Tag Archives: squirrel removal

Get Rid of Squirrels

get rid of squirrels

“Mom, why do we have to get rid of squirrels?”  My four year old daughter looked up at me, her blue eyes filling with tears.  She’d been a little touchy lately, especially after her fish Leon died.  My son is allergic to most pets – cats, dogs, rabbits, ferrets.  We had hoped that a tiny Siberian hamster would be okay, but he broke out in a rash as soon as he got near one.  So, our family is a fish family.

Squirrel
A squirrel looking at your home to call his home.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

We made a big production of taking a Saturday morning to go pick out the perfect aquarium for our house, and each of us got to pick out a fish.  My husband hates the idea of fish as pets, but he saw how important it was to our kids, so he relented and the family took a trip to a local aquarium store.  Normal pet stores cause an allergic reaction in my son, so a specialty store was the only way to go.  We had to drive about thirty minutes, and spent a good hour picking out an appropriate aquarium and the fish to put in it.  Everyone wanted a different fish, but not all fish get along well.  Fortunately, the employee was very patient with us and helped us get everything, and every fish, we needed.

My daughter got a little blue fish that looked like it had neon stripes on it.  She was so proud of it.  I have no idea where the name Leon came from, but that’s what she called it.  My husband set up the new aquarium, we got the water levels and chemistry correct, acclimated our new family members to their new home, and taught the children the appropriate care and feeding procedures.

But, then, my daughter got a little overzealous early one morning.  She decided all the fish needed more food, and she poured the flakes all over the surface of the water.  As soon as I walked out of my bedroom to make everyone breakfast, I saw the catastrophe, and quickly scooped up as much as I could.  By then, though, it was too late for Leon.

My daughter cried bitterly, dealing with the death of a beloved pet at an early age.  Which is why I found myself having to explain to her, very carefully, why we have to get rid of squirrels.

Two days ago, I noticed my son was getting more and more rashes.  An allergic reaction to something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.  I quizzed him to see if his class had a new pet at school, or if he played at a friend’s house who had a pet.  It turned out, after quite an extensive investigation, that we have squirrels in the attic.  We found out early enough so that they hadn’t done a lot of damage, but they’d soiled some of the insulation up there.  I called Allstate Animal Control and arranged for someone to come out and get rid of squirrels, and my daughter overheard me.  Apparently, she had thought they were her new pets.  I explained the squirrels were just confused and thought our house was a good place for them to live, but that they really needed to live out in the trees.  We also made a second trip to the fish store that day.

Squirrel Removal

squirrels in the roof

My mom says I have a “heightened sense of curiosity,” so it didn’t surprise her when I stuck around to watch the squirrel removal from our chimney.  Plus, the guy who came to get the squirrel out of the chimney was kind of cute.  I didn’t tell Mom that was one of the reasons I pulled out the camera and recorded the whole thing.

Dad had come up with this great idea last weekend to light a fire in our fireplace and roast marshmallows and eat s’mores while playing board games.  I thought it was a pretty cool idea, even if it meant hanging out with my mom and dad all evening.  I had planned on going over to my friend’s house that night to work on our science project on bugs and then chat online with a boy from my class.  Dad found out about that last part, and since he feels a twelve year old girl shouldn’t be “online unsupervised,” I couldn’t go to my friend’s house that night.  To make me feel better, he suggested we play games and roast marshmallows.  I stayed sullen long enough for him to know that I was really unhappy about not getting to go to my friend’s house, but I actually was looking forward to that night with mom and dad.

Unfortunately, as Dad set up the fireplace, he realized we had a squirrel living in the chimney.  No fire, no marshmallows, just a squirrel.  He quickly closed up the fireplace so the squirrel wouldn’t come running out in the middle of the night, and we popped popcorn instead.

The next day, the guy came to remove the squirrel from the chimney.  He was gorgeous!  He acted like he didn’t even notice me, but he told my Mom it was okay for me to video the squirrel being removed, so I got to stay in the room and watch the whole thing.  Mom told me I had to get out of the room if the squirrel got free, though, so I wouldn’t get bitten.  I agreed and pulled out my phone and turned on the camera.

