Squirrels near you

Several kinds of squirrel get into houses, and each one behaves a little differently. Knowing which one you have helps the removal company plan the job and choose where to look for the nest.

A squirrel's teeth grow continuously, and it keeps them worn down by gnawing on whatever is nearby. In an attic or wall, that can mean electrical cable, where chewed insulation leaves bare conductors among dry nesting material, which is why chewed wiring is treated as a fire hazard. Ontario's guidance says that if a squirrel has spent a long time in an area with exposed wiring, you should check your smoke detectors and inspect for wire damage.

Have a licensed electrician inspect and repair any chewed cable once the squirrels are out; this is not work to do yourself. Squirrels also chew through vent ducts, which can send bathroom or kitchen moisture into the attic, and they damage wood trim and flashing around their entry. The removal company can point out what it found so you can arrange those repairs.

Squirrel exclusion follows the same idea as for other wildlife, with details that suit a small, persistent chewer. The company inspects the whole roofline, since squirrels often use more than one opening, then fits a one-way door or tunnel over the main entry and closes every other gap with metal.

Female squirrels often use attics and wall cavities as a warm, dry place to raise their young, and they can have more than one litter in a year. Young squirrels stay in the nest until they are able to climb out, so a one-way door fitted while they are still helpless separates them from their mother.

The City of Toronto advises making sure very young baby squirrels in a nest are able to exit on their own before the space is closed. A careful company looks for the nest before installing anything, and either waits until the young can leave with their mother or removes them by hand so she can move them elsewhere. Crying or scratching from one spot in a wall after an exclusion means something went wrong and needs a prompt return visit.

In Ontario, a squirrel that is damaging your property can be dealt with by you or an agent such as a removal company, but captured wildlife must be released within 1 kilometre of where it was caught and within 24 hours, and removal businesses may not kill the animals they capture. Squirrels released in unfamiliar territory far away struggle to find food and shelter, and a nursing female taken from an attic leaves her young to starve.

Quebec's guidance on wild animals on your property includes squirrels and favours scaring animals off and preventing damage. On poison, it is direct: poisoning should be used only as a last resort and only after all other control methods have been tried unsuccessfully. Poisoned squirrels also tend to die inside walls and ceilings, where the smell lingers until the body is found.

Squirrels reach roofs by jumping from trees and climbing wires, downspouts and siding, so prevention starts with the routes, not just the holes. Quebec's guidance gives specific distances, and the City of Toronto notes that bird feeders are one reason squirrels do so well in cities.

A squirrel that has fallen into a chimney, a fireplace or a vent duct can't always climb back out. Ontario's guidance says you can let a squirrel trapped in an exhaust fan or chimney exit through the house or drop a line down so it can climb up, and Toronto suggests hanging a thick rope down the chimney. Close the fireplace doors or damper and keep pets away while you wait.

If a squirrel gets into the living space, close interior doors, open a door or window to the outside and leave the room so it can find its way out; don't try to catch it by hand. A squirrel trapped inside a wall, or scratching that goes on for days, calls for a removal company, which can open a small access point and repair it afterward.