Toggle sidebar

OT: Got a squirrel in my attic..

S

sandwolf.sixpack

Junior
Feb 19, 2013
1,245
373
83
I have a squirrel that has decided to make my attic his home. I have no clue how he's getting in, and the only pest control guy I reached out to told me that squirrels are extremely hard to catch and so the best bet was to seal up the hole during the day when the squirrel was out and about.

Anybody dealt with this? Is there some equivalent to hotdogs soaked in antifreeze for squirrels?
 
DesotoCountyDawg

DesotoCountyDawg

Heisman
Nov 16, 2005
27,597
20,623
113
sandwolf.sixpack said:
I have a squirrel that has decided to make my attic his home. I have no clue how he's getting in, and the only pest control guy I reached out to told me that squirrels are extremely hard to catch and so the best bet was to seal up the hole during the day when the squirrel was out and about.

Anybody dealt with this? Is there some equivalent to hotdogs soaked in antifreeze for squirrels?
Click to expand...
Go to tractor supply and buy some of the Tomcat liquid rat poison. Go buy a two liter bottle of strawberry soda and mix the poison in by whatever ratio it says. Put it in some bowls in the attic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T-TownDawgg, aTotal360, Leeshouldveflanked and 1 other person
S

sandwolf.sixpack

Junior
Feb 19, 2013
1,245
373
83
DesotoCountyDawg said:
Go to tractor supply and buy some of the Tomcat liquid rat poison. Go buy a two liter bottle of strawberry soda and mix the poison in by whatever ratio it says. Put it in some bowls in the attic.
Click to expand...
Is he likely to die inside if I do this? Or is this the stuff that makes them go outside looking for water?
 
S

sandwolf.sixpack

Junior
Feb 19, 2013
1,245
373
83
TaleofTwoDogs said:
If the squirrel dies in your wall somewhere you're going to have a bigger problem.
Click to expand...
From what I've seen and heard, he's not in the walls. Just a fairly localized area in the attic. That said, I would like to encourage him to not die inside the attic if possible.
 
woozman

woozman

All-Conference
Nov 13, 2004
3,403
2,584
113
sandwolf.sixpack said:
I have a squirrel that has decided to make my attic his home. I have no clue how he's getting in, and the only pest control guy I reached out to told me that squirrels are extremely hard to catch and so the best bet was to seal up the hole during the day when the squirrel was out and about.

Anybody dealt with this? Is there some equivalent to hotdogs soaked in antifreeze for squirrels?
Click to expand...
I had one get in my attic several years ago after a tropical storm blew a piece of soffit out and I was lazy and didn't replace it fast enough. And the dude lied - I replaced the soffit while he was watching me from a nearby tree and he just chewed a hole in it to get back in there - so the sealing up thing isn't going to work based on my experience.

I ended up getting a trap and putting up there baited with peanut butter, but he never "took the bait." I assume that he didn't like me climbing up there 2-3 times a day checking the trap because he just moved on a few days after I started trying to catch him.
 
Maroon13

Maroon13

All-Conference
Sep 29, 2022
3,616
3,705
113
Yes. I guess I had dumber squirrels than some of yall.

As suggested, I bought a trap from tractor supply. Baited it with mixed nuts (no salt). Caught them in just a few days.

Sealed the hole they were getting in. Have not heard them this winter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: trob115, woozman and Maroon Eagle
MStateDawg

MStateDawg

All-Conference
Aug 3, 2021
786
1,200
93
  • Like
Reactions: sandwolf.sixpack
S

soccerdad

Freshman
Apr 16, 2019
125
88
28
Go buy 2 rat traps and put them outside the house bait with sunflower seed. Drill a small hole in corner of trap and wire it to something so they don’t drag it off. You can put a little peanut butter on trip but put seeds on it and spread a few near trap. I have reduced my populations doing this for years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T-TownDawgg
Seinfeld

Seinfeld

All-American
Nov 30, 2006
11,161
6,991
113
I dealt with this hell a few years back, and this is how I got rid of them.

I had as many as 4-5 up there running around at once, and the first thing the guy that was helping me told me is that they’re not up there looking for food. They’re trying to find a warm place to make a nest, and trust me when I say that if you’re hearing one, there will be more. Also, while they shouldn’t do a ton of damage to your actual house aside from the hole that they probably chewed open, they can absolutely wreck your insulation, wrapping around air ducts, any pvc you have up there, etc

So I’m not at all saying that baiting/trapping won’t work, but A) if you’re hearing one, there’s a good chance that there are more and B) you do run the risk of a foul smelling carcass with poison.

I ended up having a spring loaded trap door put on the entrance that they were coming through, and when they eventually got trapped outside, they cried and chirped for a couple days just like the guy told me they would, but they all eventually left after that and I haven’t seen them in 3 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr. Cook, Papapat.sixpack and OopsICroomedmypants
greenbean.sixpack

greenbean.sixpack

All-American
Oct 6, 2012
8,817
8,099
113
I'm assuming you're in the sleepy little town of Pascagoula?

