The invasion of squirrels in the attic
Squirrels are invading attics in homes all over virginia as mating season is in full swing for these fluffy rodents.
This is when squirrel control is very important to maintain the integrity of your home. Wildlife control can be tricky and if you check your local laws you will find that handling these issues yourself can prove to be illegal and may cause you to be charged with fines up to $6,000 per incident. There is also a health risk associated with doing your own wildlife trapping and relocating. Virginia law states that if you trap certain wildlife, they must be humanely put down.
Squirrels in the attic can be quite the bother when they are running around making a nest and having babies. Plus, squirrels chew on electrical wires, wooden beams, and insulation. They can do a great deal of damage in the attic and even a crawl space.
Inspect the outside of your home and check for possible entry points and nearby trees that may be too close to the house. If you see any suspicious activity or you begin to hear noises in the attic, call the pros at Summit Environmental Solutions, SES.
It is never recommended to seal off any entry points that you see until you are absolutely certain that there are no squirrels trapped. If a squirrel becomes trapped within the attic, it will go crazy gnawing its way back out and do even that much more damage.
The law also states that we are not able to separate a mama squirrel and her babies. Nor are we able to put down a pregnant squirrel. We take great care in ensuring we protect all species of squirrels.
Squirrel problems, if not taken care of fast, can get very bad, very quickly. And, based on my experience thus far, insurance companies are not willing to cover damages made by squirrels. They claim that it is due to poor upkeep of the home. This is not always true, however. Squirrels have very powerful jaws and can chew threw brand new roofs not just roofs that need to be replaced. If you have shrubs or trees that have limbs close to the roof, the chances of wildlife jumping onto the roof are greater than if your greenery is trimmed very small.
With every squirrel invasion situation, we require that a wildlife expert is sent to the home and assess the situation personally as every situation is different. From there, he or she will determine what needs to happen according to all the laws and regulations and what will be the most humane way to exclude them from your home. We have specialized tools used specifically for these types of situations. Exclusion doors are used for flying squirrels for example.
Exclusion doors, or one-way doors, are an excellent way to get squirrels and other wildlife out of your home or place of business. Be aware that this technique will not necessarily solve your squirrel problem — as new squirrels will quickly move in to replace the old ones. If there are squirrels in the attic, more than likely there is a nest of baby squirrels in there. If squirrels are chewing, excluding them will not stop new ones from doing the same. The situation is often more complex than simply setting one-way doors. One-way doors are mounted directly on the home, right over a hole squirrels are using to enter and exit. The device should have flanges, or wings on one end, to mount the trap to the building, and a torsion-spring repeating one-way door leading into a cage. This type of setup is the best way to remove the target squirrels, instead of traps, which can catch non-target animals which may be cruel.
To ensure the removal of squirrels without the return of more, you must follow a very specific process that includes cleaning up their mess. All the insulation must be removed. The wooden beams and inside structure must be fixed and sanitized. Why is this important? It is simple. If the squirrels are removed and you have not done the cleanup, other squirrels will smell the odors left behind and move right on in thinking it is a great place to nest because others have. Removal of all the excrement and damaged insulation is imperative. Another important part of the puzzle is to wrap the fascia around the entire house with critter guard. We can only guarantee the work that we do. Meaning, if you have us fix only the areas of which they came in, without wrapping the entire house, and a squirrel chews back in two feet to the right of the original hole where it is not wrapped, that is viewed as a whole new problem. If you agree to do the entire parameter of the roof, we guarantee there will be no more animal entries for up to two years. If wildlife manages to get in, we take care of it for you free. And right before the warranty is up, if you call to make an appointment to have the work inspected, the warranty can be extended.
Squirrels left in the attic without any intervention can pose great health risks. We have seen home where urine stains streamed down the drywall inside the living space. With all the wetness from the urine, mold developed within the walls that made the home very unhealthy to live. The spare bedroom had holes in the ceiling and walls where squirrels gnawed through to the living space and set up camp in the closets. This room became uninhabitable by the family and was completely destroyed by this nuisance wildlife. The family actually had to relocate to a hotel until the contents of the attic and the spare room were gutted, sanitized, and repaired. The insulation was replaced, the roof was repaired, wooden beams repaired, all of the electric wires in the attic had to be replaced as well. We had to deodorize the entire home because it smelled of wildlife odor. You definitely want to get rid of squirrels as soon as they are noticed.
If you feel like you have a squirrel problem, visit SESNow.com and schedule a free appointment and estimate for their removal.
