Squirrel in the Attic

This is gonna sound weird, but apparantly squirrels don't like strobe lights. I heard it on the radio (there was a contest about getting rid of squirrels) and an effective way of getting rid of them was to plug in a strobe light. It's not too expensive, so it might be worth a shot. Good luck!!

Hi,
i think you can go to the animal control and rent a cage. There not much money and i belive if you ask they will put it up for you.
Good luck. And happy holidays. =)

I get fox urine at the "Do it Yourself Pest Control" (or something like that) located in the shopping center at the corner of 15th Street and Custer - northeast corner; facing 15th street; east of "One Hour Martinizing"). The store is owned by local guy who will explain how to use the fox urine. You need to toss cotton balls around in the attic and it scares the squirrel; make sure rodents are out of the attic before you seal the holes - you don't want the animals dying in your attic! but get rid of them you must because they can chew through your electical wiring etc. I think the fox urine is about $20 or less; but fixing the holes can be a bit expensive; that might can wait until Jan but you can't wait too long or you will have to get more fox urine.

There are live squirrel traps you can buy (maybe even lease). We had one in the house. it tore stuff up like you wouldn't believe. Get it gone asap so it doesn't tear up insulation etc. in your attic! I got the trap at a hardware store. It worked in a matter of hours. Peanut butter was the trick. We relocated the little guy in a park near buy. Two weeks later my parents got one across town. Same trap same bate same park. Worked like a charm. I have two traps still. If you live in Austin TX I'll be happy to share!

Good luck!

I have the same problem and have recently asked for the same help on another site. The answer that everyone seemed to have is fox urine. You can get it at Wal-Mart and places like feed stores. I have not tried it yet, but I was told to put it on cotton balls and place them around the attic.
A few yrs ago I bought several rubber snakes in the toy section. They worked for a month or so, then the squirrels realized they were harmless.
I would love to know if the fox urine works as I have one of the critters running above my bedroom as I type.

Good Luck
C.

Hi J.,

Go to a feed store, there is one on Ave. K in Plano, and get some fox urine (yes! you can buy urine in a bottle!) Anyway, just squirt some of the urine on some cotton balls and place them around the attic, especially at the entry point if you know where that is. Wear rubber gloves because this stuff is rank. We used to have squirrels in our attic all the time and it worked for us. Good luck!

ok, I just had an exterminator here because of ants I can not get rid of. He told me to go to a feed store and get fox urine. You put some on cotton balls and his dad had a squirrel that had babies in his attic and about 15 min went by and she actually took the babies out one at a time. Anything you use from stores will not get rid of it. They are nut base. So try this and I would love to know if it works. God Bless, amd Merry Christmas G.

Place a one way door up on one of the entry points. Seal all other points of entry. By placing the one way door up the squirrel or squirrels can leave but they can not get back in. After you are sure that the squirrels are gone take the one way door down and seal the entry point! Always better to contact a professional. Give A All Animal Control your local professional a call at ###-###-#### and ask for C.

Animal control in Carrollton will give you a cage for free, but you can also go to a sporting goods store and buy fox urine and put it on cotton balls around your attic...they won't come anywhere near it. Good luck!
A.

Dear J.:
We also had some squirrels in our attic. We were told to sprinkle fox urine around! We found this at Oshman's. They have little bottles of "red fox urine" in the hunting department. The red fox is a natural enemy of the squirrel and they will not enter the area where their scent is! After sprinkling, block off the area where the squirrels are getting in and out of with chicken wire. I hope this works for you. It worked well for us. Good luck - C.

your home needs to sealed up againts all rodents. an inspection of you attic is important to make sure its not rats. I understand your situation with money. I do own a rodent elimination company an may be able to help out with some payments if you need it. my inspections are free so if you want we can start there.

R.

Yes, as others have said, fox urine does work. I used to work in apartment management and our guys used to spray fox urine in the attics to get them out and then try to find the source of where they were coming in. It did work! Best of luck.

If you know where it's getting in, cover the hole during the day while it's out doing it's thing. It won't be able to get back in at night. I did this and it worked. Call your animal control? They may have traps, humane, that you can set. Usually they'll come pick up whatever you catch.