The guy didn’t even hesitate.  He pulled on thick gloves, pulled the hood on his sweatshirt up over his ball cap, and climbed right inside the fireplace with nothing but a flashlight.  He looked around for a little bit, then reached up, and pulled the squirrel out.  At first, I couldn’t figure out what the squirrel was doing, but then I realized it was biting this guy’s finger, holding onto his hand with both paws.  The guy didn’t even seem to mind.  I guess the gloves were thick enough and he was probably used to removing squirrels out of chimneys.  Still, it looked freaky to me, seeing the squirrel gnawing at the end of his finger.

He got the squirrel in a trap, and then looked around the chimney some more.  He said he was looking for squirrel babies, but he didn’t see any.  Then, he was gone.  Removing the squirrel from the chimney didn’t take any longer than about ten minutes, but it was enough to get some good video.  I’m gonna send it to my friend tonight so she can see just how good looking squirrel removal can be!

Squirrel Removal From Chimney

get rid of squirrels

Don’t ever take advice from your friends on squirrel removal from your chimney, unless the advice is to call a wildlife trapper.  Getting a squirrel removed out of a chimney is not as easy as my best friend said it would be, and I swear the guy just wanted to see if I’d actually listen to him.  All I learned is NEVER to listen to him.

Squirrel
Squirrel waiting to get inside your chimney.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

I had an awesome little condo that’s close to my work, and since it was nicer than any of my friends’ places, they would all come and hang out here.  In fact, I didn’t even know I had a squirrel in the chimney until my best friend woke up on my couch facing the fireplace and saw the squirrel just staring at him.  The squirrel took off back up the chimney.  That’s the morning he gave me the terrible advice.

He told me to make sure the glass doors in front of the fireplace were shut tight so the squirrel couldn’t get out.  Then, for two or three days, put out some salty snacks where he could reach them.  Salted peanuts, chips, pretzels, that sort of thing.  After a couple of days, the squirrel will get really thirsty, so that’s when you give it a water dish with 50% water and 50% vodka.  Get it nice and drunk, and then you can grab it and toss it outside.

I was kind of an idiot back then, so I took him seriously.  He was kind of an idiot, too, so he might have actually been serious when he gave me the advice on removing a squirrel from the chimney.  For three days, I’d open the glass fireplace doors just enough to shove in another salty snack, and then shut it up tight.  The snacks would disappear by the end of the day.  I only saw the squirrel once.  It was sitting next to the food dish gobbling up some peanuts.  As soon as it saw me, it ran back up the chimney.

On day four, I poured water and vodka into a small bowl and put it in the fireplace.  My friend came over to watch to see if it would work. For hours, we hung out in the front room, gaming and waiting to see if the squirrel would come down for a drink.  It never did.  It finally occurred to me that the squirrel hadn’t gotten in my chimney through the glass doors.  It had to have crawled down inside from the roof, and I hadn’t even thought of closing the flue.  That means, for days, it’s been going back outside after eating salty snacks and drinking wherever squirrels drink.  I hadn’t made it thirsty enough to get drunk on the vodka mixture I’d provided.  I’d only made sure the squirrel knew it could return to my house day after day for food.  As I said, I was an idiot back then.

Despite my friend’s pleading, I wasn’t about to repeat the experiment with the flue closed.  I didn’t want to get a squirrel bite as I reached up the chimney to close the flue, so I finally made a good decision and called a professional for squirrel removal from my chimney.  They came, removed the squirrel from the chimney, and my life went back to normal.  Well, as normal as life can be when you’re an idiot with an idiot friend.

Squirrel Control

squirrels in the roof

Whoever thought fermented pumpkins were a good idea for squirrel control was perhaps partaking from some of their own fermented drink.  As a squirrel, I guess I’m a bit of a lightweight, because it didn’t take me long to get completely and totally drunk from those pumpkins rotting on the vine.

Squirrel
Squirrel chewing on nuts.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

I have several squirrel nests around this area, including one in a backyard tree and (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone) a squirrel nest in their attic.  So far, they haven’t discovered the one in the attic.  I manage to sneak in and out of there without waking anyone up, because it’s really early in the morning when I leave, and they never check that attic space.  I adore that nesting material they so thoughtfully laid down along the whole floor.  It’s insulating, it’s soft and I personally don’t mind the smell of my, ahem, droppings and urine.  And the wood up there is just perfect for keeping my teeth filed down to the exact length I want.

