By

How to get a squirrel out of your house can be a solid question after having a few sleepless nights. Does it worth the stress? A big NO!

Squirrels get scared at your sight more than you get scared when you see them.

Some months back, a cute and playful squirrel entered my home, and became a nuisance, started knocking over knickknack, jumping from one cabinet to the other, shimmying beneath cabinets, and even eating my foodstuff.

I started to feel worried about my dog because squirrel in house can transmit ticks and fleas to you and your household pet.

The tips I discussed here can help you prevent squirrels from entering your house and show you easy steps to get them out.

As the custom of other animals, squirrels look for a safe and secluded place that will shield them from hunters and predators. Discussed below are common locations squirrels get into your house:

  • Roof edge

    It is likely your roof edges got damaged by moisture, due to clogged gutters that prevent rain from running off properly. They look for such damaged tips in your roof and gain access to your house.

  • Gable Vents

    This function of gable vents is similar to roof vents. They help in circulation through your attic. Squirrels can easily find their way into your house by eating large portions of slats in your gable vents.

  • Wall Vent

    I once saw squirrel gain access into my house via the kitchen, bathroom, and dryer exhaust vents. It looked weird. Can you imagine how they did this? They chewed through the low-weight, plastic top fixed on the vents.

  • Chimneys:

    If there are uncapped chimneys in your house, it means you invite squirrels to make your home abode. Squirrels will easily climb chimneys lined with brick.

Squirrels’ damage to the house can cost you thousands of dollars to fix. I’ll make you see reasons why you need to get rid of squirrels in your house.

  • They can Damage your Attics

    Squirrels damage your attics in gaining access to your house. They make nests, have offspring, and the juvenile squirrels will grow and cause significant damage under the roof.

  • They Damage your Insulation

    When squirrels enter your roof. They destroy the insulations by trampling and shedding their nests on them. This can cause you so much money to replace.

  • They Damage your Plumbing

    My aunt once experience the infestation of squirrels in her home. They caused damage to her PVC pipes, outdoor furniture, and all types of household plastics. If care is not taken, you may start noticing leakage in your pipes, which will finally result in water damage.

  • They pose a Risk to Human Health

    Squirrels can transmit diseases, although incidents of transmission are rare. They belong to the family of rodents like rats and mice. They can carry mites, ticks, fleas, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis.

Step 1: Make Loud Noises

I apply this method often, and it works well. When you notice a squirrel in your home, make a loud noise at the to frighten the squirrel. This will get it scared, and it will find an exit to protect itself.

Step 2: Block all Hiding Spots and Keep your Distance

Squirrels hide in drawers, cupboards, and other comfort zones in your house. Ensure you close all these spots after creating an exit. But remember, keep your distance while doing this.

Step 3: Let it Exit

In a house inhabited by humans and always crowded, a squirrel will find a way to get out. It doesn’t want to create a home for itself in a place with human activity. Isolate your pets, create an exit, and make it easy for the squirrel to find the exit.

Step 4: Use a Blanket

If the squirrel got cornered and can’t find the exit while you were chasing, use hand gloves, pick a blanket, and drop it on the squirrel. Roll up the blanket, go to a nearby bush, and let go the squirrel.

Step 5: Set a Trap

If the squirrel is scared of finding the exit. Call its attention by baiting a trap with nut or seed. Set the trap the location of the squirrel, and then leave it alone for two hours. The squirrel would have been trapped by the bait when you return.

Step 6: Squirrels in the Attic

The attic is the primary target for squirrels, make sure you always clean it up. Don’t store food items and other stuff that can attract squirrels in your attic. If you notice the movements and sounds of squirrels in your attics. Continual bright light, loud noises, and certain smells like cider vinegar will make the squirrel uncomfortable. It will eventually find a way out.

If you notice the mother squirrels just gave birth, don’t chase the mother away. If you do that, the mother will find a way to get back to her babies, which may cause more damage to your roof. Allow the baby squirrels to mature or call a professional to help you get rid of them.

Once you can get squirrels out by any of the tips mentioned earlier. Look for the spots they used to gain access to your house and seal. Block any potential entry point to prevent them from coming back.

I’ve prevented a red squirrel in house and all types of squirrels. Read on while I tell you how.

  • Start with the area Outside your House

    It’s difficult to chase squirrels from the attic than your compound. Trim the trees and shrubs close to your home and don’t plant new ones, or else, their branches will become a bridge for squirrels to invade your house.

