Getting rid of squirrels found in your attic is nothing to panic over. The problem critters should be taken care of swiftly and humanely. There are basically three approaches to this problem. The first is to call a relocator who will then trap the animal or animals in a safe and harmless way, or lure them out of your attic. After the pests are gone, he will release them to the wild according to state and local regulations far from your house. The second approach is to try to trap them yourself. To do this, you need to rent or buy a trap, or a few, from your local pound or the local chapter of the humane society.
The idea is to lure them in without harm to the animals. You can then put them outside yourself without the fees associated with having it done by a professional. Squirrels have been known to be attracted to junk food and the odors associated with them, like crackers or peanut butter. This will do just fine for bait. Most traps are single door models that open from the outside, but once the animals are inside, the door will not open from where they are. This is a simple enough and straightforward way to get the animals out of your attic. It requires patience, though. You could be waiting hours or even a couple of days. The third option is to use some type of repellent to encourage the animals to leave on their own the way they came. Squirrels can get in through holes in the ventilation of your house, holes in the roof, and so forth. They can easily find their way out if given an incentive to do so.
If you choose to go with the trapping method, you should try to find where they entered from, and put the trap along the same path. They will often return to their point of entry. After they have been caught, you need to put some bungee cords around the trap door and attach it to the wire frame to prevent it from swinging open again, letting the animals out.
Put some newspaper in the back seat of your car and place the trap on top of this, securing the trap in place with a seat belt. Most likely, the squirrels will be frightened and may leave droppings. The newspaper will prevent these droppings from damaging the upholstery of your car. You may need to travel up to thirty miles before releasing the animals back into the wild to be sure that they cannot find their way back to your home. After the pests are gone, you should work to close up any and all points of entry to your attic to prevent a recurrence. Squirrels are crafty and will try your house again if given the opportunity to do so. Some people choose to release the animals outside the house, but they are likely to try your home again or a neighbor’s home, so traveling some distance before letting them go is recommended.
Clean up any food smells or odors in your attic that may have attracted the squirrels in the first place. This will provide further insurance that the pests will not return or even create another hole, gaining access to your attic or house once again. Prevention is the best cure to this problem, and you should know that animals released into the wild far from their original habitat stand a far less chance of surviving, because food tends to be scare and other families of squirrels tend to dominate the new landscape, forcing them to forage for food on their own.
Related Posts
- How to Get Rid of Squirrels?
- How to Trap A Squirrel?
- How to Get Rid of Squirrels in the Yard?
- How To Get Rid Of Squirrels In Your Attic?
