Squirrels in da house...

[Warm_in_NH]

Pretty sure I have a (or maybe several) squirrels in the house. Every fall I get the 4 or 5 field mice that migrate indoors to warmer climates, the original house is 1929 with a stone foundation, so they find their way in and the trap or the cat finds them. Easy.

However, now there's definitely something larger moving around. The mice are generally caught in the basement, this thing is in the ceiling above the first floor, below the floor of the second floor. It moves fast across the drywall, it's nails scratching along the same run every time.

I generally hear it about an hour after sun down and an hour before sun up, thus leading me to believe it's nocturnal, and thus a flying squirrel. The house has the vinyl siding on it that was on it when I bought it, and a metal screw down roof. I see no obvious points of entry, but I'm sure there's several possible spots under the vinyl as half the house has board sheathing on it. I'm a contractor by trade and generally refer my customers to a pest company when asked what to do about these things.

I'm close to ripping my ceiling down so I can see where it's coming in from, a search around the exterior showed a few suspect spots, but I lightly stuffed foam in the questionable areas (under roof flashing against a wall, open bottom of vinyl corner boards, etc...) in hopes of seeing it pushed out or in, thus telling me where the rodent is coming from, no foam has moved, rodent still there. Also not an every day thing, maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? (I already promised my wife I wouldn't start shooting the place up, so that's out) The cat and the Rottweiler are terrified when they hear it, so they're no help either.

 

[vinny11950]

This sucks. Little critters are so elusive it is hard to find them. I had squirrels in the attic that I didn't know about until I installed new soffit vents and closed an old dryer vent hole in the basement. That trapped them inside where they died a slow death. I only found the remains later on when I added insulation to the attic.

Maybe make a best guess hole in the ceiling and try to find the nest (follow the poop?).

Or just hire the experienced exterminator who would know where to look. But you definitely want it out fast before it becomes a bigger issue.

 

[heat seeker]

You didn't smell the dead critters? I had one die in the attic where I couldn't get to it. The stink made the room below uninhabitable for a solid week. I just closed the room door and opened the windows and waited it out. Flies were trying to get in that room, it was so bad. I hope that never happens again!

 

[vinny11950]

You didn't smell the dead critters? I had one die in the attic where I couldn't get to it. The stink made the room below uninhabitable for a solid week. I just closed the room door and opened the windows and waited it out. Flies were trying to get in that room, it was so bad. I hope that never happens again!

Oh yeah, my mom complained about a stink from a closet that lasted a few weeks. But I didn't put two and two together until later on.

 

[semipro]

I saw a recent segment on HouseSmarts on TV where they used light to get rid of squirrels. Something about messing with their sleep cycles or such?
I'll be darned if I can find a reference to it on the web though.

 

[vinny11950]

http://www.evictor.com/

I think this is it, Semipro. But not sure if it will help OP because his critter is between floors, so no space to hang light in. Though maybe make a hole in the ceiling and stick the light in there.

 

[semipro]

http://www.evictor.com/

I think this is it, Semipro. But not sure if it will help OP because his critter is between floors, so no space to hang light in. Though maybe make a hole in the ceiling and stick the light in there.

I'm not sure but I believe they were using a standard flood light not a strobe and just turning it on and off at certain times to mess with the squirrels.

On a funny note, I was meeting our realtor to do the final walk through on a house we were buying. As we walked up to the front door a squirrel greeted us from the inside of a nearby window. The realtor flipped out and wouldn't go inside. I did. It seems the contractor working on repairs had patched a squirrel entry hole in the siding while at least one squirrel remained inside. Years later when doing some repairs on the soffit area I came across a nest containing multiple baby squirrel mummies.

 

[vinny11950]

baby squirrel mummies

As much as I hate them for messing with my electrical wires, they are just trying to find a home! Like everyone else.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

I routinely find squirrels in the house. and frogs, even penguins. sometimes in huge piles... sometimes theres a raccoon. i've seen a duck, a lamb and a unicorn at times. my dog says he has no idea how they got in...

