they kept squeezing out of the trap. I've attached a picture of my trap, with a little guy in there too. I wired the hardware cloth to the trap, and took care not to hang up the mechanism with the screen.
I wouldn't, and don't plan, to use chicken wire to keep them out. The hardware cloth is strong, and they'd have a tough time chewing through it. And besides, if it was great for squirrels, they'd probably call it squirrel wire instead of chicken wire...
As for the mess? They've burrowed into the paper-backed fiberglass insulation, rendering the vapor barrier useless. They've left their droppings everywhere, particularly where they nest, as rodents will. I haven't found any evidence of chewing on wood or wiring, although they did get into a cardboard box stored up there.
I've been covering openings one-by-one, in the hopes that I'll eventually get to where there's only one opening left. Then I'll do as suggested here, and make up some sort of one-way door (out not in) so they'll not come back.
I've heard of "laws against relocating squirrels", and I imagine somewhere that may be true, but nobody yet has been able to show me one in writing. I have relocated most of them to a forest, but I have read that they'll find their way back if you don't take them far enough away. Luckily the 5000+-acre forest is beyond their supposed "return radius."
I have also tried to teach them to swim with a cage on their backs, but that's more trouble than relocation. The one time I did it, I filled a trash barrel with water, but it was too much work, and in the end, I hated to do it.
Everything I've read says that they're active only during the day, but virtually every one I've caught has been after dark. In the beginning, I did try leaving a light on over the cage, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
Initially I baited with just peanut butter, but this generation doesn't seem to like it. So I've taken a piece of bread, spread the peanut butter on it, and put one piece on each end just inside the trap (inside of where the door would close), and one piece on the trip plate. That seems to do it just fine.
I was also very concerned with how the squirrel would react in the trap, when caught. So I suited up, wore gloves, and was very, very wary. It turns out that most of them will cower in the end opposite where you are, and don't seem to run around much.
I lay a sheet of 6-mil plastic down, put the trap on top, put a bungee cord on each end to be sure they can't open the door, and wrap the whole thing up. I do this because they seem to "pee and poop" when you start carrying the trap, so this contains the mess. I then wrap the whole thing up with an old blanket, just to be sure I don't get scratched or bitten. Then I take the trap out through the attic hatch.
Melissa..cool, thems flyin squirrels alright. short flat tail ( helps rudder them in glide, they don't 'fly') and big buggy eyes ( cause they are nocturnal) white belly with flaps of skin from forelegs to hind legs. Glad ya aren't snuffin' out the lights on em. They are really neat..bite like hell if ya have it in yer hand..I know.
like Homer Simpson said so well " I call the big one..Bitey"
Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
12 guage. Dove and quail shot.
Flying squirrels? For sure? Interesting. So I guess that's what they're doing - climbing up and jumping down?
Are the flying ones always little like this? The onesI catch are always small...
And nocturnal too? That explains why I catch them atfter dark.
I'm amazed you can tell from the picture, considering it's not that clear, but I haven't been able to tell looking right at them.
LOL..I can tell cuz I HAD them IN my house...like INSIDE..like drivin a 100LB Golden retriever to the brink of insanity..Came home from a day away and found one squirrel DROWNED hisself in the toilet, trying to escape the dog...the house was a disaster..furnitur knocked over, everyshelf stripped of 'shelf life' that lived there..wow, whole meaning for the words "Shelf life"..first cup of coffee too..
When I caught one , I cornered iy in a window frame, had on ONE welding glove..(the retriever wouldnt let go of the other glove) and my other hand got a few "nut cracker sweet marks" when I let out a SH*T , and eased up the sq. it promptly ran up my arm and down my flannel shirt..I was doin OK, til "QUILA" the retreiver realised where the sq. was..dropped the glove like a hot potato and pounced on me to get the sq...all being watched by my new girlfriend from Alaska who had never seen a sq. in her life..quite a show all in all..managed to get out from under the dog, break a pane in the window and squirt the sq. outta my sleeve like a pastry bag..
Yup, it's a flyin sq. allright...yep.Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
It turns out that most of them will cower in the end opposite where you are, and don't seem to run around much.
Better than prarie dogs, then. Was watching Mega Machines on History channel, and some yobbo has modified a vacuum truck to vacuum out prarie dog borrows. This is advertised as a "humane" service. The video of the pims showed them to be just as they are: aggresive, mean little beasties quite anxious to bite everything in reach.
I have heard that fox urine will help bar squirrels, but, as with too much chem/boi warfare, the cure may be worse than the infestation.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Thanks to everyone for the info. I guess I better get busy before ol mom and pop squirrel reproduce.
Always spay and neuter yer squirrils..we ALL know that.
Geez..
Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
I couldn't get away with shooting in my area so I use the Havahart traps and let the squirrels go after I clean the cage in a big bucket of water. Oops, I think I'm supposed to let them go first. Oh well, they look more like rats all wet anyhoot, don't let that tail fool you...and the crows like 'em.
...that's not a mistake, it's rustic