Squirrel Invasion in the Attic

A few days ago, we learned that squirrels invaded our attic. A squirrel nest with babies in the attic over the garage portion of our house was discovered!

Over the winter, we occasionally heard strange sounds in the attic.  The sounds were intermittent and happened in areas around the soffits. Both of us would remark on the abrupt sounds but we paid little attention assuming that it was something in the eavestroughs.

When the noises happened almost daily and grew louder, we asked our son to climb into the attic through the egress that is located in the ceiling of the garage. He was reluctant, but set up the extra-long ladder and ventured into the attic.

He found a nest in the rafters over the garage. Squeaks came from the nest and a large squirrel nearby made hissing noises. There was no choice but to call an exterminator.

Squirrel Invasion in the Attic

I made several calls only to learn that some companies would not come during squirrel baby season. These companies would do nest removal but not until May or June. No way would we wait until then!

Extermination companies employ wildlife specialists who know how to deal with animals in a humane manner. The wildlife specialists are extremely busy at this time of year so receiving a call-back was not guaranteed.

We learned from Google that after mating during February and March, mothers typically seek warm shelter to give birth to their babies and to keep them secure from predators.  Squirrels will cause damage in the attic as they tear our insulation and may chew on electrical wires. There is also the issue of defecation and urination! UGH!

When I found a company willing to come to our house, I had to pay a fee for the initial inspection which revealed what we already knew.  There were squirrels in our attic!

Additionally, I paid overtime for two specialists to come on the weekend to remove the nest, seal two entry points on the soffits, place wire mesh on top of all roof and plumbing vents, install a one-way exit door for the squirrels, and spray the attic with an anti-bacterial solution. The removal process took most of a Saturday. Since no babies were in the nest, they did not need to remove them and put them into a baby warming box.  In a few days, they will return to remove the one-way exit door.

In the late afternoon, I sat in my favourite chair in the den and watched two squirrels running up and down the eavestroughs.  They seemed to be looking for their usual entry point in the soffit above our garage. Although the cost of the wildlife service was high, I felt good about the humane way we had dealt with these invading varmints.

Since then I’ve been wondering why they chose our house as it is located in a newish subdivision with no large trees near to the house.  There is plenty of wildlife nearby as we border a conservation area.  However, at our cottage which is located in a wooded area with many large trees on the lot and plenty of squirrels around us, we haven’t had intruders into the attic.  Perhaps they have safe areas in the trees for their nests.

The wildlife technicians told me that they have responded to several calls in our subdivision.  On my walk this afternoon, I took notice of roof vents on nearby houses that have mesh screens over the roof vents similar to those installed at our place yesterday.  Obviously, ours was not the only house that squirrels have invaded.

Thanks for reading this post.  Readers, I hope that you don’t have similar experiences with squirrels or other wildlife invading your home!

2 Replies to “Squirrel Invasion in the Attic”

  1. What an ordeal! I would not want to leave squirrels in my attic either once I knew about them. I am glad you were able to find a company to deal with the issue humanely and quickly. And it sounds like measures were taken so it doesn’t happen again, and I hope it doesn’t!! Just out of curiosity, do you have a ranch or a 2 story? I wonder if there is any correlation with how many stories a home has and the frequency of squirrel infestation. In any case, your home has a squirrel story! ha ha.

    1. We have a five-year guarantee! I hope we won’t have to use it.
      Our house is one-story with a high-peaked roof and many gables. Our last house was two-story and we had a squirrel sit on the bedroom window (2nd floor) and try to chew through the screen. No success as our cats both got on the inside window sill and hissed. We got animal-proof screens and thwarted an invasion!
      I’m wondering if it relates to bird feeders in the yard as our neighbour has several of them.

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