We have the SAME problem!!!! It's driving me nuts too! (No, pun intended!) Our next door neighbors just moved in and when they replaced the exhaust fan above the stove, 2 dead squirrels came tumbling out. Not to be gross, but he said they were in the shape of a cube burnt to a crisp. Gag. The bad thing is they can chew on wires and that can start a fire. We do not really have an attic, only a craw space. Although I have read trapping can be inhumane, my in laws have set a trap in their attic & have not only caught squirrels, but an opossum, raccoon, and even a fox!
Here's what Animal Care Services says on this topic, perhaps this will help:
First thing you want to do is determine where the Squirrel is getting in and out (the chimney is fairly obvious). If there is more than one entrance/exit, block all of them except for one easy-to-locate spot. Obtain six to twelve, one inch strips of fabric, tie them in tight knots and soak them in household ammonia. Then, wearing rubber gloves, place these in the attic, chimney, or wall where the Squirrel has been seen or heard. Next, buy cayenne pepper at 90,000 heat units which can be found at your local natural foods store, Whole Foods or Sun Harvest. Sprinkle the pepper generously in areas that the animal has been seen coming and going near the hole, on the roof, or around trees that give the animal access to the attic. Animals cannot tolerate the presence of the pepper and they will vacate the area. Note: pets and children should not have access to the pepper! Lights and loud music at night also disturbs Squirrels who sleep during these hours. Once these techniques are used for several days, tape a piece of newspaper over the hole. If it is not disturbed for several more days, you are now safe to cover the hole or cap your chimney securely, preventing Squirrels or other animals from coming back in.

Our local wildlife rescue groups are much better equipped at handling and housing wildlife than we are. That’s what they do. That’s what they specialize in. Our focus is and always has been dogs and cats.
# Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation can be reached at ###-###-#### or ###-###-####. They have information on more humane ways to either live with or deter wild animals without having to resort to a potentially dangerous trap.
There are several private companies in San Antonio that will trap/pickup wild animals FOR A FEE. Residents can check out the Yellow Pages under “animal rescue and removal services” or “pest control”

Put a pan of ammonia near the entrance he is using to come in. When you are sure he is out (usually during the day) then close up the hole and spray ammonia on the outside of the area he used to enter. Our squirrel cost us over $1,500 in damage last year.

Fox urine works to get them out. My neighbor used it and gave it to my mom who used it also. I'm not sure where you get it, but you may want to call the Heard Museum, they could probably steer you in the right direction.

I'm pretty sure they have fox urine at sports stores (Sports Authority or Academy) in the hunting section. My dad gave us some to put on our fence and it does get rid of them. I think he got it at Sports Authority.
Also (just in case its not a squirrel)- growing up, we were sure we had a squirrel in the attic and we couldn't get rid of it. Ended up, it was a rat! We couldn't even catch it in the rat trap. D-con saved us! The rat eats it and it becomes totally dehydrated. It crawls out to try and get water and eventually dries up and dies - outside!

We bought a bottle of fox urine at the feed store (main street in grapevine) and just put it on some cotton balls and threw them up in the attic. It worked great to get the varments out. Be sure you wear disposable gloves (latex, rubber, vinyl) so you don't get it on you. We doubled up just to make sure. I'm sure you can get the fox urine at any place like that (foremans, etc.). Good luck!

I own a pest control company. And I have a squirrel in the attic every winter for the last 3 years. I have been working in the pest control industry for 8 years now. Every company I've worked for and on my own has had no luck with trapping squirrels.
I have fox urine, didn't work. I have traps and tried many different baits, caught a baby squirrel. The adults know better. I've been told by other pest control operators that my best bet is exclusion and a reverse (one way) door. Problem with that is if you exclude them out they chew their way back in. They will chew right through that fascia board. There needs to be a trap attached to the one way exit door. I haven't found anyone here yet that will do that in Spring. I'm thinking about sitting out in the garage part of my attic with a BB gun. They haven't damaged anything up there yet, but I'm sure they will. Just had a new a/c system and air duct installed this year. I am worried they will destroy the air ducts.
I do not take squirrel jobs for this reason. I don't know many other pcos in my area who will either. There are very few and they gave me the advice above. The bb gun thing was advised too believe it or not.
We've had this one particular squirrel invade our attic. The kids named him Scar since he has a scar on his little face. He has been here since we bought the house in 2003. Scar is gone this year. Haven't noticed him anywhere since this past summer. My kids think he is our "other" pet. His little girlfriend pulled all the hair off her tail last year before having little ones that also invaded my attic. Next door neighbor's dog got one and I trapped the other. I see the female now, she has been in the attic. Fully prego too. And pulled all the hair off her tail again. My kids are upset I want to get rid of the squirrels.
Getting ready to replace all my attic vents and I will look online to buy a reverse door trap. My suppliers don't even carry them here. May just wait till it warms back up when I do the attic vents. Eventually going to replace my siding one of these days with hardi-plank in back and the eves, soffits, and fascias. That way there won't be access in to my attic.