Squirrels in attic - what actually works?? (townhouse, inspection)

[Htown2013]

Have been hearing lightweight running/scurrying either from the roof or in the attic. Thought it was either rodents or squirrels.

Had talked with a local critter control company, but was appalled at how expensive they were. They wanted something like $600 just to come out to inspect and determine what critter it was and estimated it would be an ADDITIONAL $500-1500 to solve the problem. That seems ridiculously expensive - we cannot afford that, especially with inflation hitting us hard. Also the services that were mentioned didn't seem like it would actually solve the issue, especially if it were squirrels.

So I looked into it. Learned rodents are nocturnal and squirrels are not. Also if rodents would likely hear every night. Only hear this in the morning around 7-9am and again in the early evening. Sometimes during the day, but it is not every day. Have not heard it at night.

Based on what I'm reading, I suspect it may be a squirrel. Once I did catch a squirrel running on the roof, but normally they are so fast I do not see them.

So, what are effective ways to prevent squirrels from entering attic and/or deter them? Open to scent sprays, noises makers, strobe lights, anything that works. I went to look for physical openings, but I do not see any openings for them when I look at roof or under the gutters.

[TallGreengrass]

We have this problem. It’s always squirrels, rats and mice (even though I’ve never seen a rat or mouse anywhere near my home). We have a large roof with lots of nooks and crannies and we have lots of trees. Every couple of years we spend $$$ to have someone come out and do rodent and pest control. I pay for the service because I don’t want to get on the roof or in the attic or the garage. The service company will come out for a year anytime I hear anything or see something.

Check your gutters again, trim trees around the house, check where the foundation meets the walls. I hesitate to put poison traps or snap traps because of the smell but if you’re checking every day then maybe it’s an option. Call around and get another estimate.

[LakeLifePA]

We had a squirrel in our attic, and I knew where he was getting in from. (It was a gable vent) I didn't want to just replace the gable vent, because I knew if he was still up there he'd just chew his way out and create another point of entry.

I got an EVICTOR strobe light (https://www.evictor.com/) and put it up in the attic in the area we heard him to try to flush him out first. We have large attic, and the strobe light did cause him to move his activities to the other side of the house, but it didn't flush him out entirely.

Determined, I used a live trap (Amazon: Live Squirrel Trap) to catch him and rehoused him a few miles from our house. I placed a rock smeared with peanut butter on the trigger plate, and it worked great.

I then replaced both of our gable vents, and we haven't had an issue since then which was more than a few months ago. The strobe lights can be effective (and I'm still using ours as a deterrent), but you'll need two if you need more coverage.

[mojo101]

if it were rats or mice,then there are traps you can buy,I used to place a dish of rat poison,it will eat it and get real thirsty and find its way out to look for water,and evntually die from the poison.
I dont think they sell those poison anymore

[Oskar_Z28]

Don't use poison in attic. They will die somewhere inside a wall or some inaccessible place and the smell will be there for month plus. For rats and mice use snap traps. I used to have rats in the attic that were getting in through gaps in the roof and dethatched garage. I used snap traps to kill them and sealed off all entry points. No rats for 3 years now.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by TallGreengrass

We have this problem. It’s always squirrels, rats and mice (even though I’ve never seen a rat or mouse anywhere near my home). We have a large roof with lots of nooks and crannies and we have lots of trees. Every couple of years we spend $$$ to have someone come out and do rodent and pest control. I pay for the service because I don’t want to get on the roof or in the attic or the garage. The service company will come out for a year anytime I hear anything or see something.

Check your gutters again, trim trees around the house, check where the foundation meets the walls. I hesitate to put poison traps or snap traps because of the smell but if you’re checking every day then maybe it’s an option. Call around and get another estimate.

Thanks. Just to understand, what type of $$$ do you have to spend on the rodent and pest control? Feel free to PM me the service and price if you prefer. The first quote seemed very pricey, so not sure what else is out there. Thanks.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by Robert20170

We had a squirrel in our attic, and I knew where he was getting in from. (It was a gable vent) I didn't want to just replace the gable vent, because I knew if he was still up there he'd just chew his way out and create another point of entry.

I got an EVICTOR strobe light (https://www.evictor.com/) and put it up in the attic in the area we heard him to try to flush him out first. We have large attic, and the strobe light did cause him to move his activities to the other side of the house, but it didn't flush him out entirely.

Determined, I used a live trap (Amazon: Live Squirrel Trap) to catch him and rehoused him a few miles from our house. I placed a rock smeared with peanut butter on the trigger plate, and it worked great.

I then replaced both of our gable vents, and we haven't had an issue since then which was more than a few months ago. The strobe lights can be effective (and I'm still using ours as a deterrent), but you'll need two if you need more coverage.

Thanks! Also, thanks for the suggestion of gable vents. What did you replace them with? That does seem to be potential source in our property. I cannot find holes anywhere else. I used a small drone to check the roof. Looks OK.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by Oskar_Z28

Don't use poison in attic. They will die somewhere inside a wall or some inaccessible place and the smell will be there for month plus. For rats and mice use snap traps. I used to have rats in the attic that were getting in through gaps in the roof and dethatched garage. I used snap traps to kill them and sealed off all entry points. No rats for 3 years now.

For the rats, what time of the day did you hear the sounds? I'm thinking it might be a squirrel, but not certain. Was thinking of putting rat position on the outside, in case it is a squirrel, dont want to attract rats to die in the attic.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Oskar_Z28

Don't use poison in attic. They will die somewhere inside a wall or some inaccessible place and the smell will be there for month plus. For rats and mice use snap traps. I used to have rats in the attic that were getting in through gaps in the roof and dethatched garage. I used snap traps to kill them and sealed off all entry points. No rats for 3 years now.

The smell goes away in about 5 days. We had 3 rodents die in the third story wall of a townhouse we lived in, and the smell was always gone in less than a week. There was no way I was going to tear out half a wall of sheetrock looking for the little buggers.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The smell goes away in about 5 days. We had 3 rodents die in the third story wall of a townhouse we lived in, and the smell was always gone in less than a week. There was no way I was going to tear out half a wall of sheetrock looking for the little buggers.

Ok, so its OK to use rat poison in the attic? I put one outside near the foundation so I can see if it gets eaten. I'm pretty sure its either rats or squirrels. I heard the noise again today just before sunset, right near the gable vent. Of course when I go outside, no animal. I then made noise by opening and closing the attic ladder door several times. Havent hear the animal since today.

I'm thinking squirrel but not quite certain.

My big issue is not knowing if its up there before sealing off the gable vents. Does the Evictor light work to keep them out? If not, what will at least temporarily keep them out so I can seal up the entrance without them being there? Thinking things like scents, ultrasonic, strobes, something to have a good chance to repel it out of the attic. Any luck? Last thing I want to do is seal it in and have it cause real damage panicking and trying to get out.

The critter control quote was extremely expensive, and all they seem to be able to do beyond what I'm comfortable doing myself is actively trapping the squirrel and removing it from the premises if needed, assuming it happens to be in the attic at the time of the inspection.