Getting rid of squirrels can be difficult and dangerous if you are not someone who has a bit of handyman skills. If you’re determined to get rid of your own squirrel problem, you’ll need to get your hands on a squirrel exclusion door, screws, washers and a strong barrier.
For a barrier we recommend a strong steel material, the best is a 16 gauge galvanized carbon steel mesh which doesn’t rust over time. You will need to make sure your barrier is unchewable by squirrels. Squirrels can chew aluminum, wood, plastic and asphalt.
One-way door squirrel removal
You will need to do a thorough inspection of your roof to find the hole the squirrels are using to enter your attic. When you locate the area you will need to install your barrier and attach your squirrel one-way door to allow them to exit. The one way door will prevent any future entries into your attic from that area. Once the squirrels are evicted, you can repair that area permanently.
How do you know the squirrels are gone? You won’t hear them running and scurrying all over the attic anymore. Wait a couple of days to be sure there are no more noises and then patch up the roof. If you’re comfortable and curious you can also inspect the attic.
Squirrel Live Trap
For a comprehensive squirrel trapping, visit our “how to trap a squirrels” post
Baby Season
Do not use any removal method in spring and mid-summer during squirrel baby season.
two weeks before, during and after march and august are dangerous times to use one-way doors. Squirrels have babies in this time, and you would be leaving the babies without their mother to feed them. If that’s not enough a reason to deter you, then knowing that the mother will relentlessly chew your roof until she gets back in, might.
There is one exception in these seasons, and it’s to remove the babies physically from inside the attic and reunite them outside near the one-way door.
This allows the mother to relocate her babies to her secondary home and increases the likelihood she will leave your roof alone.
Do’s and Dont’s of dealing with squirrels
Here’s some tips to prevent squirrels in the yard
- Get a squirrel proof bird feeder
- Eliminate food sources
- Motion Activated Sprinklers
- Protect garden harvest and seeds using meshing / covers
Controlling squirrels can be challenging but it may yield the results you are looking for if you don’t want to hire a pest control company or aren’t suited to do the removal yourself. Using the methods listed above you may see a drop in squirrel activity in the yard, and therefore less likely to have a squirrel break into your attic.
What not to use in getting rid of squirrels
- Chicken wire on entry points
- Squirrel repellents
- Sound emitters
- Rat / mouse snap traps
- Spices or chemicals that are claimed to keep squirrels away; in most cases they harm animals, trap babies inside attics or simply wash away with time and lose effectivity.
