Squirrels in the Attic

The following is one, in a series, of funny/unique events in my day as a pest control technician for LIND PEST CONTROL

Squirrels in the Attic

I once had a friend call me with a problem he was having with squirrels in his attic.  I went over to his house and as we stood and watched the corner of his roof/gutter area, we saw a squirrel pop out and return with some nesting material a short time later.  I climbed into his attic and, sure enough, down in the baffled corner of the attic I saw a squirrel’s nest.  When I got close, the squirrel chattered at me a little and ran out of the small hole in the soffit.  As I approached the nest, I saw she had 3 baby squirrels in her nest.  Well, I couldn’t just leave the squirrels in his attic.  I have seen them do some pretty serious damage by chewing on wires and PVC pipes )let alone the mess they cause and “superficial damage” they do to sheetrock, etc.  The problem was, every time I got close to the nest, Momma squirrel would come running in, and she was very aggressive, (rightfully so).  We devised a plan for my friend to get on a ladder, outside, and protect the corner armed with a 2×4.  I’m not sure who had the worst job, me crouched into a corner of an attic, while balancing on rafters, or him outside on a ladder fending off an angry momma squirrel.

I got a small box and filled it with old shredded newspaper and other nesting material.  I went up into the attic and proceeded to gently remove the baby squirrels, from their nest, one by one, and place them into the new cardboard box nest we created.  I was wearing gloves to protect myself and to also make sure I did not leave my scent on them so that the mother squirrel might reject them.  While I was doing this, I heard commotion outside that told me that my friend was having quite a time with “momma squirrel”.  I was laughing to myself, in this dark cramped space, picturing this big rugged guy out there on a ladder with his 2×4 while this little squirrel was giving him all he could take!!!

We managed to rescue the squirrels, close up the access hole, and place the nest in as safe of place (near the corner of his house) as we could.  We let nature take it from there knowing we did the best we could to remove the situation from his home, while giving all of the squirrels a fighting chance

RIP my good friend FRED!!!  Love you brother.