These people have made no efforts at squirrel control the whole time I’ve been here, even though one of their trees is now dying because I got a little too excited chewing twigs off of it and it got diseased.  No, in fact, these people even come out onto their back porch with handfuls of birdseed and other delicious nuts and treats, and laugh and laugh as they throw it out for me to stuff into my cheeks.  I’m very careful to stow that food away in my other nests while they’re watching, although I have a nice little cache of food in their attic they’ll never know about until it’s too late.  They’ll worry about squirrel control then, but not now.

I thought they were very kind, leaving a few pumpkins out on the vine for me.  I’ve gnawed a little on the hard skin, but I was really waiting until the pumpkins rotted a little bit.  They smelled so good, and I could just imagine the gooey, squishy insides and how it would taste.  I had no idea it would ferment and cause me to do accidental backflips as I struggled to maintain the gigantic tree trunk in my sights and climb up to my nest.  All I want to do now is curl up and sleep this off, but I can’t even get two inches off the ground.  This tree just keeps spinning.  And the people just keep laughing and taking pictures.  Is this their idea of squirrel control?  Once I can finally get my dizzy head resting safe in my nest, I may just have to plot my revenge.

Maybe I’ll chew through some wires in the attic, or perhaps I’ll invite that family of mice to share my space up there.  These people will think twice before using fermented pumpkins as squirrel control in the future!

Squirrel Control

get rid of squirrels

I watched, horrified, as the guy who was the squirrel control expert, pulled the cover off of our ceiling fan.

Over the last few weeks, I’d noticed an odd smell in the house, and I just couldn’t locate the source no matter how often I went through the house sniffing and seeking.  The fan was behind a vent-like cover that pulled warm air up and out of the ceiling and out of the house.  Then, the fleas came.

Now, I keep a very clean home.  As my children grew up, they always complained about my strict rules, making them clean up their rooms, pick up toys, and help me keep the house nice and tidy.  I wasn’t over the top about it, but it was important to me, and it kept my children as healthy as children can be.  Sure, they complained about it while growing up, but I have noticed that each and every one of them, with the exception of my youngest, keeps a neat and orderly home.  My youngest rebelled a bit, and doesn’t care as much about clutter in her home, but she’s a happy and successful woman, so I try not to worry too much about it when I go to visit.

So, you can imagine how horrified I was to have first a mysterious smell, and then fleas.  Fleas!  In my home!  That just wouldn’t do at all.  First, I had an insect control company come out to fumigate, but the gentleman who came suggested that I might look for the root of the problem first, before they got rid of the fleas.  So, I called the animal control company he suggested, and my squirrel control expert arrived.  He had listened to my explanations over the phone, and was certain that there was some wild animal in my ceiling, and I would most likely need squirrel control services, given the time of year and the location of my home.

I honestly didn’t care about the time of year or the number of trees surrounding my home.  I just wanted whatever it was gone.  Out of my house.  Then, I could get rid of the fleas and go back to having a beautifully clean home.

So, when he pulled back the vent covering the ceiling fan, I could not believe the amount of nesting materials that fell down around his ears.  I was horrified and fascinated all at the same time.  He had been right.  Squirrel control was needed, because it was a nest of baby squirrels.  Mama squirrel was running around up there somewhere still, probably mad as heck.  He got rid of the squirrel nest, being careful with the babies, and used his squirrel control expertise to trap mama squirrel.  Once that was done, I got the fumigators out to my house, got rid of the fleas, and then went in and sterilized my entire home, hoping I’d never have to deal with squirrel control again.

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.

Squirrel Problems

Squirrel on a branch
Squirrel on a branch, waiting to come inside.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

I just moved into my apartment about two months ago, and now I have squirrel problems.

All of a sudden, I have a new roommate who’s just driving me crazy.  He comes and goes whenever he pleases.  He acts like he owns the place.  He takes some of my stuff, and breaks other stuff – he ripped a hole right in the window screen and doesn’t even care.  He’s always loud, especially in the morning, knocking things over, constantly going in and out of my place, feet pounding and waking me up.

