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If you live in the Akron, Canton, or Kent area and suddenly notice young squirrels running around your yard, climbing trees, or investigating your roof, you are not imagining things. Late September is another time of year when squirrel activity becomes especially noticeable around Northeast Ohio homes.
At Frontline Animal Removal, we often see a familiar pattern in the spring: homeowners hear scratching, chewing, or running in the attic and eventually discover that a female squirrel has established a nest inside the house. Then, several months later, we begin seeing another wave of squirrel problems.
The reason is simple: Eastern gray squirrels commonly produce two litters each year.
The first litter arrives early in the year, while the second litter is born during the summer. By late September, those second-litter babies are no longer helpless newborns tucked away in a nest. They are becoming active, mobile young squirrels—and homeowners are much more likely to notice them.
Why Are We Seeing Baby Squirrels in September?
Many people naturally associate baby squirrels with spring. That makes sense because squirrels do produce a spring litter. But Eastern gray squirrels commonly reproduce twice each year.
That second litter is the reason we start seeing noticeably smaller squirrels around homes again as summer turns into fall.
The timing also explains why the problem can seem to appear suddenly.
A female squirrel may establish a nest in an attic, soffit, wall void, or another protected portion of a house while the young are still small. At first, homeowners may hear very little. The babies remain in the nest, and the mother does most of the traveling.
As the young squirrels grow, everything changes.
They become more active. They begin climbing, exploring, playing, and eventually leaving the nest. Suddenly, a homeowner who has barely noticed anything may see two, three, or more young squirrels running around the roof or trees near the house.
Squirrels Develop Quickly
Baby squirrels are surprisingly different from the animals we see scrambling around trees in September.
Newborn squirrels are born hairless, with their eyes and ears closed. They depend entirely on their mother and remain in the nest while they develop. Their eyes open at approximately four weeks, and they continue growing rapidly after that. Young squirrels are generally weaned at around three to four months.
Newborn squirrels are born hairless, with their eyes and ears closed. They depend entirely on their mother and remain in the nest while they develop. Their eyes open at approximately four weeks, and they continue growing rapidly after that. Ohio Wildlife Center notes that young squirrels are generally weaned at around three to four months.
This rapid development is important when dealing with a squirrel problem in a house.
A squirrel nest that is difficult to detect in July can become much easier to identify by September.
The sounds may become louder. The activity may become more frequent. And the young squirrels may begin appearing outside.
This is why late September can bring a new wave of squirrel removal calls.
The Same Squirrel Problem We See in Spring Can Happen Again
There is an important connection between spring squirrel problems and what we see in September.
In both situations, a female squirrel may be using a structure as a protected place to raise young.
The location might be:
- An attic
- A soffit
- A roof edge
- Behind a fascia board
- Inside a wall or ceiling
- Around a gable vent
- Near a roof transition
- At another opening that provides access to the structure
From the squirrel’s perspective, a house can provide exactly what a nesting animal wants: shelter, protection from weather, and a relatively secure location for raising young.
Once a squirrel discovers that an opening provides access to a comfortable nesting location, it may continue using that area until the access point is addressed.
That is where squirrel removal becomes more complicated than simply catching an animal.
Seeing Young Squirrels Does Not Necessarily Mean They Are Outside-Nesting Squirrels
One common assumption is that if you see young squirrels in the yard, they must be living in a tree.
Sometimes they are.
But seeing young squirrels outside does not tell you where they are nesting.
A squirrel can leave a house, travel through the trees, and return to the same structure. A young squirrel may also spend considerable time exploring outside while still returning to a nest.
This is why activity around a roof should not automatically be dismissed as normal backyard squirrel activity.
If squirrels are repeatedly climbing onto the roof, entering an opening, disappearing into a soffit, or making noise inside the house, there may be a much bigger story happening out of sight.
Why We Pay Attention to the Entire Family
When Frontline Animal Removal encounters a squirrel problem during this time of year, we are not simply interested in removing the first squirrel we see.
We want to understand what is happening at the structure.
If a female is using a house as a nesting site, there may be young squirrels nearby. Removing the adult without accounting for the young can leave part of the problem behind.
Likewise, removing visible squirrels without addressing the opening that allowed them inside does not solve the underlying problem.
That is why proper squirrel removal involves inspection, removal, and repair.
Removing the Squirrels Is Only Half the Job
At Frontline Animal Removal, our approach to squirrel problems is based on a simple principle:
The squirrels need to come out, and the house needs to stop being accessible to them.
We inspect the structure to determine how squirrels are getting inside and where they are traveling. Depending on the situation, removal may involve trapping squirrels at or near the entry point rather than simply placing traps randomly around the property.
Once the animals are removed, the next question is just as important:
Why was the squirrel able to get inside in the first place?
That opening needs to be repaired.
A damaged vent, loose soffit, roof-edge gap, deteriorated fascia, or other structural weakness can become an invitation for another squirrel later.
September Is a Good Time to Pay Attention
The appearance of young squirrels in late September is not necessarily a sign that something is wrong. Seeing squirrels outside is a normal part of their life cycle.
But seeing squirrels repeatedly using your house is different.
If you are hearing scratching or running in the attic, seeing squirrels on the roof, watching them disappear into a soffit or vent, or noticing activity around an existing opening, it is worth investigating before the problem gets worse.
The young squirrels we see in September are growing quickly. What starts as a few quiet noises can turn into a very active squirrel family occupying part of a house.
And once squirrels establish a successful nesting location, they have a reason to return to it.
Squirrel Removal in Stark, Summit & Portage Counties
At Frontline Animal Removal, we provide squirrel removal and repair services throughout the Canton, Akron, and Kent, Ohio area, including Stark, Summit, and Portage Counties.
This time of year, we expect to see another increase in squirrel activity because the second generation of young squirrels is becoming much more visible and active.
So if you are surprised to see little squirrels running around your property in late September, remember: squirrel season isn’t just a spring event.
The second litter is growing up.
And if some of those squirrels are growing up in your attic, soffit, walls, or other part of your house, Frontline Animal Removal can help determine how they are getting in, remove the squirrels, and address the opening that started the problem in the first place.
Removal gets the squirrels out. Proper repair helps keep them out.