  • Inspect your Home

    Search your home for potential or existing entry points, such as your walls or attics. Seal up openings and cracks with foam insulation or metal mesh after inspection. If there are squirrels in your home, watch them, wait for them to search for food, and then block all access points.

  • Repair all entry points

    After locating all entryways, it’s apparent squirrels have damaged the entryways. Fix when you are sure no squirrel is using that entrance.

  • Apply Repellent

    Ensure you spray all entry points with taste-aversive and other eco-friendly repellants such as garlic, peppermints, and castor oils. For constant protection, place devices that look funny and spooky or motion-activated sprayers that drive squirrels away with a sudden sprinkling of water.

  • Remove what Attracts Squirrels

    Squirrels get attracted to the smell of fallen fruit, nuts, and seeds. Clean your surroundings regularly and use a trash can with a tight cover.

  • Prevent Squirrels from Accessing your Attics

    You must prevent them from climbing a tree to get into your attics. Wrap the trees close to your house with sheet metal.

  • Plant Flowers

    There are flowers you can plant that squirrels don’t like. For instance, squirrels don’t like the taste of daffodils, allium, hyacinth, and snowdrops.

squirrels are mammalian, medium-sized rodents. Just like you know that a group of fish is called school. Guess what a group of squirrels is called? A group of squirrels is termed scurry or dray.

In college, I was taught that squirrels are part of the Sciuridae family, a part of the scientific order Rodentia. This is a family that includes small or medium-size rodents.

Squirrels are extremely smart and intelligent animals. They can bury food in your presence without noticing them. It’s hard to say if squirrels remember humans or not. But I can tell you that pet squirrels remember humans they interact with daily.

Squirrels typically have big eyes, soft and silky fur. Generally, their bodies are slender, though much fatter in some species than others.

The feeding behavior of squirrels looks strange; they eat about one pound of food in 7 days. Do you know that squirrels also feed on meat? Astonishing, isn’t it?

Squirrels are omnivores, which means they feed on plants and flesh. The typical food squirrels feed on are seeds, nuts, fruits, eggs, small insects/animals, caterpillars, and even baby snakes.

Squirrels droppings look much like that of rats. The only difference is that squirrel droppings are slightly bigger than rats’. Squirrel droppings are large, cylindrical in shape,
3/8″ in length, 8mm in diameter, and have rounded edges.

Squirrel poop looks longer than wide, thick, and likely to turn white over time. Squirrels poop is similar to rat excreta. Their poops are dark brown and smooth.

There are more than 200 species of squirrels around the world. But I’m going to list five common species of squirrels that you can find around. Some of these species have similar characteristics, but they can be differentiated with one or two differences.

  • Grey Squirrels

    Appears in different colors, such as gray, brown, red, and cream. They have bushy tail large size, grey fur, and small ears that are tufts-less.

  • Red Squirrels

    Have grey-red fur in winter. They have orange-grey fur in summer. Possess white belly and whistle loudly at invaders.

  • Fox Squirrels

    They are 17″-27″ long, which makes them the largest specie. They are sub-divided into dark and red-colored squirrels. Dark squirrels have dark fur, blackheads, white noses, ears, and feet. The red-colored type has no white markings.

  • Flying Squirrels

    They have a long limb, slender, and possess big eyes. Possess cylindrical bushy tail and soft, dense fur.

  • Ground Squirrels

    They excavate burrows in open habitats. Weigh 3.4-4 ounce, which makes the smallest species.

  • Rock Squirrels

    Studies show that getting too close to rock squirrels leave visitors vulnerable to attack. They are dangerous because they are fed by hikers, lost the fear of humans, and no longer feel the need to hunt for food themselves.

Tree squirrels such as red squirrel, fox squirrel, and grey squirrel don’t hibernate. In comparison, ground squirrels hibernate during the winter. If you have squirrels in your house, they hide in your house’s roofline to escape the elements.

Squirrels have two breeding periods in a year. The first breeding period in mid-summer, while the second is early spring. Mother squirrel gives birth to 1-9 babies at a time, around March and April, while the second litter is born between July and August.

Baby squirrels feed on puppy milk when they are still very young. They can nibble on solid food, such as apples, hard-shelled nuts, broccoli, kale, and sweet potato when they are seven weeks old.