My poor cat doesn’t know what to make of it all.  She just sits there watching it, trying to stay out of his way.  He acts like she’s not there and will even step on her from time to time.  Once, he picked up her cat food and walked off with it.  I was gone that morning, so I didn’t notice until I got back from work that night.

Then, one day, he disappeared behind my entertainment center and stripped some of the wires back there.  I don’t know what he intended to do, but he just left the job half-finished, the insulation ripped right off of the wires.  I haven’t been able to get my DVD player to work ever since, but it’s not like he cares.

I’m at my wits end, because the worst part of it is he doesn’t pay rent.  He doesn’t have to.  He’s a squirrel.

My squirrel problems have got to end soon.  This new “roommate” of mine literally leaves his crap all over the place – in my sock drawer, on kitchen counters, on the living room floor.  I found a squirrel hair in my cereal bowl the other day and just gagged and threw away the cereal box.

I thought problem squirrels limited themselves to chewing people’s trees and gardens, or crawling inside their attics.  My parents have a nice place outside the city, on a ½ acre lot with lots of trees, and they’ve had problems with squirrels every now and then.  They have several birdfeeders, so I wasn’t surprised when my mom told me about a squirrel that was performing all kinds of acrobatics to get at the bird seed.  I warned her that they’d end up with a squirrel nest in the attic some day.

But, squirrel problems were the last thing on my mind when I got my apartment in the city.  I’d asked the landlord if he’d had any problems with mice or rats or pigeons, but I failed to ask about squirrels.  Apparently, I’m the only one of his tenants that has this problem with a squirrel walking in and out of the window, making himself at home in my apartment.  I guess I need to just repair the window screen and call a professional wildlife removal service company.  Otherwise, I’ll have to take his share of the rent out of the nut collection he stuck inside my couch.

How To Get Rid Of Squirrels

A man hunting a squirrel before the infestation comes.(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)
A man hunting a squirrel before the infestation comes.
(Artwork by Sharon Davis. Contact us for her contact info.)

As you’re washing dishes, you glimpse out your kitchen window and notice a squirrel tucking leaves under its chin, and wonder why people would want to know how to get rid of squirrels.  You realize he must be making a nest somewhere nearby and think it’s wonderful to live so close to nature.  The squirrel carefully balances its load, scrabbles up a nearby tree, up and out of sight.  Turning off the water, you hear a small thump on the roof and small feet running along your shingles.  It suddenly occurs to you that the squirrel might be living closer to you than you wish.  Just to be on the safe side, you walk outside and squint up at your home.  Your heart drops when you spot a neat little hole chewed right through the soffit.  That cute little squirrel is making a den right in your attic.

But, you choose to ignore it for a while, hoping against hope that the squirrel will find a better place to build its nest and leave your home without a fuss.  You know if you bring it up to your husband, he will be upset and grumble about how he doesn’t know anything about how to get rid of squirrels, how much it will cost to have the squirrels removed and repair the damage to the soffit.  Chewing your lip, you go back to your dishes and try to convince yourself you’re imagining things when you hear soft rustlings coming from the attic.

The kids come home from school, your husband comes home from work, and sounds of laughter, occasional fighting between the children, television and video games fill the air.  Relieved, you think the squirrel has probably left your attic for a more quiet nest outside.

As the evening winds down and you get ready for bed, you choose to remain ignorant to the fact that the squirrel is probably matting down your attic insulation, possibly chewing through electrical wires causing a fire hazard, maybe laying a litter of babies.  You try to push out thoughts that sometimes baby squirrels can fall down into your walls, or shudder at the idea of squirrel droppings littering the space right above your head.  That cute little animal you saw outside your kitchen window this morning has become this evening’s nightmare.

Finally, you determine that enough is enough.  You don’t need to bother your husband.  Tomorrow, you will find out how to get rid of squirrels, or better yet, call for a professional to make sure every single squirrel is removed out of your attic, clean up the mess they left behind, and repair the damage to the soffit.  Better safe than sorry, you think.

Squirrel Trap

Building a squirrel trap? Ah, teenagers in summer.  They have eager minds looking for new ways to explore the world around them, to enrich their communities, and they love to fill the hours by helping around the house.  At least, that’s what we’d like to think a group of teenagers on the East coast were thinking when they decided to build a squirrel trap out of nothing more than a rock in their backyard.  Most likely, they were bored.

