I know where they go in and out, a vent screen they pulled off where the
phone line enters.
The local “vector control” guy spotted it first and told me to just wait until
they were gone and then put up newer thicker “gopher wire” mesh over the
hole.
He warned me not to use poison or they would die inside and stink up the house.
And to be sure they were gone I should put wads of newspaper in the hole
and if they pushed it out they were still there. ??
Big help, as they would push the paper out coming and going and I’d have no clue how many were inside or out.
So I put a flap “door” of a big square of gopher wire held up with “hinges”
that were huge staples meant to hold TV cable against the baseboards.
The plan is that squirrels can exit with ease, but to get back in requires more skill.
So far, I’ve seen it work on one squirrel. When he wanted to get back in, instead of
trying to lift the edge of the door, he climbed right onto it, up to the hole, and tried to chew his way in.
From what I understand, dogs with voice boxes attached to their collars HATE squirrels. That might work…
(If you know where they come in you could put some baited traps or something like that down for them…and just check them regularly so that the dead squirrel doesn’t stink up the whole house. Might be better than letting the little bastards just chew up the attic)
What I did was place a couple of pegs in the wall and balanced a thin board across them, with one end sticking way past and cheese on that end.
The squirrels would step on the board between the pegs and it would feel solid.
Then they would scamper toward the unsupported cheese end and the board would flip and fall. I had to reset the board 3 times that day but then no more came out and I made the repair.
when you know the critter(s) are out then take down the wire and put up metal flashing. it is ugly but works, they can’t grab on and can’t chew through. cut down any trees or branches they use to reach there. put up flashing as guards on gutters or other paths. after a generation or so of no use then you might make it less ugly.
Nope, I slogged through your OP, weird formatting and all. The ‘vector control’ guy told you not to use poison (i.e. baited traps) because of the potential stink. Then he gave you some advice on closing the hole. The advice didn’t seem to work for you. You then devised a quasi-RubeGoldbergesqe solution, and it’s worked on one squirrel so far. Fair enough. If it continues to work, all is good. If not, try the baited traps and simply check them often to avoid the stinkage. Seems simple enough to me.
I thought the thing with the voice boxes on the talking dogs was pretty clever, personally, but MMV and often I’m the only one amused by my little forays into comedy. Life is sad like that sometimes.
If that makes you happy then I’ve done my job here. Won’t be the first time I’ve been a top candidate (or even the first one) for the blooper reel…
Can you get into your attic? Block off their access and put some Havahart traps in your attic. Once you catch the little bastards you can release them into your yard and let them find somewhere else to live.
I too had squirrels in my attic (found two dead ones and a lot of chewed up Easter decorations one Saturday.)
The next Monday I went to work and a coworker made the mistake of asking how my weekend was.
“I’ve got squirrels in my attic!”
“Oh, Tomato, we’ve known that for years!” :smack:
As for squirrel ejection, I called Erlich and the guy poked around to find they had chewed right through the soffet to get in and built a huge nest right inside. He poked through the nest and thankfully there weren’t any squirrels/baby squirrels in it, so he recommended putting metal flashing against the hole and then that expando-foam insulation stuff on top of that, once the nest was removed.
They haven’t gotten back in, but I’m going to have to pay a contractor to replace the board on the outside.
Try mothballs. This works on squirrels, possums, and raccoons. Toss a good handful of mothballs up there and they will leave.
Of course, it will smell of mothballs up there for some time, but the critters hate the smell and will stay out. Oh yes, and do put up the wire mesh for the future.
This. Except instead of the releasing into your yard (which guarantees they will be back in your house in approximately 0.00000000034 seconds), bring the trap down to the river and drown them. Either that or shoot 'em.
Put them in someone else’s yard, then, preferably far, far away.
My roommate’s house in Virginia, well…the attic was the Squirrel House, and years of trying everything did NOT work. EVER-E-THING. There were generations of squirrels having babies who had babies who had babies who had babies. Probably didn’t help that the yard had a dozen-20 mature trees and backed up against a creek and a wild area, but seriously. They ate through caulking, brick, <!!> plastic, and around the metal. They just made new holes when they couldn’t get into their old one. It was seriously bad. And I never, ever EVER want to smell another mothball as long as I live; I think WE would have moved out before the squirrels did when we tried that.
Some years ago I had possums in my ceiling. I imagine they are much the same.
I called Peter the Possum Man (no kidding). No problems- he would seal it off and set a trap in the ceiling so if one was hiding there he would get it.
One problem- if it was caught it would make all these grunting and squealing noises all night.
So do I care if the neighbours believe I am a stud?
Two different ones spotted trying futilely to get back in. So it’s a winner.
Maybe I can patent it!
And notice that no squirrels were harmed with this setup.
I did use the “vector control” guy’s idea and put paper behind the trap door,
and when it’s been undisturbed for a couple of days I’ll take down the door and rescreen the hole back to inconspicuous status.
