Squirrels belong to the family Sciuridae and are made up of small or medium-sized rodents.
These rodents, whose natural habitat is the wild, can sometimes find their way into your house.
When this happens, the need to figure out how to get squirrels out of your house arises.
Squirrels are generally considered cute woodland creatures that can be found in most parts of our world.
They are indigenous to America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Humans introduced them to Australia.
They are a wonderful sight when they are out in their natural habitat.
Squirrels may look innocent and cute, but they can become a significant nuisance when one of them finds its way into your home.
Not only will squirrels knock over your belongings in a panic, but they may also chew on exposed foods and your electrical wires and insulation.
Apart from the damage and discomfort their presence can give, squirrels can also harbor pathogens (such as salmonella) that may be harmful to people (although transmission has rarely, if ever, been documented).
Besides, rabies can occur in squirrels, too, just like in other mammals (again, there is no documented case of a person getting rabies from a squirrel).
But then, we can never be too careful. Hence, there is a need to eject them from home once detected.
Sometimes, these creatures find their way into the home by accident while foraging for food through an open window or door, and in such instances, they get desperate to get out.
Other times, these creatures may intentionally invade your home, searching for a nesting spot, sustenance, and a warm and dry atmosphere to protect them from the threatening outdoor elements.
When this happens, they may not want to leave anymore.
Now, whether these rodents gained entry into your home accidentally or deliberately through the door, window, attic, or chimney, you will need to catch the squirrel and safely escort it back outside.
So, how do you go about that? Keep reading as we examine how to get squirrels out of your house.
How to Get Squirrels Out of Your House?
1. Locate the Squirrel and Give It an Escape Route
Once you’ve noticed a squirrel, the next step is to find its location. Locating the intruder (in this case, the squirrel) goes a long way toward evicting it from home.
You can use your ears here to figure out their hideout. This is a great method of getting squirrels out of your house.
Listen attentively to their little paws running across a beam or floor. Also, listen for scratching, chittering, and squeaks. All these may alert you to the squirrel’s location.
You can also check for squirrel droppings (they look like black pellets like those of mice, although they’re slightly larger than those of mice).
Some spots where you can discover a squirrel in your house are beneath eaves/overhangs, the attic, the chimney, and the basement.
Once you’ve located the squirrel in the room, quickly provide an escape for it.
You can close all other routes and leave a single exit, like opening a door or window to the outside. Then, leave the room and let the squirrel figure its way out.
Squirrels can be wary of human presence. So, leaving the room after providing an exit will give the squirrel its best chance to get out.
Most times, squirrels don’t want to be in your house. They often time prefer their natural environment. These rodents will quickly grab the escape opportunity you’ve provided.
They can be delayed when a female squirrel is nesting its young right in your home.
You can buy the baby squirrel a little more time before forcefully ejecting it from home.
Nevertheless, locating and providing an escape is one surefire way to get squirrels out of your house.
Remember to seal off their entry point once they leave the house.
If you don’t locate and close the opening, the squirrel will feel free to move back in, especially if it’s cold outside.
2. Use Ultrasound and Light
Another method for getting squirrels out of your house is loud noises and light.
A loud noise often provokes the squirrel’s flight response, forcing it to escape through the path provided.
You can rap on the ceiling, walls, or rafters and talk or yell loudly. Banging pans can also create noise.
You can also recreate a noise with sound from radio or television or other music/sound medium and leave it playing.
This is because squirrels are susceptible to noise, especially high-pitched frequencies.
When the loud noise fails, set up a bright light in the area where you detect their activities and leave it on through the day and night. All these may help scare them towards the exit.
You can use ultrasonic squirrel repellents to ward off squirrels from your yard.
Humans may not hear these sounds from the sonic squirrel repellents, but be aware that your pests may be able to listen to the noise, which could affect them. With that, they seek an opening and scamper off.
If you are trying to evict these squirrels from the chimney after employing these noise and light tactics at the fireplace, you can also carefully attach a long, thick, three-quarter-inch rope down the chimney.
Tie one end of the string to the top of the chimney before lowering it towards the other end. The rope will provide the squirrel an avenue to climb out and escape.
Nevertheless, the squirrel will always seek its escape route, but the rope here helps speed the process along in instances where the squirrel can’t just figure out a quick escape.
Remove the rope when the squirrel leaves and cap the chimney with a commercially-made cap.
3. Use a Humane Trap to Bait the Squirrel
Using humane traps is another effective method to get squirrels out of your house.
There are various kinds of traps available designed to help with squirrel removal. For optimum results, follow the directions correctly when using the traps.
You can lure this squirrel into the trap by coating the trap with peanut butter.
You can also place treats the squirrels love eating inside the trap to attract them, such as peanuts, sugary sweets, walnuts, and acorns.
Set the trap carefully where you suspect the squirrel is infested. Quietly close the doors and leave the room to wait for the squirrel to be lured into the trap.