We all know squirrels chase each other across a garden or spiraling down a tree trunk. But do you know why? Let me take a wild guess; squirrels chase each other because they want to maintain territorial dominance, or they chase after opposite sex to mate.

Have you ever wondered how squirrels run so fast on the ground and climb trees swiftly? Squirrels can attain a speed of 20 MPH and 12 MPH when running on the ground and climb a tree. They can do this by their characterized hyper-muscular, double-jointed hind legs.

I remember when I saw a squirrel in my house; it made some sounds that got me wowed, and I got familiar with it. The sounds made by squirrels depend on their species. For instance, tree and ground squirrels make noise that sounds like “Kok” or ‘Kua” while their babies make sharp cries. Other species chatter, buzz, whistle, and shrill.

Squirrels live up to 24 years. They are one of the rodents in the world that live long. Most squirrels don’t live up to 24 years. The longevity of squirrels depends mostly on where they live and breed.

Squirrels are large mammals without stripes, while chipmunks are small mammals with stripes. More differences are:

  • Habitats:

    Chipmunks live in deciduous woodland with a lot of stumps and logs. They also live in holes burrowed by them in the ground. Their nests are made of leaves and moss.
    It’s a different case for squirrels, it can live in the forest and open woodlands.
    Most of the time, squirrels live in holes in trees. Their nests are made of leaves and other materials.

  • Diets

    The primary diets of most chipmunks are garden vegetables, berries, roots, seeds, and fruits. They can eat anything because they are omnivores.
    For Squirrels, they eat masts such as fruit and nuts.

  • Lifespan

    The lifespan of both animals is affected by food, predator, and weather. Chipmunks lives 2-3 years in the wild and 5-8 years in captivity. Most squirrels are not known to have lived longer than seven years.

  • Size

    The Length of an average chipmunk range from 6″-12″, while the Length range from 8″-12″ for ground squirrels and 12″-20″ for tree squirrels

  • Vocalizations:

    Study shows that chipmunks make calls which range from clucks and high-pitched chips.
    On the other hand, squirrels make calls such as “Que, que, que” and “kuk, kuk, Kuk”

Many people get confused with squirrels and marmots. If you’ve ever come across an animal that looks like a squirrel but is bigger. You’ve encountered a marmot. Marmots and squirrels are almost the same, but their sizes distinguish them. Both animals build underground tunnels when they hibernate during the winter. Both are also members of the family Sciuridae.

View post on imgur.com
Trending Now
Despite the nuisance habit of squirrels, they also have their importance and usefulness in our environment.

Nature’s Gardner

Squirrels play a vital role in our eco-system. Squirrels help in shaping plant composition by taking seeds and burying them. Seeds are their primary source of nutrients; they no longer remember where they hide the seeds, which will germinate and grow. That’s a plus to our eco-system.

Entertaining

Squirrels are one of the funniest creatures in the world. You can entertain yourself; laugh off the stress by watching them mate-chase and rub face on an acorn and the likes.

They Make Your Garden Insects-Free

Squirrels are omnivores, which mean they eat plant and meat. They also eat the insect in your garden to control pests.

They are Smart

Many folks think squirrels are not smart because they run into moving cars. This doesn’t mean they are unintelligent; they do that to escape from danger. However, a squirrel can divert your attention by stage-faking nut burials.

They Eliminate Waste

Although many folks don’t like animals perching on their trash cans, there is a positive side because squirrels don’t allow food scraps go to waste. They help to clean up food that falls to the ground or around a neglected trash can.

They are Sources of Food for Animals

Squirrels are an essential source of food for other animals. My dad once had a dog that hunts and eats squirrels in his backyard. This might look like a flimsy reason that squirrels are good, but other wild animals might have nothing to feed on without them.

They are Sources of Food for Humans

Some humans hunt and feed on squirrels. I haven’t had a taste but those who do say it’s a delicious meal.

They are Friendly

Not many wild animals trust enough to relate to humans. Squirrels are friendly creatures. Study shows that some of the most social squirrels eat from human palms and even get dressed.

Getting rid of squirrels in your house will prevent damage to your property, but it will also keep you and your pets safe. Maybe you are looking for the answer to How to get a squirrel out of your house. But remember it wouldn’t enter into the house if not for food or shelter. Be kind to it. Don’t forget to use the share button. Write your comments and contributions if there are any. Happy reading!

Related:

 
1
Share
 1    

Related Posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Scroll to Top