Squirrel question!

[NYlakesider]

This just started about 2 weeks ago. Getting a few squirrels coming up on my side porch. Not a big deal, its only about 5 steps. Then they started jumping from the handrail to the side of the house and as it is wood are now climbing over the house its self. Heard a loud noise a couple days ago and thought it was one of the cats attacking the scratching post. No it was outside, a squirrel on the screen over the window clawing away.

Its cold up her and the windows are down for the season no way are they getting it. They are around all winter and we see them often getting the bird food that falls out of the feeder (about 20' from house) but this attacking the house is new. So far no damage but its bound to happen if this continues!

As stated this “attack” just started and so far to the best of my knowledge it happened at least 6 times. (Possibly more as we go out) House was built in 03-04 and never saw anything like this before. Wonder what is going through what little brains those creatures have. Open a door or a window and they take off fast, so it will be difficult to hit them with a pellet gun. We have a bunch of Raptor birds here (eagles and a few different hawks) so no way will I try to poison the squirrels. Cats mentioned above are a 100% indoor!

When you readers get done laughing any words of wisdom will be appreciated!

 

[Stevens]

Keep an eye on them! last year one got into my son's house it actually got into a wall and was chewing on an interior wall when he wound up dispatching it with a pellet gun.
There are lots around here now I think people don't hunt them as much as they used to.
Steve W

 

[SC_Mike]

I would guess and say they are fighting over your turf and want a warm attic to winter in. You can't use a frontal assault, you have to be a sniper.

The 17 HMR is a nasty round.

 

[billwill]

Establish a perimeter and hold fast. Those little suckers can make a mess for sure. I had one of those plastic owls on the edge of the storage building and the dang squirrels just about chewed the owl in half then started on the building corners.

Is there any liquid that can be sprayed as a repellent? Maybe some really good hot sauce from a member in the southwest. Read somewhere that putting cyan pepper in the bird seed would like up the squirrel but not bother the birds. Only thing I can send you is some NC made 'Texas Pete', good stuff.

 

[Pig Hunter]

They can and will do extreme damage to structures. You need to thin the herd!

 

[df06]

I hear a Beeman air gun with .177 pellets at 1000 FPS works well. Head or lungs.

 

[Ozark Marine]

I killed 3 tree rats yesterday.
Hate those rodents.
GAMO 177 Silent Cat using iron sights, Premier Destroyer 7.4 gr and GAMO Rocket 9.6 gr pellets.
The best way to control them.
Good luck.

 

[Tony M.]

I shoot every one I see in the yard. The little gremlins chew through my siding every year and into the attic, where they try to start electrical fires by chewing on wiring. So far the little buggers have cost me about $300 a year in repairs alone...

Traps, exclusion devices, shooting them... I'm also in a place I can't justify poison, but I do essentially everything else I can to prevent their ingress...

 

[bigwheelzip]

Make sure the chimney cap is on tight.

 

[4barrel]

Get a stray outside male cat or 2 and don't feed them.

 

[Watchdog]

I don’t have any words of wisdom here, nor am I laughing at the OP.

I do have a question, though. Why is this squirrel activity described as some sort of “attack”?

My own house is surrounded on three sides by huge old trees...oaks, maples, poplars. Some as close as twenty feet. Squirrels are always scampering across my roof. Sometimes I hear them, sometimes not. It’s what squirrels do. They’re going from Point A to Point B. What’s the problem? There’s no “attack” going on.

Bottom line? They’re squirrels. Maybe they’re just being...well, squirrelly.

 

[kwselke]

Harv-A-Heart trap baited bird seed, dry pet food, or corn. Euthanize humanely.

 

[arjay]

Fox sightings are up around here and the squirrel numbers seem to be down-finally
Not sure how crowded it is around you,but CCI quiets really are quiet out of a rifle

 

[BAM-BAM]

Sounds like the beginning of a Steven King Novel ....... good luck

 

[pharmer]

I have a family of red tailed hawks on my block. See a squirrel or bunny from time to time. Then they're gone. Joe.

 

[paplinker]

Being a tree trimmer I am hired a good bit to trim trees far enough back that squirrels cannot easily climb or jump onto a roof. That usually solves the problem.

I have witnessed a lot of damaged roofs and particularly soffits. They love to chew through soffits not covered by tin. On occasion they will chew through shingles and then the roof cap to make enough room to get in.

You are very smart to take this seriously before you are getting damage.

My guess is if you can keep them off your house a couple weeks they will move on to finding an easier home to build. Maybe buy some fox urine.

 

[H Richard]

I had an 1860's house, two story with a big attic. They figured a way to get in to the attic and caused problems. Since it was contained I got a bucket of rat poison and put it up there and solved the problem, then got a contractor to locate how they got in and fixed that. Another couple were getting into my garage, (chewed through the rubber seal on bottom of the overhead door) and chewed through a Rubbermaid trash can lid on a can I had that kept 50 lb of bird feed. I used a have a heart trap with moist cat food and trapped several which I took several miles out in the wooded area to drop off. A neighbor continually fed them cobs of corn (tied on a long string so they couldn't drag off).