 

[vinny11950]

my dog says he has no idea how they got in

At least your dog is aware of the problem.

 

[heat seeker]

Anything goes wrong or missing around here, I blame the chickens. I think that they sneak in the house when I'm not looking...

 

[Warm_in_NH]

I've been on the fence about when to start a down stairs remodeling project, perhaps this is my excuse to get the demo on its way.

If I did the strobe I'd put one in the attic and between the floor and ceiling, that'd be costly, never mind the neighbors stopping by wanting to get in on the party.

Thinking I'll try to find the little rodent myself, pull down the ceiling, (an expansion of previously planned remodel) see if I can find an entry point, see if the disruption of a remodel scares him off, if not, I'll call in the pros.

 

[maple1]

Squirrels can cause a lot of damage, not good to have them getting inside. They can be caught with a good rat trap, or live trapped. If you can get into where they're hanging out, that is. Then again, if one can get in, more can get in.

There might also be a possibility it's a weasel (or at least would be in this area) - they're not so bad and can do a good job on a mouse population.

My sister deals with squirrels in Ottawa. Has a bunch of neighbours that insist on feeding them regularly. Big black ones. While dealing with something else a couple weeks ago, she discovered her dryer vent pipe was plugged solid with peanuts in the shell. That could have ended badly. She's also had raccons in her attic. More wildlife problems in that city than I have living here in the woods.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

10 days, no sign what so ever of said rodent. Got cold and snowy out, maybe his / her main pad is elsewhere and this is just the beach house.
Hopes aren't up too high yet, but with the fresh snow pack, no tracks, no noises, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Problem won't be fixed, theirs still access somewhere that needs to be fixed, but it will be on hold til spring if I'm lucky.

 

[bag of hammers]

...she discovered her dryer vent pipe was plugged solid with peanuts in the shell. That could have ended badly. She's also had raccons in her attic. More wildlife problems in that city than I have living here in the woods.

When I had the mice in my ceiling at the camp a few years ago I opened it up and found enough popcorn kernels to fill a 5 gallon pail half full, jammed in the rafter bays in the insulation. Found the source (neighbor had a pail of the stuff in a shed for some reason - a squirrel chewed through the plastic lid and started loading up my ceiling). I tore it apart and found the entry point (ridge vent), sealed everything up (hardware cloth where I needed air flow, etc.) What a mess.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You have the right idea with the newspaper blocking the holes. You can Id the hole by the oils and dirt smudges they leave as they squeeze through the hole. A piece of pvc pipe angled down will let them leave but not re enter. You can close secondary entrances off with silicone and then hit their primary with it after they are gone.

 

[DAKSY]

I've gotten three of the Rocket J. Squirrel variety in the last week. Plastic rat trap from TSC & a little dab of Skippy PB. Still got at least one left. Reset the trap last night. Got deer mice too & their population is dwindling as well. Tried a Havahart on the RJS, but the mice simply walked out of it thru the sides after they enjoyed the PB. Decon works too, but those damn flies drive me nuts...

 

[Bobbin]

Flying squirrels have been an intermittent issue in my home in NH over the years. They like to nest under the louvers of the attic vents. They've never breached the mesh, but I have to periodically remove the nest. What has been more problematic, however is that they occasionally think going down the vent stack to the bathroom will be a good idea. Wrong-o. I've fished 2 or 3 out of the toilet, only to consider what an awful way to die it must've been... trying to negotiate the trap inside a tube that allows no "purchase" to their claws. And every year I forget to put a hardware cloth "shower cap" on top of the stack (on a very steep roof).

 

[EatenByLimestone]

That is a chitty way to die.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Still good. No sign or sound of any rodents larger than a mouse and the cat got both of those.

It is in the wall where my vent / main drain line runs and in the ceiling under where my upstairs shower is....Although at least twice I heard it outside of areas serviced by plumbing.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd start looking for their entrance in. Look for the rub marks.