Posted By admin on June 24, 2009
By WoodyBobs
Chapter 1: Why Squirrels Enter Human Space.
You either love or hate squirrels. Squirrels can be cute and picturesque at afar or they can be invading, annoying, and troublesome at close range. In most environments squirrels can be seen foraging for acorns, climbing trees, pouncing in backyards, and crossing streets. All of this behavior is normal squirrel behavior. When squirrels enter our space, is it their behavior still considered normal? Why do squirrels enter our space?
Squirrels enter our ‘space’ because we invite them into our space. We don’t invite squirrels into our space on purpose. There are a many things we can do to not invite squirrels into our area of living. I will discuss preventable ways of keeping squirrels from thinking they are invited into our living space – whether it is our home, garden, birdfeeder or back/front yard.
Imagine your life as a squirrel. Step into the shoes of a squirrel for a moment and think how you would behave in a situation where food was scarce. Squirrels, like humans, are motivated by food. Almost every living creature on Earth needs food for energy consumption. Energy keeps us going. Without energy we become weak and bed-ridden. Squirrels are no different. Food keeps squirrels going. Summer is the time of year when squirrels become more curious and venture into the unknowns. Summer is the season when squirrel become the most troublesome. Summer is when our garden grows, our bird feeder is filled with happy birds, and our doors and windows are open to let in a gentle summer breeze. These are all signs of a healthy squirrel habitat. Squirrels like areas where food is available to them without having to work hard for it. Birdfeeders are easy to operate for squirrels. They climb the pole and sit on the birdfeeder porch and chomp away. The homeowner will always refill the birdseed – which of course is for the birds.
If you leave a door open to your home you are inviting squirrels and other pesky creatures into your house. Squirrels will find there way into a dark, quiet, undisturbed place – the attic. Squirrels like to nest in undisturbed places far away from predators. This is the reason squirrels create nests high in trees. The only predators that can reach the nests are usually hawks and other predatory birds. Attics make great living space for squirrels. If your attic has an entranceway big enough for a squirrel to exit and enter then the squirrel will leave during the morning hours – gather food and feed and then come back to the attic to rest.
Getting rid of squirrels is 100% preventative maintenance. Preventing squirrels from seeking habitat in your space keeps squirrels away. After you read my book you should walk away with enough knowledge to keep squirrels out of your home, attic, garden, and birdfeeder.
Chapter 2: How to get rid of squirrels in your home.
Squirrels are curious creatures. If you keep a door open or have holes, entranceways into your home then squirrels will seek entranceways out and explore. Squirrels will enter any way they can into your home. If you leave the door open while cooking you are giving the squirrel a reason to enter your home. Squirrels love home cooking!
You need to block entrances squirrels use to get into your home. Nail blocks of wood over entrances. Smaller entrances are usually found in the garage. Squirrels like dark quiet places. If your garage is usually quiet in the summer then squirrels will seek entrance through your garage. Squirrels are smart explorers. They will navigate there way up to your attic.
In North America, there are three major species of squirrels. The Gray Squirrel is the most common found in the North Eastern states of NY, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and as far South as Florida. Gray squirrels are found in other Western states but are not as common as they are in the North Eastern states. The Fox and Red Squirrels are less common and mainly populate the Southern states. The difference between the Gray Squirrels and the Red and Fox Squirrels is size. Gray Squirrels are larger than Fox and Red Squirrels. Red Squirrels are annoying because since they are smaller they generally stay together to ward off predators. A family of Red Squirrels in your attic is going to be a bigger problem than one Gray Squirrel. Red Squirrels are tree squirrels. This means they will find nesting areas near the top of your home. Red Squirrel nests can be found near gutters and corners of your home – often in the attic or outside of the attic. Red Squirrels will usually build their nests inside an entranceway.
Keeping squirrels out of your home requires preventative maintenance. Here is a checklist for your home preventative maintenance:
· Check your garage for rat holes and unblocked entranceways.
· Keep your door closed during the summer or use a screen-door.
· Replace window screens if screens appear to have holes big enough for a squirrel to enter.
· Squirrels love to gnaw and chew. Check the outside of your home for possible entranceways.
· Get on a ladder and inspect the roof of your home. Old roofs are easy targets for squirrels due to their gnawing abilities.
· Keep lids securely on garbage cans. Use squirrel proof garbage cans.
If it’s to late for preventative maintenance and you can tell there are squirrel(s) in your home then taking the following measures to get rid of the squirrel(s). Remember, after you rid the squirrels from your home you will want to take the steps mentioned to prevent squirrels from invading ‘human space’.
You can get rid of squirrels by waiting for them to leave for the day and blocking there entrances, placing squirrel and rat traps, spraying squirrel repellents and fox/wolf urine, poisoning, and firearms. Below, I have compared the pros and cons of all the ways to get rid of squirrels in your home.
Poisons and lethal firearms should always be used as a last resort due to the squirrel potentially dieing inside your home. Injured squirrels will usually try to find the deepest and quietist area in your home to die. This area will be out of reach and you will start to smell the odor of dead squirrel. This odor will linger in your home until you hire a pest control service to find the varmint and clean the area of dead carcass smell. You purchased this book to save money. You could call a professional pest control service but this will cost several hundred dollars. You can do everything a pest control service does for far cheaper. Shooting a squirrel inside your home will cause damage to your home and possibly leave fragments of squirrel in your home if shot at close range.