 

[arjay]

I have a family of red tailed hawks on my block. See a squirrel or bunny from time to time. Then they're gone. Joe.

I was watching a young pigeon on my porch roof awhile back.Maybe six feet from my nose outside the kitchen window when a red tail dove in and Wham!
Quite a sight lol

 

[hillbillydruggist]

a couple of years ago had a squirrel chew through the starter wires on a jeep Cherokee that I had parked in the barn, I asked mechanics how they new it was a squirrel and not rats? he pulled out a hand of fox squirrel hair!

 

[345sire]

Squirrels got into my attic a while back. Chewed up clothes and toys and sheet sets and more.
Sat up there and read a book, with a .22 pistol loaded with CCI scattershot. 30 minutes till one showed up, got a buttload of shot. Won't kill, won't even do serious damage if you are more than 8 or 10 feet away, but it stung enough that I only got one more that day, and none since.
Had a couple old rat traps I put under the soffits and caught two more by their scrawny little necks. I call 'em rats with fat tails.
As long as they only run ACROSS my roof and don't try to get in, I don't really care if they hang out. But I keep stuff in the attic for ME and MINE, not critters.
They like peanut butter, btw. (heh heh heh)

 

[dave1918a2]

Had squirrels under My truck hood 2 years age. Chewed up a lot. Cost $1800 to get it fixed. Now My pellet gun speaks whenever I see a tree rat close. Got some repellant at home depot that works great. Might pay to see if something is available for a sprayer and spray the house. Stuff I got didn't smell at all even after running the engine for a few hours.

 

[NYlakesider]

I don’t have any words of wisdom here, nor am I laughing at the OP.

I do have a question, though. Why is this squirrel activity described as some sort of “attack”?

My own house is surrounded on three sides by huge old trees...oaks, maples, poplars. Some as close as twenty feet. Squirrels are always scampering across my roof. Sometimes I hear them, sometimes not. It’s what squirrels do. They’re going from Point A to Point B. What’s the problem? There’s no “attack” going on.

Bottom line? They’re squirrels. Maybe they’re just being...well, squirrelly.

My property describes like your tree area does. I used the word attacked as this is a new behavior. When the little buggers were on the screens they were clawing away with a lot of gusto. Perhaps the words I should have used was a recon mission!

Like I said they will be hard to shoot by the house proper, if I see them out away from the house in a safe shoot area it looks like my very accurate Ruger 7722 is going to get some exercise. No way in heck do I want those tree rats in house or destroy the window screens!

 

[arjay]

A young one managed to get trapped on a second story windowsill a few years ago so it chewed through a metal screen and made itself at home.Picture a pair of 85 yr olds chasing it around with a broom
Wish I had been there!

 

[hoosierone]

Years ago my wife decreed no squirrels on the house. Got a pellet gun and shot them on sight. Did the job. Once had one on the roof and a coon climbed up, grabbed it and took off with it.

 

[NYlakesider]

Thanks to all that answered!

Night shift fell free to add to this!

 

[ExRanger714]

Hang a thousand dollar saddle in the garage and they will eat it and leave the house alone. Worked for me.

 

[Drm50]

Being a hunter I never like to shot anything I'm not going to eat
unless it's a varmit doing damage. If they are actually doing damage I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of them. If they bothered me that much I would get a live trap and set it until Igot rid of
the problem.

 

[Firesticks]

Chipmunks and squirrels can be VERY damaging little rodents. They have chewed up wiring on a vehicle at the lodge I was managing plus chewed the cable for TV and internet. Left no choice but to trap them out. Cute to watch but not putting up with that much damage.

 

[Tony M.]

Being a hunter I never like to shot anything I'm not going to eat
unless it's a varmit doing damage. If they are actually doing damage I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of them. If they bothered me that much I would get a live trap and set it until Igot rid of
the problem.

I hate killing things without reason, but these things are doing legitimate damage to my home, and with their habit of chewing wires, could literally cause harm to my wife and kids... so as a result, if I have a clear shot at one in the yard, I take it. I had to stop feeding the birds because the feed was attracting squirrels.

Where I am, getting rid of the problem is unlikely, as I'm essentially surrounded by state forest. At best, I can keep them in check. When I catch them in traps, they get relocated to my wood lot in the next county where they can't cause damage, but if I see them, I don't wait for the trap, and shoot on sight.

I try to keep the trees trimmed back so they can't use those to get to the roof, but the cedar siding on the house is soft enough they can climb it without the use of trees...

I've tried various repellents with little to no success, but every year I try at least one more to see if I can find an actual solution... If anyone has experience with one that works, I'd love to hear about it. Until then, squirreled war III continues...

 

[ExRanger714]

Not recommending from personal experience but (can I say Tractor Supply?) has two nut-hugging li'l sum beach size live traps shipped for $30.