Rascally Squirrel DEFEATED! (summary)
Mark S. Fedor
A few months ago I posted an article asking about getting
rid of a squirrel which had started to live in the eaves
of our house. I promised a summary so here it is.
I'm happy to say that the squirrel has "moved" on to a
more natural home (I hope he hasn't gone on to a neighbors house!).
He has been gone for about 6 weeks. I would have posted earlier,
but my wife convinced me to wait for a while before publicly
claiming victory.... :^) It has been long enough... I WIN! :^)
The responses were very helpful. I used a couple of approaches.
First, I tried putting a piece of new wood over the hole.
No good, he chewed right through it.
second I used moth-balls. I put a whole box of them in its
nest. I didn't use a bottle to hold them as one of the
responses suggested (it came a day after I did the moth balls).
The next day, the squirrel had dumped out about 1/2 of them.
I guess he couldn't get the other half out. At this
point, he was still hanging around the eaves. He might
have been working on a move to a new home at this point.
I then got some sturdy wire mesh and covered the hole and put
up a new piece of facing (wood) on the eaves. Where he had
chewed before, I angled the wire mesh so he couldn't get
in there to chew up anything. The good part about this is
that it is mostly out of site under the lip of the eave so that
you can't see nothing from the ground.
Once I did this, he disappeared.... No, he wasn't in the
hole when I closed it up!
So it was a happy ending for all. Thanks very much to
everyone who took the time to respond. I believe I saved
all my responses, but I may have lost a few. Sorry about that.
I've included the responses for completeness....
Cheers,
Mark
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>Date: Wed, 10 Apr 91 15:12:50 -0400
>From: jo...@osf.org
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
Here's the mail I sent and the response I got:
Article 10753 of misc.consumers.house:
Path: paperboy!meth.osf.org!josh
From: jo...@meth.osf.org (Joshua Goldman)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: How to get rid of Squirrels and other questions
Keywords: squirrels gutters leaks pipe hammering
Message-ID: <15...@paperboy.OSF.ORG>
Date: 5 Nov 90 15:39:17 GMT
Sender: ne...@OSF.ORG
Reply-To: jo...@meth.osf.org (Joshua Goldman)
Organization: Open Software Foundation, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Lines: 35
I discovered that a piece of wood near my wood gutters had rotted out. I
removed it. Then when I was trying to seal it a week later, I discovered
that there was a gnawed hole about 3 by 5 inches. Since there is a
power line coming in from a pole to my house near this point, I assume
that squirrels have entered the house and made a nest in it. Sure
enough, now that we were wondering about it, I heard some scratching
noises in the closet and my cat was under the bed!
I called up a Pest removal service and they recommended live trapping
(they seal the entrance after they trap all the squirrels). They
haven't been to my house but their minimum charge is $300. Is this the
right way to get rid of squirrels? (seems reasonable to me, I don't want
poisoned squirrels dying in my walls). Is $300 a reasonable figure?
Joshua Goldman jo...@osf.org (617)-621-8857
Open Software Foundation
11 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
Article 11043 of misc.consumers.house:
Path: paperboy!think.com!mintaka!olivea!apple!bbn.com!gemini.bbn.com!jaborn
From: jab...@gemini.bbn.com (Justin A. Aborn)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Removing Squirrels
Message-ID: <60...@bbn.BBN.COM>
Date: 15 Nov 90 16:54:07 GMT
Sender: ne...@bbn.com
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.
Lines: 29
Squirrels are a huge pain in the butt. They are very
destructive. They can make mincemeat of electrical wiring and
important wood in short order. These things are rats with furry
tails. Get rid of them as soon as possible.
Usually pest removers will not touch a squirrel because it is
illegal to do *anything* to a squirrel in Massachusetts. That is
why he is asking for $300. Even moving a squirrel is illegal. I
do not think there are too many squirrel police out there but...
The only way I have found to get rid of them is to trap them in a
Hava-Hart trap baited with peanut butter, then cover up whatever
entrance they have found. You have to be very very very thorough
about covering entrances because they will try real hard to get
back in. The best way to keep them from coming back in is to
provide an alternative living situation for them (a wooden box in
a tree or some other sort of nest), kill them, or drive them far
far far away, which also has a good chance of killing them.
Apparently squirrels are not very good at figuring out how to
stay alive in a new area. The other squirrels already in
whatever area you bring them to, will attack them and try to keep
them from getting food, shelter, etc. I would hate to have that
happen to me. I would vote for *really* plugging up the house
and hoping that the squirrel can put a nest together before
winter. After all, they do have furry tails.
Justin
--
I did use a Pest Removal service. What they did was trap the squirrels with Havaheart traps and then brought them far away. Then they put crushed-up newspapers into the hole to see if there were any squirrels that they had missed.
After the crushed-up newspapers remained in place after a day, they sealed up the hole with chicken fencing. However, a day later another squirrel got into the house through a second opening. I just sealed this opening up during the day when the squirrel was likely to be out and then checked to make sure the squirrel did not return.
The Pest Removal service said that if the squirrels were set on coming into your house, it is almost impossible to seal them out and it's necessary to move them to another area (which may kill them) or to kill them.
I'd try sealing off their entrance during the day with chicken fencing and see if that works.
Other mail (that I apparently didn't save) suggested sealing the entrance with chicken fencing in a way that would allow them to push it open from the inside but not from the outside. There is also so repellant stuff that you can spray on that discourages them. The Pest Removal guys said that they prefer entrances that are high because they are safe when they are up from the ground from predators. So you don't have to worry about potential entrances on the ground.