Squirrel traps are an effective way of keeping squirrels from coming back. You have two choices. You can trap the squirrel and let it go a couple miles from your home or trap the squirrel and kill it outside. Squirrel traps are not like rattraps. We will get to rattraps soon. Squirrel traps are a baited cage and allow the squirrel to walk in, but not exit. Another type of squirrel trap allows the squirrel to walk in and exit forward not the way it entered. These traps are usually placed in the holes squirrels use to enter. This allows the squirrels to leave your home unharmed but prevents them from entering again as the traps now occupy the entrance. I recommend the Havahart (www.Havahart.com) two-door squirrel trap to block squirrel entrances with exit only cages.
Rattraps usually kill the squirrel and you may only want to use rattraps in areas that you can reach them to get rid of the dead squirrel. A squirrel trapped in a rattrap will die. It may be die instantly or take time to die due to severe injuries from the trap. Place rattraps in areas where squirrels frequent but also in areas that you can reach either by hand or broom handle. Always wear protective gloves when touching dead animals. You never know when one has rabies or other diseases that can be transported to humans. Common rattrap bait is peanut butter and peanut shells, however, peanut butter and acorn shells work as well. Squirrels will feast on just about anything but it is important to use a sticky scentless substance like peanut butter to hold down the bait to the trap.
Predator urines such as fox and wolf urine are an effective way to keep squirrels from returning to your home. Fox and wolf are natural squirrel predators in the wild. In the wild squirrels can sense predators by smelling their urine territory markers. Try buying a spray bottle of jar of fox or wolf urine and sprinkling it around your garage and on the outside of your home. Create a territory boundary line that should stop squirrels dead in there tracks. The problem with predatory urines of course is that squirrels are smart creatures. If they don’t see a wolf or fox after a while they may become suspicious. I have heard good reports from people who have said predatory urines cured their squirrel problems. I have also heard from others that the squirrels become smarter when they don’t visually see the presence of a fox or wolf. Either way, you may want to purchase predator urine online and see if it keeps your squirrels away.
Squirrel repellent sprays such as our own Squirrel Shark Spray (www.SquirrelShark.com) are usually pretty effective in keeping squirrels away from your home. Squirrel repellents usually always contain cayenne pepper and jalapenos. Squirrels like humans have heat sensors in there mouth. Some humans enjoy the hotness but most humans shed tears and feel the heat when they eat a cayenne pepper or habanera pepper. Squirrels will smell and taste the spray and stay away from those areas.
There ridding squirrels strategies we discussed can be effective. Experiment with each technique and use the one that works best. Remember, squirrels are pesky little creatures and you want to be on top of your game when chasing them off. Use the preventative maintenance techniques we discussed and your home should be squirrel-free in no time at all.
Chapter 3: How to get rid of squirrels in your attic.
We briefly discussed ridding squirrels from your attic in chapter 2. Now, I am going to touch on some key points to ridding squirrels from your attic. We will of course start with preventative maintenance. Squirrels almost always enter your home via the attic or garage. If your garage door is open you are leaving a welcome mat out for the squirrels. Check for holes in garage walls and corner entrances. Take a walk around your home and check for tree branches reaching out towards your attic. Squirrels will often enter your attic via a tree branch close to an attic entrance. Squirrels are creative climbers. It takes nothing for a squirrel to get on your roof and look for an opening to your attic. Squirrels appreciate warm undisturbed places like attics. Attics are usually hard places to keep squirrels out of because they can be hard places for humans to enter. Most attics are accessible, but many have areas that people can’t reach like slim corners and odd ceiling forms. Squirrels usually take up residency in the corners of attics. Corners provide immediate shelter to squirrels and also are hard for people to reach down into.
Let’s start with preventative maintenance of your attic. It is important to do a walk around in your attic. Walk around the inside of your attic during a bright sunny day. Take a pair of binoculars with you. If your attic windows do not have shades take portable shades with you and keep only 1 window open. Get on all fours at one end of the attic and point your binoculars to the corners of the attic. Look for openings of light. You should be able to easily spot areas where squirrels can enter. Write down these areas on a pad of paper and write a number on a piece of duct tape and tape the number next to the corresponding spot. You will want to keep track of all the entrances you are going to fix. This way once your squirrel problem is solved – if the squirrels come back you can find which entrance (spot) you need to focus more time on. Find your spots. You may have one spot or several possible entrances. Remember, squirrels can squeeze through holes smaller than there thickness to get in.
Once you have located any possible entranceways into your attic – block the entrances by nailing blocks of wood the entrances. Make sure the blocks are nailed securely over the entrances. In most cases if you block the entrances and take a broom and pretend to sweep the attic sides and ceilings you should be able to hear the squirrels inside your attic and locate them. Keep the attic door closed. All your entrances are blocked and your squirrel(s) is either in your attic or between the attic and the outside. If the squirrel is between the attic and outside then this is good news for you because your squirrel enemies will have to leave your attic unless they chew a new way in. If the squirrel is in your attic (the same room you are in) then I recommend placing a few rattraps in your attic with peanut butter and peanut shells as bait. Place them in the corners of your attic. Your attic squirrels will become hungry and not be able to escape. Come back the next morning and retrieve the dead squirrels. Take a garbage bag up with you to quickly dispose of the squirrel carcasses.
I have heard of people using mothballs to keep squirrels out of the attic. You may want to place a couple mothballs in each corner of your attic. Follow up with this technique by spraying wolf or fox urine in the corners of your attic. If you have a squirrel spray repellent like Squirrel Shark – spray the bottom sides of your attic. Squirrels will either smell the predatory urines or taste the hot pepper. This hard-core squirrel control approach will usually keep squirrels out of your attic or running from your attic.
Let’s recap on keeping squirrels out of your attic. Block all entranceways for squirrels. Set rattraps. Spray predatory urines and repellents and place mothballs. Repeat once a week to make sure squirrels received the hint that they are not welcome.
Category: Squirrel Repellents |
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