Squirrel Removal and Squirrel-Proofing in Georgia & Alabama
Squirrels are furry rodents who are more closely related to rats than any self-respecting squirrel is willing to admit.
The most common squirrels in our area are the gray squirrel and the flying squirrel. Both of these critters spend much of their time in trees, attics, and other high places, but there are some differences.
Gray Squirrels
In Georgia & Alabama, gray squirrel removal is in demand pretty much all year. The demand usually peaks in the fall and winter, however, and there’s usually a short lull during June and July when the squirrels tend to stay outdoors.
When squirrels get into the attics and soffits of our homes or businesses, they become serious nuisance animals because they can cause serious damage, make quite a mess, and present a fire hazard. That’s why squirrels in an attic are very unwelcome visitors and must be trapped and removed. In nature, they’re harmless rodents. In houses, not so much.
Squirrels are also believed to be responsible for many thousands of house fires every year due to their habit of gnawing on the electrical wiring in houses. They also drag flammable materials into a home to use as nesting materials. The fire risk caused by squirrels is of special concern here in Georgia, where we have so many irreplaceable historic buildings.
Squirrels in attics also create a health risk by way of their urine, droppings, and shed parasites. That’s one of the reasons why after we remove squirrels from your home’s attic, we also clean up the mess they made and apply disinfectants and insecticides, if needed, to remove odors and kill displaced parasites.
The long and short of it is that when squirrels move into human-occupied buildings, they have to be humanely trapped, removed, and relocated.
Flying Squirrels
Flying squirrels are interesting animals. Unlike Rocky the Flying Squirrel of cartoon fame, real flying squirrels can’t take off from the ground and gain altitude like a bird or a bat can, so they don’t really “fly.” But they do have aerodynamic “wings” formed by skin between their legs and their bodies. These wings allow them to glide for very long distances and to land accurately on buildings. This gliding ability allows flying squirrels to get into homes and other buildings through openings that would be impossible to climb from the ground. It also makes flying squirrel control an especially challenging wildlife control job.
A flying squirrel’s diet consists mainly of nuts, fruits, mushrooms and other fungi, insects, slugs, snails, and bird eggs. They forage at night, mainly relying on their highly-developed sense of smell to find food. They begin hoarding food and looking for warm places to overwinter in the fall, and then become active again in the spring and summer.
Signs that You May Have a Squirrel Problem
Most people realize they have a squirrel problem when they hear scratching noises in the attic or walls. Squirrels usually are the culprits; but sometimes mice, rats or birds can get into attics and wall voids and make similar noises.
Other common signs of a squirrel problem include gnawing or other damage to the attic or items stored there, droppings, urine, stored acorns or shells, burrows through the insulation, or gnawed wiring.
Determining whether the animals in your attic are squirrels or some other critters requires a combination of old-fashioned know-how and high-tech gadgetry. Our motion-sensitive, infrared Attic Cam can positively identify which animal is in your attic and help us know how the critters are getting in and out.
Keeping Squirrels Out of Your Home
The best way to deal with squirrels in your home is to trap, remove, and relocate any existing squirrels using safe, humane, non-chemical methods, and then to seal up your house to keep new squirrels and other wildlife from getting in. We call this squirrel exclusion or squirrel proofing. It’s just another way of saying that we seal up your house to keep squirrels out of the attic.
Squirrel exclusion is challenging and hazardous wildlife-control work. It’s also painstaking to do well. It’s not a do-it-yourself or “handyman” sort of job. Permanently sealing squirrels out of a building is physically difficult work that requires specialized equipment and a keen knowledge of squirrel behavior. It also requires working in high places using long ladders, scaffolding, or bucket trucks (“cherry pickers”).
Don’t waste your time or endanger your life trying do-it-yourself squirrel removal, nor waste your money with handymen who don’t have the equipment and know-how to do the job right. Call us instead for humane, long-lasting squirrel removal and exclusion that’s backed by the best warranty in the business.