Hello,
I have recently bought a home in southern Maine, the home wasn’t used but only a few months in the summer for the last 15 years. After doing some remodeling, I had noticed that we had guests. I have trapped and killed 12-14 flying squirrels we thought we had them all gone but now they have started back up with a vengeance, it’s like they know I killed they’re friends and they want to make me pay. They seem to be constructing new ins and outs and new tunnels. What is my next step. We are so frigging tired of them we are not sure if there is any resolution to this problem.
Thank you,
James
Based on the fact this home has had a problem for many years, there is most likely a large local population of squirrels that have come to use it at one time or another. And as our FLYING SQUIRREL CONTROL ARTICLE explains, these animals are quite social and will share a good location with any squirrels that care to join the space. That means any home that allows them free access can commonly harbor 25-50 animals so what you’re describing is not unusual. And since they won’t forage far once inside, it’s also entirely possible that if you have multiple entry points, you could have multiple nests. My point is a problem allowed to develop this long will take a lot to fix and simply removing a dozen animals is not likely going to resolve the infestation.
The good news is you’ve already begun this sometimes arduous process. Having trapped 12-14 thus far would be what I would term “only the beginning”. What’s key when trying to control a population like this is knowing when to do closure. And that’s because if you don’t do a good job of closing off all routes of entry, there is no doubt more will enter every fall and winter. So what should you do right now?
Well, since it’s fall and even “winter” in some areas of the US, flying squirrels have been getting their winter lairs in order and some are already shacked up and using their chosen locations. Undoubtedly your house is already keeping several warm. So even if you had no activity during the summer (which usually happens because they tend to stay outside all summer), it doesn’t mean your infestation had cured itself or “gone away”. All it meant is that the squirrels using your attic had moved out when it was warm enough outside but were planning all along to return. In fact, doing closure at that time would have been ideal. When seasonal flying squirrels leave in the summer, it’s one of the best times to close up their routes of entry. But this window of opportunity has passed so for now, you have one of two options.
One, you could wait till the next quiet time and then do some closure. This will probably be next summer. If you sense none are active as summer sets in next year, doing closure using some COPPER WOOL and FOAM SEALANT discussed in our article can be all that’s needed. Since flying squirrels tend to use existing holes, cracks and seams, there usually isn’t a lot of mechanical fixing involved when making an attic inaccessible to them. Next fall you’ll know if you did the job right and if any areas are missed, you’ll need to address them individually as you identify them.
Two, you can begin trapping or repelling them out attempting to get the attic clear so you can do some closure now. Obviously this will be more labor intensive but once complete, your attic should once again become quiet. In fact most any flying squirrel entry point can easily be seen from inside the attic when it’s bright and sunny outside so the good news is most of the work (if not all of it) can be done from inside the home. So if you go up in the attic during the middle of a sunny day, you should be able to both see and seal any entry point they might be using. But the key here will be doing this only after you’ve kicked out or removed all active animals to insure you don’t seal any inside. That means you’ll either have to put some FLYING SQUIRREL TRAPS to use or some of the ULTRA SOUND REPELLERS. We’ve learned one of these units, the TRANSONIC ULTRA MODEL, works especially well for this animal. Depending on the size of your attic, there is a good chance you’d only need 2-3 units to get it fully protected. And once you experience 1 week of “no sound” up in the attic, you can proceed with doing the closure.
No doubt flying squirrels are cute. However, they’re also quite noisy and messy. And once they move into your attic, they’ll become a problem. To completely get rid of your infestation now will require some more trapping or ultra sound repelling. Once you know the attic is free and clear of the ones you have active now, some closure and sealing work will be needed to keep more from entering. Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Flying Squirrel Control Article: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page359.html
Copper Wool: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page1135.html
Pur Foam: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page2133.html
Flying Squirrel Traps: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/traps/flying_squirrel_traps.html
Ultra Sound Repellers: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page369.html
Transonic Repeller: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page369.html#747810
james says
Thank you we will try all of this.
James
guest says
Do the ultrasonic repellers on the market really work to repel red squirrels?
Tech Support says
@guest: Some do. Over the years we’ve seen several units that don’t do a thing. After weeding through the “good” and the “bad”, we’re confident in the units listed above. In the particular, either the 774772 or the 747810 are about the best we’ve found thus far. The only problem with these units is that they a) run all the time and b) are not designed for use outside in the open. So if you intend on using them inside, the fact they’re constantly on might prove a bother to certain people. In particular, young people and women can sometimes hear the sound frequency emitted. The sound doesn’t cause any damage to people that can hear it but the non stop sound can be annoying.
To get around this, it’s best to use them on a timer or with a way to turn them off and on as needed should someone be able to hear any deployed. Of course, if you’re using it up in the attic or in a crawl space, there is a good chance the sound will not get into the living areas so this is usually not an issue. I’m just mentioning it so you’re aware should someone detect the unit being on.
Now if you wish to use them outside, the only good way to do this is to build some kind of protection around them and get them installed where they won’t be rained upon all the time. If you can protect them out in the elements, they’ll perform well in small areas. Here is a direct link to the page that features these two units:
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page369.html