Tag Archives: squirrel nest

Squirrel in the House

get rid of squirrels

I’m just about to go insane with squirrels in the house.  I think we’ve taken care of the problem, and then it starts up again, and the kids and I are being terrorized by the maddening gnawing and running and crashing going on above our heads.  It started with a squirrel in the house last spring.  The first time we heard the noise, my son had just returned from a sleep-over at a friend’s house, and they of course had watched a scary movie.  Hearing chewing and running sounds above his room early in the morning, while it was still dark, just about threw him into a screaming fit.  I climbed up into the attic to see what was going on, and saw the flash of a little bushy tail as the squirrel in the house scampered across the attic space.

 

Squirrels
Squirrels making a nest in your attic.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

I tried everything I could to get rid of it, from making sure the vent was open so it could escape to setting out poisoned bait.  It still woke us up all night and early morning with its constant noise.  When I investigated again, the attic space was a mess.  Boxes had been chewed into.  It had gnawed on the soffits and joints.  Squirrel droppings were littered everywhere.  I’m not very handy.  In fact, I’m kind of useless when it comes to this kind of thing, so I wasn’t surprised that my efforts hadn’t worked.

 

I had a friend come over, who’s a lot handier at this kind of thing.  But, he just ended up doing exactly what I’d done.  This time, though, it worked.  The noises stopped for a while, and I realized the squirrel was probably dead.  By this time, it was winter, so I didn’t think about it too much.  The kids and I were just happy the noises had stopped and we could finally sleep all night through.

 

When it warmed up, though, I was reminded we’d had a squirrel in the house.  Since we don’t go in the attic that much, we didn’t have to deal with the odor.  But, the invasion of flies reminded me of the death above.  I begged another friend to come over and help me get rid of the dead squirrel in the house, and she and I managed it, even though we gagged the whole time.  I thought that was the end of it.

 

Now that it’s fully into spring, we have squirrels in the house again.  This time, there’s more of them.  A nest, maybe?  The constant noise is awful, and I am afraid to even think about the damage they’re doing.  No more calling favors in, and begging friends to help.  I’m going to get a professional.  I’ll call Allstate Animal Control, get the squirrels out of my house, get the damage repaired, and get it all cleaned up upstairs.  If this goes on much longer, I really will go insane.

 

Squirrel Removal

squirrel removal

I had no idea the baby squirrels nesting in the window well just outside my office would cause such a squirrel removal controversy.  I work for a gentleman who runs a business out of his home office in his basement.  There are two of us who show up at his house each morning, walk around back and let ourselves into the basement office. He runs his own small real estate company, and specializes in foreclosed or distressed houses.  Unfortunately, these homes are a lot more work for a real estate professional, which is why he needs help.  My friend and I both needed part-time work while our children were in school, and we consider it a bonus that we get to work with each other.  We do all the paperwork and handle phone calls while he is out talking with clients and generating more business.  It’s definitely a win-win for all of us.

Even though it’s a basement office, it’s nicely finished and I’m lucky enough to have a window casting light onto my desk during the day.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed an accumulation of twigs, leaves and shredded paper in the grass-lined window-well bottom.  Then, one morning after a three-day weekend, I came into the office delighted to see three little baby squirrels wriggling around in the soft debris.  My friend was home with her sick child that morning, so I had no one to share it with.  I took some video of the cute little baby squirrels and the mama squirrel hustling around the nest taking care of them.  Then, I went to work, but kept my eye on them throughout the morning.

The next day, I was excited to share this beautiful sight with my co-worker/friend, and told her about it as we walked into the office.  She looked appalled, much to my surprise.  I had thought she’d ooooh and aaaah over the adorable little squirrel babies, but instead she talked about squirrel removal.  Before I knew it, she had our boss on the phone and asked permission to contact a squirrel removal company.

I grabbed the phone from her and pleaded on behalf of the squirrels.  I said they weren’t harming anyone, and since they were outside in the window well, they weren’t going to damage his house.  Our boss said he’d think about it and call us after he met with a potential client.

Needless to say, the morning’s work was shoved aside as my friend and I debated, but I eventually came around to understand where she was coming from.  She’d had a squirrel nest in the attic once, and it was awful.  Some big animal like a raccoon came in after the nest and ate a couple of them, leaving the remains to decay in her attic. As they rotted, her house got infested with bugs and flies.  She just couldn’t bear to go through that again, even if it was at someone else’s home office.  I gave in, once I was reassured the squirrel removal company would take care of the squirrels humanely, and would probably save their life, considering how many feral cats lived in the area.  In the end, it just made sense.