Trapping Nuisance Squirrels
Here in the Akron, Canton, Kent, Ohio area there is a high population of squirrels. Most of these squirrels live in nests located in neighborhood trees and are rarely viewed as a problem.
But when the squirrel populations get high, good nesting spots are taken, or good old opportunity presents itself, squirrels are known to chew right into our houses and make themselves at home in our homes.
Having squirrels in the house is not a good thing. It is both a nuisance and a hazard.
When squirrels move into the attic, walls, or eaves of a home it is time for action. This blog post describes how we nuisance trap squirrels in the greater Summit, Stark, and Portage County area to help homeowner’s eliminate their squirrel problems.
Squirrel Trapping Basics
The first step in trapping most home invading squirrels is to find out how the squirrels are getting in. This is accomplished by a thorough inspection of the house. Areas of interest are obvious holes, fascia, vents, and soffits.
Recently, we inspected an Akron / Canton area home for squirrels. Take a look:
As can hopefully be seen in the photo, this view is from the ground looking up at a one story eave. This particular design left a gap between the fascia and the soffit (probably for ventilation). The resulting gap was then screened off. Well, this gap was a huge squirrel invitation and squirrels had no problem chewing the the screening material. They also widened the hole by chewing the wood to make entry even a little easier.
The first view showed the outside corner. This is about 12 feet to the right against a two story wall. The same thing is going on here, as squirrels have created a second entry point.
Having identified the areas where the squirrels were accessing this roof area, the trapping can begin.
Our strategy to trap these pest squirrels is to place a trap right by each of the entrance/exit points and make sure the squirrels have no way out unless they take the time and energy to chew another hole or go through the one way door into the trap. Almost always, the squirrel will take the path of least resistance.
To accomplish this strategy we use wire to secure and narrow the entry/exits as needed and mount two one way door traps by the holes. The process can be seen in the pictures below. Do-it-yourselfers take note, this type of trap is not available at most hardware stores. You’ll have to order them off the internet.
The peanuts are not entirely necessary, but we feel does provide the squirrel with a little enticement to try this newly modified door.
The cardboard is not necessary either but was placed at the end of each trap to lessen the stress from being stuck out in the open for the squirrel once it is caught.
Of course, the pictures of the trapped squirrels provides visual proof that the system works:
Removal. Exclusion. Solution.
Once the squirrels have been removed, a homeowner should consider repair work and prevention (the exclusion in our service mark). In the example above, at minimum the screening material needs fixed. A more permanent choice would be to eliminate the gap altogether.
When we remove the traps we discuss options with the homeowner because we don’t want to see the problem reoccur. There is a cost associated with repair that needs to be balanced with having nuisance trappers come out again when new squirrels take advantage of the situation if the repairs are not made.
Most reputable nuisance animal control companies like Frontline Animal Removal offer repair services. Just be careful and ask a lot of questions as to aesthetics; not all animal removal companies have skilled repair specialists like we do.
We hope you found this entry an enjoyable and informative read. If you want to learn more about squirrel removal or see more pictures, take a look around the rest of our web site.
You may want to start with our main Squirrel Removal page and then continue on to our other blog entries on nuisance squirrel removal.
