How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Attic?

How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Attic?

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Squirrels may be entertaining to watch while they’re collecting nuts at the park, but they can wreak havoc in your home. These cute, seemingly innocent creatures have sharp teeth and strong paws that could do damage in only a short amount of time. By following our guide, you’ll be able to determine if you have a squirrel in your attic and answer the question How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Attic?

Are Squirrels Rodents?

Did you know there are three major groups of rodents? These groups consist of mouse-like rodents, cavy-like rodents, and squirrels. Squirrels are among the most distinctive types of rodents as they have furry tales, dark eyes, sharp teeth, and sharp claws. These rodents can weigh anywhere up to 18 pounds and become major pests if they make their way inside your home.

Why are Squirrels Considered Pests?

Among the three major groups of rodents, squirrels have given themselves a better reputation. For the most part, squirrels love to be left alone to roam trees searching for food. However, as their environments become destroyed, they are sometimes forced to seek out residential areas and become destructive in the long term.

The first reason why squirrels are considered pests is that they can pose a health risk by carrying diseases. These rodents are carriers of rabies and tick fever. If a squirrel manages to make its way inside your home, it can leave behind feces that can make living conditions unsanitary.

Squirrels who have diseases and feel threatened can tend to fight back by using their sharp teeth to bite and sharp claws to dig at their enemy. Secondly, squirrels can cause damage to residential properties while searching for food and shelter. One of the most sought-after areas among squirrels is the attics of residential properties.

While becoming comfortable in their new space, squirrels can chew away at walls and even the roofing of your home. They even pose the risk of chewing at electrical wires, potentially causing a fire in your home. If you’ve found yourself dealing with this particular rodent problem, it may be time to call a squirrel removal service

Signs that You Have a Squirrel in Your Attic

Squirrels will often make their way into your attic when they’re looking for a warm place to keep dry. In some cases, they’ll also seek shelter to have babies, which could further escalate your squirrel problem. You’ll find that these rodents will mark their territory with urine, feces, and food storage.

Below, we’ve listed signs that could tell you that you have a squirrel in your attic. If you’ve noticed one or all of these signs, don’t hesitate to call a squirrel removal service

  • You hear unpleasant noises coming from your attic such as scratching, chewing, or running.
  • You found teeth marks on your electrical wires, walls, or flooring.
  • You’ve found a nest with materials such as paper, leaves, or string-like items.
  • You’ve found new water damage that has occurred from rain entering through chewed wood.
  • You’ve noticed a foul odor that could be from squirrel urine or decomposition.
  • You’ve found punctured air ducts. 
  • You’ve noticed temperature changes or ceiling stains. 

What Damage Can Squirrels Do in Your Attic?

A squirrel removal service is necessary, especially if you have a park nearby. These rodents can cause the same amount of damage as their fellow mice and rats. Chewed residential materials, along with chewed electrical wiring are just some ways a squirrel may damage your home.

Damaged Attic Materials

When it comes to seeking shelter or finding a home for their babies, squirrels are very determined creatures that will soon make their way in by entering through the tiniest holes and cracks. If they are having trouble entering, they will chew through your walls, roof shingles, and even in some cases your siding. Once squirrels enter your attic, they will chew through your insulation, wood, and other attic materials.

Chewed Wiring

If a squirrel finds a way into your attic, it’ll eventually make its way to finding the wiring within your walls. As squirrels venture through the dark areas of your attic, they are looking for opportunities to build their nests, sharpen their teeth, and eat. Encountering chewed wiring is one of the many common ways these rodents will cause damage to your attic area.

Chewed Insulation

One of the most common damages caused by squirrels is insulation damage. Squirrels love attic insulation because it’s easy to chew on and move to build their nests. Not only will you need to deal with the removal and replacement of your insulation, but if not dealt with properly, could increase your heating and cooling expenses.

Chewed Furniture

Not only can squirrels cause wire and roofing damage, but if you’re using your attic as a live-in space, they may also cause damage to furniture. Squirrels are known for leaving holes and tears with their teeth. Believe it or not, these unpleasant rodents may even cause damage to metal or plastic. 

Are Squirrels in Your Attic a Health Risk?

One of the common ways that squirrels can pose a health risk is by leaving feces throughout your attic. Concerning other rodents, their feces introduce the risk of salmonella infection if you have close contact. Once you have dealt with your rodent problem by calling a squirrel removal service, you’ll want to do a deep clean of your entire attic, along with replacing any insulation if necessary.

Along with salmonella infection, another health risk is tick and flea infestation. Ticks have the potential to cause a fever, and if brought in by squirrels, may also harm your pets. Fleas are also a health risk because once a flea infestation has begun, these awful creatures can make their way into carpets, furniture, and other soft materials. 

In addition, squirrels are always known to carry diseases such as typhus plague, ringworm, and tularemia. These diseases can be transferred to humans through bites and other forms of contact, so you’ll want to be extra careful if you encounter a squirrel in your attic. These diseases carry symptoms that are similar to the flu and can be critical if you leave them untreated.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Attic?

If you’ve established that you have a squirrel infestation, the first thing you’ll need to do is call a squirrel removal service. Catching and trapping a squirrel can be a dangerous task, this is while you’ll want to leave this up to the professionals. By contacting a professional, you can ensure your squirrel infestation will be handled swiftly and will also prevent future infestations.

Another reason you’ll want to make sure you contact a professional is that many states prohibit owners from trapping squirrels. Your squirrel removal service will ensure they take the proper steps to catch these rodents right on their track. Some of these steps include:

  • Locating entry points: Locating the entry points will ensure that the squirrels never make their way back into your attic.
  • Remove squirrels from the attic: The technicians will remove every squirrel and their offspring and send them back to their natural environment. 
  • Block entry points: The technicians will block every known entry point to avoid squirrels from re-entering.

Why You Should Use a Squirrel Removal Service

You will need to require assistance from Master Attic LLC: Insulation & Rodent Solutions to remove the squirrels safely and humanely. At Master Attic LLC, we will provide the safe removal and return of these squirrels back to their natural environment. Here are a few reasons why you’ll want to seek our professionals for squirrel removal.

Health & Structural Risks

Squirrel activity in your home can cause a hazardous environment that can affect air quality and breathing conditions in your home. If squirrels have chewed around your attic, this could also allow water to enter, which then may lead to mold.

Extermination vs Proofing

Little do homeowners know, trapping and killing squirrels is not an effective way to remove squirrels. Exterminating squirrels will not permanently get rid of your rodent problem. If you have any feces scent in your attic, this will only draw more rodents to the area.

At Master Attic LLC, our technicians are properly trained to seek and find every known entry point to block those areas without altering your ventilation. After proofing your attic space, a deep clean will be conducted to remove feces and other dead rodents that may cause bacteria and other viruses to linger.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve noticed unpleasant sounds and damage in your attic area, you may be dealing with a squirrel infestation. Squirrels tend to favor attics because they are dark and have more places to build their nests. Squirrels can carry many diseases and pose unwanted health risks, in addition to causing damage to wires, insulation, and other items you may cherish.

As a homeowner, dealing with a squirrel infestation could cause you unwanted stress. If you suspect that you have a squirrel infestation, you’ll want to contact Master Attic LLC for your squirrel removal service. Our trained professionals will help you assess and remove the problem in a timely and effective manner. 

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