Their squirrel trap was simple to build – pry up a rock from the stone walkway in the backyard, dig a shallow hole underneath, prop up the rock and tie a string to the props.  Place a nut underneath and wait.

It wasn’t long before a greedy squirrel bounded up and stopped, sniffing the surrounding area.  Was this too good to be true, a nut just sitting there for the taking?!  The group of teenagers held their breath, waiting to see if this could possibly work.  Cautiously, the squirrel circles the nut, keeping most of its body free and clear of the overhanging rock, ready to run at a moment’s notice.  What was that noise?!  It leaps to the side, ears pricked, tail twitching, ready to run to safety.  Waiting, watching, the nut is still sitting there looking oh, so very good.  The squirrel must make sure it’s safe, but that free and easily obtainable food is . . . just . . . sitting there.  Whiskers quivering, it tries to overcome the temptation, but in the end, must succumb.  One more cautious circling of the precious treat, and he creeps ever so carefully into the shallow pit.

As soon as his tail clears the rock, SNAP!  The teenagers laugh and whoop!  They can’t believe it actually worked!  Everyone runs to get a better view, noisily clamoring down the stairs, slamming open the door and running outside, jostling each other.  Now what?

Creeping up to the rock, one brave teenage boy grabs a small length of twine, winds the ends around his hands, and carefully eases the twine under the squirrel trap. His friends are literally giggling with delight.  The moment he lifts an end of the rock, the squirrel leaps into air and runs to safety, a fuzzy brown blur.  The group’s giggles turn into raucous laughter.  “No way!”  “I didn’t even see it, where’d it go?”  “It’s like a squirrel ninja!”

Were they trying to learn more about the natural world?  Were they just trying to rid the neighborhood and home of a pest?  Or, were they very simply, bored and wanted to see if they could trap a squirrel?  Their parents have to wonder what they will think of next, and can only hope they won’t hurt themselves or get into any trouble.

Squirrel Removal

squirrel removal
Preparing for an important upcoming business meeting is certainly not the time to think about squirrel removal.

I was starting to become the office joke – the woman obsessed with the idea a squirrel was in the ceiling above her office. “Maybe it’s a ghost,” one co-worker offered, snickering. “Are the voices talking to you again?” another one joked.

“Haha, maybe you’re just jealous because you have to work downstairs and I have a nice office with a view?” I countered, lamely.

Truth was, the squirrel was starting to drive me nuts . . . pun intended.

I was one of the first employees in the building every day, and I’d walk up the central flight of stairs to my second floor office. My space didn’t really have that great of a view, and only one very small window, but it was still one of the better offices in the building. I enjoyed tackling my stack of paperwork early, when the phones weren’t ringing and no one was giving me more work to do.

One morning, as I scooped my yogurt into my mouth while looking over a legal document, I heard a very quiet “pit-pat-pit-pat” right above my head. I put the yogurt down, and sat very quietly until I heard it again. “Pit-pat-pit-pat-scrape-scrabble.” Eyebrows raised, I guessed it was probably a squirrel, and I decided to inform the office manager when she arrived.

I let her know. She said she’d look into it. I thought that was the end of it.

The office manager didn’t want to look into it. Her budget was kind of tight, and calling someone to investigate, much less call someone for squirrel removal. Her option was to just pretend it wasn’t happening. After all, no one else was complaining, so maybe it’d just go away on its own.

At first, it was kind of amusing. I would be interrupted from my work with a scrabbling sound coming from above my head. But, as each day wore on, I stopped imagining a cute little creature and started grinding my teeth, thinking it must be doing this on purpose. How had I offended this little squirrel to justify its constant harassment?

My work definitely suffered, as did my office relations. I scowled a lot more at the office manager, who avoided my calls and deleted my emails, unread. I stopped coming in early, and I was one of the first employees to go home each day, just to get that stupid scrabbling out of my head.

When it got to the point where I was considering finding employment elsewhere, I finally hit upon the most genius idea. I convinced my boss I needed a larger space to house all my files, even if it meant giving up my coveted office. The owner’s son inherited my old second-floor office.

It’s likely squirrel removal happened shortly after that, but I really didn’t care. I finally had my peace and quiet back and could focus on my work again.