Common Squirrel Entry Point
Here’s a challenge: Take a walk around your neighborhood and see if there are any homes that have two distinct roof lines that are tied in together at some point.
Did you find any? Of course you did because many of our homes are designed that way!
In fact, I just took my own challenge. I walked out the door and snapped two pictures. It literally took me less than a minute. Here are the examples I found.
In both of these pictures, we’ve circled the common squirrel entry points–those areas where one roof hangs over another but they come to a point where they intersect.
Though squirrels get in lots of places, this is definitely one of the top entry points for squirrels.
Squirrels love these spots because they are sheltered and often have imperfections that help them get in.
Doing a squirrel inspection, areas where two roofs touch will always get our attention.
Therefore, if you have areas like this on your roof line and suspect squirrel issues, we suggest starting your search for the squirrel’s entry point there.
Hard to See Squirrel Entry
A caution we’d like to add in inspecting these areas is that sometimes these types of entrances, even when suspected, can be difficult to see. A lot of the difficulty is based on the angle.
In the video below, Ryan shows us a “hidden” squirrel entry where the eave of a dormer meets the main roof.
The entrance was tucked way up under the overhang and the angle was bad for visualization. You can see the squirrel entrance on camera but he had to take his phone and stick it up and under the eave.
This is a classic squirrel entry point but one that could only be confirmed by getting up there and feeling around.
There turns out to be a nice hole under there that goes right into the attic.
Under Eave Squirrel Removal
Trapping the squirrels like the one in the video above is accomplished with a combination of one-way door traps and baited box traps.
With knowledge of the entries/exits, wire is used to block possible escape routes and funnel any exiting squirrel through the one-way door trap.
Squirrels that are on the outside looking in are drawn to the baited traps beside the one way door trap.
In the video, you can see both in action. The squirrel was caught in the one-way door trap after it came out of the attic.
The picture below shows the same sort of set-up at another job.
This eave overhang had a chimney involved as well.
You can see squirrels in the one-way door trap that is uncovered, to the left side, right up against the house. There is wire covering the area above the trap between the house and the chimney. There wire doesn’t allow the squirrel to go anywhere but into the trap. The trap seems like the only way out for the squirrel.
The traps with duct tape on them are baited with squirrel tempting treats.
These traps catch squirrels that were outside the nest when the traps were set but come right to this area.
All the traps are left in place until no more squirrels are being captured and there are no more signs of squirrels in the house.
The Squirrels are Trapped…Is The Problem Solved?
For the time being, yes. But if it happened once, what’s to stop it from happening again?
We and other quality nuisance animal removers offer suggestions on how to keep the problem from recurring, especially if a design element of the home was partially to blame for the squirrel intrusion.
The hole needs patched for sure. But, what else can be done?
Could this area be squirrel-proofed in any way? Could something be done about the squirrel-inviting design to lessen the odds that a squirrel will choose this spot again?
While each spot is unique, there are ways to make the areas more squirrel proof.
The goal of this repair is to keep squirrels and other animals out of that little spot behind the chimney and under the overhanging roof.
Letting squirrels into this design element is just asking for trouble.
By solidly blocking this area, the design which invited the squirrels has been nullified.
This area is definitely much less inviting to squirrels (as well as raccoons, birds, etc).
Squirrel Removal & Repair | Akron, Canton, Kent OH
When nuisance animals get into homes, it is important to remove the offenders AND make a quality, thoughtful repair.
When an animal points out the weakness in a home’s design, take the opportunity to address this design element so the problem doesn’t happen again.
Frontline Animal Removal traps squirrels and other nuisance animals in the Akron / Canton / Kent, OH area. We also make repairs and modifications to keep other nuisance wildlife out.
If you are interested in our trapping and repair services please contact us today or continue on to other parts of our website.