But from the way they gnawed at the wood, I doubt that there's anyway you could entirely seal up a wooden house from them if they really wanted to get in.
Good luck.
Joshua Goldman jo...@osf.org (617)-621-8857
Open Software Foundation
11 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
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>From: LVD...@VENUS.LERC.NASA.GOV
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
In article <1991Apr10.1...@uu.psi.com>, you write...
>
> Hi there! We've had a squirrel take up residence in one
> section of the eaves on our house. Chewed right through
Call your local game warden/park service/dog catcher. They should have
a live trap (have-a-heart is one brand) to capture the critter. If
not, the traps don't cost much. You can then release te squirrel elsewhere
and your problems are over... unless, of course, you have baby squirrels
in your walls.
-Duane
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>Date: Wed, 10 Apr 91 17:40:21 -0400
>From: d...@central.cis.upenn.edu (David Phillips)
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
I got rid of a squirrel family in the attic by blowing mothballs (lots
of them) through its access hole with the exhaust end of a vacuum
cleaner. They DO NOT LIKE this. One ran frantically right past the
roaring vacuum hose and hit the ground running.
Give them a day or two to clean out their nuts and berries, then seal
the hole.
djp
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>Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 08:10 EDT
>From: bel...@searchtech.com (Belinda Hoshstrasser)
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
We have had the same problem, only our squirrels found a vent where the
builder forgot to put in the grating so they can just come and go as they
please. The only humane solution that we have found is to use traps.
I'm not sure where you buy them (maybe a hardware store), some friends
loaned us two traps. You put bait into the trap -- they are particularly
fond of peanut butter -- and wait. Once the squirrel is caught, you
remove the trap and drive some where far from your house to release the
squirrel. Now, he's someone else's problem! ;-)
I must say, however, we haven't had any luck with this method. We've called
the county animal control people, our vet, and exterminators. Everyone says
the same thing -- "that's a really hard problem to get rid of." Oh well. . .
Good Luck!
--
-------------------------------------------------
| Belinda Hoshstrasser |
| bel...@searchtech.com |
| Search Technology, Inc. |
| 4725 Peachtree Corners Circle, #200 |
| Norcross, GA 30092-2553 (404) 441-1457 |
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>Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 13:24:36 PDT
>From: Barton T Hickman <bartonh%tekig6.pe...@RELAY.CS.NET>
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
Try "Foamsulate". It's the insulation foam that comes in a can. Animals
are supposed to not like the taste of this stuff and so they avoid it--if
you spray the hole full of the stuff, maybe the squirrel won't chew it
back out again--unfortunately, he may chew AROUND it. In any case it's
an option.
Bart
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>Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 16:06:05 -0400
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
We had a similar problem with a squirrel in our basement. Don't know if you
can do anything like this in your situation, but it may be an alternative to
the cat.
We went to the local SPCA and rented ($7 donation) a small trap. Had very
little success until we switched to peanut butter for bait. Caught the guy
unharmed and drove him to a local park. Might want to take the scenic route.
Dave S.
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>From: Peter Renzland <njin!rutgers.rutgers.edu!ontmoh!peter>
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
>Date: Sun Apr 14 22:34:03 GMT 1991
The squirrels will tear your poor cat to shreds!
What I did:
1. wait until the sqirrels were outside.
2. insert stink bomb: a glass juice bottle, with metal screw top, perforated
with several air holes (the lid), filled with camphor mothballs. (insert
so it lies on its side so it won't get soggy even if it should get wet)
(do you get Everfresh brand small juice bottles in NY? -- small size is
quite enough -- it makes an awful stench)
3. I covered the hole with alu siding, to resist chewing (make it project
slightly to prevent access to the wood itself)
(depending on your visual exposure, you may want to put woodover that,
after the squirrels have moved on.
4. it won't hurt to apply liberal amounts of tobasco sauce and the hottest
pepper you can find to the outside edges.
You could also call your local municipality or humane society (SPCA?).
--
Peter Renzland @ Ontario Ministry of Health 416/964-9141 pe...@ontmoh.UUCP
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>From: sard...@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov (Tom Sardella)
>Subject: Re: Rascally Squirrel
In article <1991Apr10.1...@uu.psi.com> you write:
>
> Hi there! We've had a squirrel take up residence in one
> section of the eaves on our house. Chewed right through
> a small section of wood to gain access. I tried blocking
> off the entrance with some woodwork, but the squirrel
> chewed right through that.
>
> I don't want to hurt the thing, but I don't want him living
> in our house. Is there any way to eradicate him and keep
> him eradicated? Like moth balls? etc.?
>
> I was thinking of tying one of our cats on the roof right
> in front of his access hole, but our cats are afraid of heights. :^)
Mark,
I posted a response to your article, then went back and reread
it and noticed you prefer email responses. Here's what
I posted in case you missed it.
Tom Sardella
sard...@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov
We've had problems in the past trying to keep squirrels out of our flower
beds. What finally worked was dried blood (you buy it as a fertilizer).
I had read somewhere that squirrels can't stand the smell of it, although
I've noticed that it attracts our cat. We just spread it around the area
we want to keep them away from. I don't know if it would help in your
situation (I don't think I'd want to spread it around my house), but it's
worked really well for us.
--
Mark S. Fedor {cmcl2,sunic,nyser}!uupsi!fedor
Performance Systems International fe...@uu.psi.com
Albany, NY, USA +1 518-283-8860
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