Seems like anything goes here at Fred's, sooo.... As I was just reading PriusChat with the morning coffee, I heard noises of something running around in the attic above me. I just went outside and a squirrel poked it's head up from the gutter near where I heard the noise, so I assume there is a hole chewed there now. How do I get rid of the rodents? Poison? Live Traps? Professionals?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SluggoLovesNancy @ Apr 8 2006, 09:37 AM) [snapback]236723[/snapback]</div> My recommendation would be to get a professional to trap it/them live in the attic and transport them across town. That same day you need to patch the roof, or soffit where the squirrel is getting in. The problem with just poisoning them is that you could end up with a dead squirrel in the attic - not nice. If you closeup the hole with the squirrel inside, they will just keep on digging to get out. Sometimes they end up in the lower floors and create havoc. Once had a squirrel fall down the chimney, followed with a dog chasing squirrel show inside the house. Luckily I was home at the time, opened the doors and was able to force it out. Limited damage.
Get a pro to put live traps and get the critter out of your attic. Not only will they defecate up there, they will damage the insulation, chew on exposed romex, and maybe even damage your vapor barrier. Please don’t use poison on rodents. More than likely, the sick critter will try to escape the attic, then get caught by a dog or cat. Not only have you killed the critter, you’ve also poisoned the cat or dog too. Another reason I don’t like to use poison is that the critter sometimes has the nasty habit of expiring up there, or even inside a wall. PEEEEE-UUUUUU does dead critter stink
My aunt has been trying to live-trap a squirrel and somehow (don't know the details) ended up catching a skunk. How to get a skunk out of a live trap (?) . . . don't yet know how this one will end. Sounds like professional is the way to go. Be sure they place traps out of reach of all skunks!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Red Ginger @ Apr 10 2006, 05:58 AM) [snapback]237431[/snapback]</div> I sure hope I don't have a skunk in my attic! I was able to poke my head into the crawlspace where they are at. See that there is a nice fiberglass nest they have made, and came face to face with one of the critters.
Here is the all time greatest example of how NOT to remove a squirrel from the attic, from This American Life, NPR: http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/drive...jan/030123.html (If this link crashes - type "squirrel cop" into google & the first 5 entries will take you an audio of the program)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Red Ginger @ Apr 10 2006, 02:58 AM) [snapback]237431[/snapback]</div> I was babysitting for my sister when I was younger and heard some noise from the garage. Skunks were working very hard to get into the trash cans. They succeeded but couldn't get back out. We put the lid on as stealthly as possible and rolled the can over the lawn until we thought we had disoriented them enough then flipped the lid off and ran as fast as we could toward the house. We were successful. Definitely live trap, dead critters will eventually smell your house up unless you live in a dry climate where they become mummified....then you will have a dry dead critter in your attic.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airportkid @ Apr 10 2006, 04:28 PM) [snapback]237705[/snapback]</div> AH! Beat me to it! As I was reading this thread, "squirrel cop" instantly came to mind!
