Marietta Squirrel Removal Services
Squirrels are a type of furry rodent that is related more closely to rats than most self-respecting squirrels would want to admit.
Many people consider squirrels to be cute – and the squirrel that is in your attic probably agrees with that. However, once squirrels start to get into your attics and start making a mess and causing damage, you won’t think of them as being so cute anymore. That is when squirrels start to become quite unwelcome.
In addition to the mess they make and damage squirrels cause, they are also thought to be responsible for thousands of house fires each year from them gnawing on a home’s electrical wiring.
In the Marietta, Georgia, that is a special concern, since we have so many historic buildings that are irreplaceable here.
Health risks are also created by squirrels from parasites, shedding fur, droppings and their urine. That is one of the main reasons why after our professionals have removed squirrels from your house, that we also clean the mess up that they have made and apply insecticides and disinfectants, if necessary, in order to get rid of any problems with parasites and odors.
Repairing Squirrel Damage
All of these not-so-pleasant problems that are associated with squirrels are some of the main reasons why repairing squirrel damage, squirrel removal and squirrel-proofing houses, churches and other types of buildings keeps us very busy for a majority of the year.
During the summer months, usually there is a brief lull, when squirrels have a tendency to remain outdoors. However, during the remainder of the year, squirrels make themselves at home inside our Marietta homes, and we need to remove them from the premises.
How Can You Tell If You Have A Squirrel Problem In Your Attic?
A majority of individuals realize that they have a problem with squirrels whenever they hear scratching sounds in the walls or attic.
Usually squirrels are the culprits. However, at times birds, bats, rats or mice may get inside wall voids and attics and make similar sounds.
At times there might be multiple species of animals inside a house. Usually both of them can be dealt with at once. For example, rat and squirrel removal work are very similar, so that the same exclusion techniques can keep both of the critters out.
Being able to determine whether the animals that are inside your attic are in fact squirrels or some other type of critters requires you to have a combination of high-tech gadgetry and old-fashioned know-how.
Squirrel Habits And Biology
A majority of the common squires in this area are the flying squirrel and gray squirrel. Both of the critters spend a majority of their times in attics, trees and other high places, but they do have some differences as well.
Gray squirrels have excellent balance and are skilled acrobats. They run easily along utility lines and tree branches to get inside buildings, and also can vertically on asphalt, shingles, trees and a majority of exterior building materials.
They frequently get into homes through roof vents or chimneys or through gnawing at holes. Due to their aerial skills, squirrel removal can be challenging.
Squirrels eat nuts and also have powerful jaws and teeth, which they use for gnawing holes through siding, wood and other kinds of building materials.
Serious damage can be caused to buildings as well as any belongs that are stored inside.
Fires can also be caused by squirrels from them gnawing on electrical wiring. That makes removing squirrels in Marietta particularly important given that there are so many historic and irreplaceable buildings.
Whenever squirrels get inside of buildings, health risks are also created due to their parasites, shedding fur, droppings and urine.
Dead squirrels also cause odors whenever they die inside ceiling soffits, ceiling voids, walls and other areas that are inaccessible.
Their corpses furnish breeding grounds for flies as well as other disease vectors. (We in fact perform lots of jobs that involve cleaning up mess from dead squirrels when some other exterminators mistakenly think there is a rat problem instead of squirrels and poison them.)
Home Fires And Squirrels
Squirrels nearly stripped all of the insulation from electrical wires in an attic located in Historic Marietta, Georgia.
In another case, squirrels and gnawed completely through the insulation in wiring located in an Acworth attic. It was a wonder that the home didn’t go up in flames.
Many people are surprised by this, however every year thousands of house fires are caused by squirrels when they gnaw through insulation on wiring located in walls and attics.
It is difficult to determine what the exact number is since other animals, including flying squirrels, mice and rats gnaw on wires as well.
However, a study conducted by the National Fire Protection Association determined that a high percentage of all electrical fires, as well as a significant percentage of other fires with unknown origins, are started by squirrels as well as other kinds of rodents.
Besides their gnawing, fire risk is also increased by squirrels whenever they bring flammable materials inside a house that are used as nesting materials, or whenever they shred items that are stored inside attics to use as nesting material, which basically transforms them into kindling.
A deadly combination is created: the insulation is chewed through, an ignition source has been created, and they have made a pile of kindling right next to it. To start a fire, all it takes is leaning against an exposed wire for it to short out and create the initial spark.
Squirrel-Proofing Your House
The Humane squirrel-removal services that we provide also can include squirrel-proofing in order to keep squirrels from getting in your home.
When it comes to dealing with squirrels inside your home, the best way to deal with the problem is to prevent them getting inside to begin with. We refer to this as “squirrel proofing” or squirrel exclusion. This type of work is hazardous and challenging, and also hard to do correctly.
It definitely isn’t a kind of do-it-yourself type of job. It is physically difficult work to permanently seal squirrels out of a building. It requires thorough knowledge of how squirrels behave and specialized equipment. In addition, it requires needing to work in high places and use bucket trucks (or “cherry pickers), scaffolding or long ladders- which isn’t the type of equipment that a majority of people happen to have sitting inside their garages.
A majority of so-called squirrel exterminators are not really properly equipped for doing the job right. For one thing, “squirrel exterminating” really doesn’t exist. Squirrels are not pests but are nuisance wildlife that need to be removed using non-toxic, human methods, like trapping and relocation, which is followed up with “squirrel-proofing” (squirrel exclusion and damage repairs.
Also, not too many companies possess the necessary experience and equipment that is really needed for sealing squirrels completely out of a house like our Critter-Catcher Technicians.
Make no mistake: trapping squirrels and relocating them is just half the battle.
The key to controlling squirrels permanently is squirrel exclusion. If your house isn’t squirrel-proofed, new squirrels will be able to move in almost as fast as you remove the old ones.
To Make A Long Story Short
Don’t endanger your life or waste your time attempting to perform do-it-yourself squirrel removal. Also, don’t waste your hard-earned money on companies without the proper knowledge or equipment for doing the job right the first time. Instead, contact us for long-lasting and humane squirrel exclusion and removal that is backed with the industry’s best warranty.
The professional animal control company Critter-Catchers provides non-chemical, professional and safe squirrel removal.
Our humane and earth-friendly squirrel control program utilizes habitat modification, exclusion and trapping- not poisoning or chemicals. We were performing “green” squirrel control well before it was in style to “go green.”
The following our options in our comprehensive squirrel control services:
A thorough inspection to determine how squirrels are getting inside the building.
Environmentally-friendly, non-toxic squirrel trapping to remove squirrels humanely from the soffits, attic or anyplace else that they are residing.
Squirrel detritus cleanup (shed hair, droppings urine, etc.)
Squirrel exclusion and squirrel damage repairs – to make your house squirrel-proof to keep them out of your home.
When necessary, replace contaminated insulation.