Those button-nose and bushy-tailed squirrels running in your yard may look cute from afar, however, what happens when you go up into your attic to find a whole family of squirrels have been living there and destroyed many of your belongings? Panic starts to set in, and now you have a whole new set of problems to deal with, besides the fact that your Aunt Betsy’s hand-crafted afghan has now become the leading component of Mr. Squirrel’s residence.
Squirrels can chew through shingles to enter your attic for nesting Photo Credit: Buckingham Pest Control
How Did Squirrels Get Into My Attic?
After the anger subsides, you may be wondering “how did the squirrels even get into the attic?” “How long have they been nesting in my home?” “Were there are signs that I should have looked for?”
The Eastern Gray Squirrel has become a very common pest and often gets inside homes throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These squirrels most commonly enter structures in the fall and throughout the winter to build nests in attics. However, squirrels can build nests inside of an attic or soffit at any time of the year.
Squirrels, similarly to mice, will find any opening to enter your home to nest, especially during the winter. That means if you have an opening through an attic vent or soffit, that’s a potential point-of-entry for the squirrels. In other cases, they will chew a hole which they will then use to enter your home. It doesn’t take much for the squirrels to enter, but once they make it into your home, the damage they cause can be substantial.
Not only are squirrels nesting in the home a nuisance, but they can also cause substantial damage to the structure by gnawing holes, chewing wires and contaminating surfaces with their urine and feces. If squirrels have chosen your attic to call home, that means all your valuables can be in danger of becoming destroyed and contaminated. Thus, the damage caused by the squirrels can be more than just financial; it can also be emotionally devastating to have prized possessions damaged beyond repair.
The number of squirrels nesting in a structure may be as few as one or two, but often as many, as 4-7 squirrels are present.
Signs of Squirrel Activity in Your Home
Attic damage and contamination from squirrels Photo Credit: Westchester Squirrel Removal
Here are a few signs that you may have squirrels living in your attic:
- You hear strange scratching, jumping or scampering noises in your home
- You find squirrel droppings throughout your attic
- Damaged entry points including around the fascia boards, shingles, eaves troughs and outer panels with all kinds of damage along the roof line.
- Strange odors and “water damage” marks on your walls and ceilings from the squirrel urine and feces
At this point, it is imperative that you contact a professional to remove the squirrels from your attic because once you start to notice water damage marks on your ceilings and walls, there may be extensive damage in your attic from the squirrels.
How does Cooper get rid of the squirrels in my attic?
Our Rodent and Wildlife Exclusion Program focuses on humanely removing squirrels along with rodents and other wildlife from your home and then proactively keeping them from coming back in.
Our Exclusion Program works in three easy steps
1. Our pest experts will perform a thorough inspection to identify the squirrel issues at your home and we will create a customized plan to remove them and keep them out.
2. We will take care of your current pest issue.
3. We will exclude these pests from entering your home in the future. Our dedicated exclusion technicians will conduct trapping and wire mesh installation for low-lying areas. Perform sealing, capping, and metal flashing installations on the roof and in the crawlspace. Other solutions such as gutter guard may also be included for an additional charge.
To learn more about our Exclusion Service click here. To schedule a free Exclusion Inspection, call us at 1-800-949-2667 or fill out the contact for on this page.
