Signs Of Squirrel Infestation And Wildlife Damage Around The Home
There are several signs to look for regarding squirrel problems.
Squirrels tend to be territorial and will mark accordingly, some things to look for
include chew marks, urine stained roof shingles, and of course, holes.
Pictures from left to right:
1. Squirrel damage to home
2. A good example of ineffective wildlife damage control, boards were used
as a preventative tactic and the squirrels chewed right through them
3. Tree damage from squirrels marking their territory, a good sign squirrels are around
4. Hole in roof
5. Signs of chewing and impending attic invasion, there are also urine stained roof shingles in this area.
Call us immediately if you see this around your house, as it is a sure sign the squirrels will be moving in soon.
6. An example of squirrels chewing through electrical wires, a very dangerous home hazard you should avoid.
Squirrels like to chew on trees and homes as a way to mark their territory; they also do it to gain access
to various areas and to keep their large front incisor teeth nice and sharp.
Squirrels can chew right through the middle of your cedar or composition roof.
If there is one thing that we get more wildlife control calls and complaints about,
it is squirrels. One might think that they are part of the beaver family because of
how much they chew and destroy things. A squirrel's brain is about the size of an average walnut,
so you do not want one in your attic thinking that your electrical wires are tasty tree limbs.
If you've seen signs of squirrels around your home, we know what
to do and we can humanely evict them for you. Squirrels can quickly
destroy a home so don't procrastinate, call us today.
The humane way, in most cases, is the most cost effective method, so
our services will save you money in the long run.
After removal we'll take steps to prevent additional critters and
wildlife from invading and damaging your home in the future.
Getting Rid Of Squirrels - Attic Wildlife Removal The Humane Way
We use time proven methods to get rid of squirrels in the attic, all of which are very
effective. We evict squirrels from buildings and make it so that they cannot get back in
via repairs and reinforcements. If the repairs are
too labor intensive, we can manage contractors to do it for
you. Usually, the average homeowner cannot see what we have done until
we point it out. We aim to be discreet and effective. Our motto is wildlife removal and prevention
done right the first time.
Things You Can Do To Help Prevent Critter Problems
Tree Trimming: Trim or remove trees so they are 17-20' from your house. Also,
keep vines, bushes and trees 17-20' from all fences, and use fencing that is unattractive to wildlife,
such as wrought iron spiked fences with decorative finials.
Home Repairs: A majority of the calls we get are due to roofing problems.
A cedar shingle roof is an invitation to insects and wildlife and should be avoided
at all costs. If your neighborhood covenants require them, after we speak at your
homeowner’s meeting, that may change. We can have your damaged and rotted siding and
trim replaced, a chimney cap installed, covers installed on your attic roof vents and more.
Proper home construction can go a long way.
Other Preventative Measures: Having free food around is one of the main reasons for
nuisance wildlife and critter invasion. Do not feed the squirrels, but also avoid feeding
the birds too. When you start planning a custom home, have us adjust your house blueprints
to avoid features that wildlife is attracted to. When you are looking at buying a new home,
allow us to give you a pre-purchase Integrated Pest Management (IPM) inspection to avoid
wildlife problems in your new house.
A Funny Video - Serious Protection
The Skunk Whisperer ®, Inc., is the only authorized
Critter Guard dealer in Oklahoma.
Our customers were some of the very first in the United States to use the Critter Guard
wildlife proofing products to protect their important homes, buildings and power poles.
Critter Guard systems work by limiting a squirrel’s access to off limits areas and can
also be used to help prevent opossums, rats and other wildlife pests.
The Critter Guard systems utilize polypropylene with a UV Resistance additive
to make them particularly rugged in the harshest conditions, offering an estimated twenty years of
service in all weather environments. Critter Guard products are
designed to be environmentally safe, as well as, kind to wildlife.
More On Other Humane Wildlife Prevention Products
Squirrel Trap Disadvantages and Dangers
There are two different ways to trap squirrels: live cage trapping and conibear kill traps. We do not use either
unless a cage trap is required to reunite a mother with her young. A cage trap can kill squirrels just as easily as
a kill trap because of the stress it inflicts on many squirrels. Relocating them is sometimes more inhumane
than other methods because they will be relocated into a territory already taken by other squirrels –
they will possibly be pushed out and starved, which is a miserable death. Kill traps are indiscriminate, unforgiving,
non-target traps for wildlife.
How Some Wildlife Pest Control Companies Get Rid of Squirrels
If you see any traps that look like these body grip style squirrel traps, A.K.A. conibear trap,
on your property, please know that unaware fingers will be injured, and that squirrels, cats,
birds and other non-target animals will certainly die if caught in them. These traps are
designed to snap closed on a
squirrel’s neck, but may sometimes miss the neck. We have
many clients turn to our services after seeing squirrels struggle for up to fifteen minutes
in traps similar to these because of partially crushed skulls, broken ribs, and caught legs.
A few people that have had services accidentally kill curious cats and hungry birds are other
reasons people switch to us. We understand that not everybody operates their business the
unusual way we do, but The Skunk Whisperer®, Inc. will not utilize conibear style traps on
your property. We do not believe that
live trapping is the answer either because that would
simply set you up to be a repeat client. Do not let any service try and convince you that killing
or trapping your current nuisance wildlife and patching one hole is anything more than a temporary solution.