Patience is advised if baiting the squirrel seems to be taking a while. The key is always to check the trap daily and re-bait if necessary.
You can then take the trap outside and release the trapped squirrel by carefully opening the trap door while standing behind the trap.
The squirrel here usually immediately bolts out of the trap and into its new outdoor location.
4. Use Repellent
Another handy tool for getting squirrels out of your house is repellents.
There are certain smells that the squirrel does not like, which can chase them away from your home, but it’s only fair to state here that it does not always work.
It depends on how stubborn and bulkheaded the invader is, though. One such repellent is vinegar. Squirrels do not relish the smell of vinegar.
You can soak some rags with cider vinegar and place them in your squirrel’s room.
Once the squirrel smells the vinegar, it will head for the nearest exit.
Another repellent you can use here is predator urine. This can be obtained from farm supply stores, sporting goods centers, and online retailers.
Just soak the rags in predator urine (e.g., fox urine), which will chase your squirrel out fast.
Certain repellents can also be used around your plants and surroundings to deter the squirrel from coming in the first place.
You can use peppermint essential oil to chase squirrels away. Cayenne pepper also repels squirrels.
Here, you can make a DIY solution of half water and half cayenne pepper and spray this outside your home to repel squirrels from your flower beds and property and stop them from entering the house.
Another repellent you could try out here is spray repellent. Gardeners use certain spray mixes to protect plants and bulbs from being consumed by rabbits, squirrels, and woodchucks.
These spray mixes may also work to chase squirrels out of your house.
But then, these concoctions often have a powerful odor you may not want in your home. Well, it all boils down to you. The odor dies down after some time, though.
In addition to the repellent, you could also try out motion-detector water spray. Squirrels do not like to be shocked by water.
So, you can use a motion-detector water spray to evict squirrels.
The motion sensor sprinkler system detects motion from squirrels or other wildlife pests and surprises them with a dousing, leaving the squirrel scampering for the nearest exit.
However, you must be careful when using this indoors. Nevertheless, you could try it out.
5. Catch the Squirrel Manually
Another method to get squirrels out of your house is to catch them manually. Here, it all boils down to your ability to outsmart the squirrel.
To do this, you have to know your squirrels’ location. Once you do this and the squirrel is cornered, don gloves and get a blanket.
Then, hold the blanket up in front so they don’t see a human form, slowly get near the squirrel, and toss the blanket over it.
Once that is done, quickly roll up the squirrel in the blanket. Be careful not to hurt the squirrel by rolling too tight or putting too much pressure.
Take the blanket-wrapped squirrel outside, gently open it on the ground, and set it loose. Once the squirrel is gone, remember to look for and seal any potential entry points.
6. Shoot Them
Yes! You heard that right. Okay, this may sound disturbing and even squeamish to some people, but it is another handy technique for getting squirrels out of your house.
Before you do this, always check if shooting wildlife in your area is legal. If it’s legal, then you can use this method.
However, this method comes with the downside of carcass cleanup, which can be time-consuming.
7. Eliminate Food Sources
So, let us take the other part of the famous saying, “All’s fair in…War.” The squirrel infestation is beginning to feel like war. It’s time to go back to the root cause- food.
Food sometimes is one of the most apparent reasons why a squirrel may end up in your home, and in such instances, you can as well raid its food source.
Cut off their food source, and clean up the fruits and nuts likely to attract them.
If you are keeping a bird as a pet that necessitates having birdseed, secure it in a squirrel-proof bird feeder to deter them.
When they don’t find sustenance, they will leave your home searching for a new hunting ground.
8. Seek Professional Assistance
Last but not least, to get squirrels out of your house, seek professional assistance. A good warrior knows when to call for help.
You’ve done what you can, but the squirrel gets smarter daily. It would help if you had a quick intervention.
Your best action now is to seek a professional who can instantly get the squirrel(s) out of your house for your safety and that of the squirrel.
Conclusion
So far, we have examined various ways to get squirrels out of your house.
You can get squirrels out of your home by providing an escape route, using ultrasound and light to hasten their exit.
Using a trap to bait the squirrel, shooting it, or catching it manually. The use of repellents also goes a long way.
We also established that eliminating their food source is also a great tactic.
Another method examined in this article is calling a professional to deal with rodents.
Nevertheless, prevention, they say, is better than cure. In this case, preventing the squirrel from getting entrance is far better than dealing with an infestation later.
So, for prevention, block all squirrel entrances by sealing off all entry points using a caulking product.
To do this effectively, look around your property for cracks, crevices, and torn window screens.
Also, inspect the attic for squirrel nests and check the foundation and exterior for holes.
In addition, the chimneys should be covered with chimney caps, and all exterior doors should be closed when not in use.
To prevent squirrels or wild animals from entering, replace window screens and fill in cracks or gaps with caulking products.
You can use metal flashing as a sealant here. The animals cannot chew through the metal to get back in.
With all these, you won’t have to deal with squirrel menace in your home.
