Squirrels in the Attic? Your Home Health and Safety May Be at Risk

Squirrels driving you nuts? If these enchanting little rodents have moved in overhead to shelter from winter weather, respond quickly. Your home’s healthiness and safety may be at stake.

Squirrel problems are nothing to take lightly. Those cute little critters can chew through shingles, roof tiles, and wooden support beams. Also, they cause serious damage to the structure of your home.

Not only that, they often cause insulation fires. Squirrels chew electrical wires. This, in turn, leads to fire hazards in attics. Such damage poses a significant danger, because attic fires prove extremely difficult to extinguish.

If squirrels live in your attic, you’ll want to act fast before they do any more damage.

Squirrel nests are also the source of a host of allergens. These are caused by fur, feces, and hoarding behaviors. Sadly, the allergens can lead to the development of asthma and other respiratory issues.

Here’s a perfect example of squirrels run amuck.

A local homeowner spied a darker-colored, wet-looking spot on the ceiling of her upstairs bedroom. She thought, “This must be mold from a roof leak.” So, she called and asked me to come to her house to test for mold.

After talking for a bit, I asked her, “Rather than rush right in to charge you for mold testing, how about we first confirm that your hunch is correct?”

Knowing that the right explanation isn’t always the obvious one, she agreed. First, I would take a look at the source of the leak. Then, I would find a fix for the drip on the ceiling and the apparent mold growth. Also, we planned that I would examine the house to answer other questions about its health status.

Hmmm. The roof was intact. There were no rainwater leaks. No other water source could have wet the ceiling.

Not mold. Something else.

Up in the attic, the squirrels picked that exact spot to use as a “toilet” corner. A pile of squirrel debris that was leaking urine and feces as fluid through the drywall. This leakage was the source of the brown-colored wet spot on her ceiling.

That wasn’t all.

Numerous dead squirrel carcasses were scattered throughout the attic. Plenty of the ceiling insulation was damaged. Luckily, they stopped short of chewing the wiring.

Squirrels. Not mold.

I defined for her what was needed to put a stop to the squirrel intrusion into the attic, and to clean-up and repair the damage they’d done.

An examination-based verification of what did, and what did not play out in the attic proved vital. The homeowner was able to be “on target” with her use of energy, efforts, and dollars.

Even Squirrels can remind us that there is more about your house that needs discovering. Here are a few insights about squirrels to get you started.

Removing Squirrels Is a Necessity

First and foremost, squirrels in the attic need to be removed. Fortunately, squirrels can be eliminated from your home with a few simple steps:

Seal all entry points (holes). Squirrels will make new ones if old ones are left unpatched so do not leave any holes open. Otherwise, you’ll risk them moving back in quickly.

Several squirrel removal methods top the list, including trapping and exclusion. Exclusion will make your home squirrel-proof. But before you begin any squirrel removal method, plan to prevent secondary damage by squirrels after they’ve been evicted. This ensures that squirrels don’t return and cause damage to your home.

After squirrel removal, address the exterior of your building as well as any entry points into your attic or chimney. Block places where squirrels can still gain access. If you do not properly squirrel proof after removing them from your home, squirrels will return.

In the end, squirrel problems should never be taken lightly. Squirrel behaviors often pose serious threats to the healthiness and safety of your home.

Squirrel-Proofing Guarantees Health and Safety

Squirrel-proofing remains an important part of removal, but so is the cleanup.

A qualified professional should ensure that squirrels didn’t cause any damage to your home’s exterior or interior while they were living in your attic. Plus, if there is any secondary squirrel damage, a professional can spot it immediately.

As healthy home investigators, we are often called upon to diagnose the extent of the squirrel problem and refer homeowners to the best specialist for humane removal and cleanup.

If squirrels are driving you nuts, chances are there’s more going on. You’re going to want us to take a look at that, too. Let us help you resolve and prevent home healthiness trouble.