 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: SouthOfI10, IBleedMaroonDawg, peewee.sixpack and 4 others
OG Goat Holder

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
12,284
11,345
113
I'd first look at how they are getting in. You got a tree with branches that touch your house? Cut that shlt back.
 
Pilgrimdawg

Pilgrimdawg

All-Conference
Aug 30, 2018
1,718
2,188
113
Get one of those pipe style coon traps and bait it with peanut butter and some sort of nuts. Peanuts would be perfect. Sprinkle some on the outside of the trap to get him started. Pro tip: Those traps are a little hard to set but they make a simple bent rod tool that makes it super easy. Dispatch him with a hammer so that the taxidermist has a good cape to work with. Here is an alternate unique idea that may work but I haven’t tested it on squirrels. I used to have a big problem with mice/rats getting into my tractor and chewing up wires. It was a constant battle until I got a big owl decoy about 5 years ago and sat it on the hood. They haven’t touched it since then. Good chance it would work on squirrels too. Good luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sandwolf.sixpack
M

msualohadog

Senior
Oct 25, 2014
487
669
93
My exterminator, a good ol boy, sealed the hole and put a battery powered radio in the attic on a talk show. We couldn't hear it. He came back a week later to replace the battery for a month or two. It seemed to work. No squirrels. He said they don't like the noise.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IBleedMaroonDawg and sandwolf.sixpack
Dawgbite

Dawgbite

All-American
Nov 1, 2011
8,802
9,416
113
Modern antifreeze won’t kill anything anymore. The old stuff was hell on coyotes back when my dad used it but that stuff is long gone. If you find it’s entry point you’re going to need to block it with wire mesh or steel wool. They will chew their way back in otherwise. With poison you take your chance where it dies or if it even eats it. If you know it’s entry point, I’d put the cat in the attic for a day or two to run the squirrel out and block it’s entryway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BulldogBlitz
Dawgbite

Dawgbite

All-American
Nov 1, 2011
8,802
9,416
113
Years ago we would notice the occasional bee in our master bath. Over time we would hear buzzing when we’d take a shower and observe a bee entering the shower from the trim around the faucets. I go outside and see bees entering and exiting the house around an AC line going through the brick on the wall that the shower happened to be on the other side of the wall. I get the bright idea to caulk the hole so that night after the bees settled down I sealed the hole with silicone. Boy were they pissed, you could hear them buzzing laying in the bed. After a week or so the smell started. It wasn’t a dead squirrel smell, it was worse. We had to move to the guest room for months to escape the smell. For probably a year whenever I took a hot shower I’d get a whiff of dead bees.
 
dog12

dog12

Senior
Sep 15, 2016
1,942
575
113
DogLeach said:
I trap them all the time. I got a spring-loaded door cage trapper on amazon. Bait it with a glob of peanut butter with pine nuts mixed in it. They love it.
Click to expand...
We had a squirrel in our attic at our previous house many years ago. I went to home depot and bought a small trapping cage, baited it with peanut butter, set the trap and caught the squirrell within 2 hours. Then, I draped a towel over the trap, drove him out to the country, and let him go. Pretty simple. Don't waste your money on paying someone else to do it for you.

www.homedepot.com

Havahart Small 1-Door Humane Catch-and-Release Live Animal Cage Trap for Squirrel, Weasel, Chipmunk 1026 - The Home Depot

Use the organic Havahart Small Live Animal Cage Trap to frighten small animals away from your yard. Good for many months of continuous usage.
www.homedepot.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: sandwolf.sixpack
MaxwellSmart

MaxwellSmart

Senior
May 28, 2007
2,480
809
113
Havoc rodenticide is one that will make them go look for water. We use it in our barn and attic, once they find it they usually leave and don't come back.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sandwolf.sixpack
O

Ozarkdawg

Senior
Apr 1, 2017
803
651
93
sandwolf.sixpack said:
I have a squirrel that has decided to make my attic his home. I have no clue how he's getting in, and the only pest control guy I reached out to told me that squirrels are extremely hard to catch and so the best bet was to seal up the hole during the day when the squirrel was out and about.

Anybody dealt with this? Is there some equivalent to hotdogs soaked in antifreeze for squirrels?
Click to expand...
Maybe he's using the wrong type of trap?
Or it's a female squirrel.

1734538904547.png
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: HammerOfTheDogs and trob115
NTDawg

NTDawg

Senior
Mar 2, 2012
2,272
943
113
sandwolf.sixpack said:
I have a squirrel that has decided to make my attic his home. I have no clue how he's getting in, and the only pest control guy I reached out to told me that squirrels are extremely hard to catch and so the best bet was to seal up the hole during the day when the squirrel was out and about.

Anybody dealt with this? Is there some equivalent to hotdogs soaked in antifreeze for squirrels?
Click to expand...
I'll rent out my mutt dog. She is pretty good at killing squirrels and an assassin of moles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IBleedMaroonDawg
maroonmadman

maroonmadman

Senior
Nov 7, 2010
2,530
853
113
Moth balls. They will get rid of squirrels, coons, possums or whatever critters invade your attic. Just fling them randomly all through the attic. Your house will smell like moth balls for a few days but you will be rid of critters.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sandwolf.sixpack
You must log in or register to reply here.