Many homeowners may need to know how to keep squirrels away to protect their property from unnecessary damage and prevent future nuisance animal issues.
There are certain steps you can take in order to make your property less squirrel friendly and prevent a squirrel problem in the future.
Do a monthly visual home inspection of the exterior of your home.
You don’t have to be a home inspector to perform a visual inspection like this. You are just simply looking for things that look out of place or different than they were before. If you notice that a piece of your soffit is missing, a hole has been chewed in your siding or fascia, or you have a gutter that is hanging down, you may have a squirrels living in the attic. It is very common on newer homes to have a large gap above the gutter line that provides squirrels with entry into the attic.
Keep an ear out for noises that you hear in your home.
When people hear noises in their home they often contribute these noises to the settling of simply living in an older home. However, these noises can sound very similar to some of the noises that squirrels make when they are walking across your ceiling or running across your roof.
Check for squirrel nesting sticking out of soffits or vents on your home.
This nesting will simply look like straw and may be protruding from vents or soffits. If you see squirrel nesting sticking out of these places, this is a good indicator that you have squirrels living in your attic or crawl space
Keep shrubs neatly trimmed and at least 2 feet away from the home.
This provides cover for squirrels and other animals to move around the property undetected.
Make sure that the trees surrounding the home are not within 10 feet of the roof.
Not only can the trees themselves cause damage to the home, but they are often highways for squirrels traveling on and off the roof. Squirrels can still climb up siding, brick, gutter downspouts and many other areas, so simply cutting down trees will not solve the problem. However, it will help to eliminate the easy access to the roof.
Keep all bird and deer feeders at least 20 feet away from home.
There is no such thing as a 100% squirrel-proof bird feeder. People love to watch the birds on their feeders and like to keep the feeders as close to the home as possible. However, this will attract squirrels and many other nuisance animals that may cause damage to the home. Squirrels frequently feed off of the ground so bird feeders can be a huge problem when it comes to keeping squirrels away.
If you feed your furry family members outside please make sure to bring their food and water bowls back inside when they are done eating.
Squirrels and other nuisance wild animals will be attracted to the smell of this food.
Use only squirrel-proof garbage cans to keep unwanted nuisance squirrels from rummaging through garbage.
Keep piles of firewood at least 20 feet away from home.
This will attract all different types of wildlife that will cause problems on your property.
Even with all of the above, squirrels can still be very persistent and may intrude into your home or attic space if they are looking for a place to live. If you suspect you have squirrels in your attic, walls, on your roof, or in your soffit, call the experts at Animal Remover for fast, effective, and humane squirrel removal.
For more information please visit our squirrel removal and control page.
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