How to keep squirrels out of your house

Squirrels can be a big problem, and when you encounter such a problem in your home, you will naturally want to get rid of it as soon as possible. You will need to follow several steps in order to get squirrels out of your home and then keep them out. Keep on reading to know what to do and in what order.



The first thing you need to do is to figure out where exactly you have squirrels nested in your home and where their entrance and exit points are into your home. This is crucial to determine the following activities and their volume.

Once you have determined where the squirrels live in your home as well as their entrance and exit points, you will need to secure all of these entrance and exit points, i.e. seal them shut. Look carefully at dormers, soffits and roof vents as these are their most common entry points to our houses. But, while closing all these possible entrances and exits, you will need to leave one (just one!) hole open. Which hole to leave open? You want to leave open their main exit/entrance, and you will know which one it is by the size – the largest one is the most important one (and it usually has bite marks around the edges).

You will use this main hole for the trapping of the squirrels. Once you have closed all the other holes, place a trap (one way exclusion traps are the best for safe and humane removal of squirrels from your home) and then make sure to check the trap is open so that you are sure when all the squirrels have left your home.

Once you are certain that squirrels are all gone, you will need to close this last entrance to your home and make sure to use metal (steel is the best) to prevent them from chewing their way back in. Also, check that there are no baby squirrels in the nest, both to prevent them from starving to death as well as to be sure that your home is free of the squirrels.

Once you are sure of that, clean the attic, remove all the dirt and remains, and then cut off any possible paths to your roof and home in general. Squirrels like to climb, so it is best to cut off all tree branches that come close to your roof.

Go back to the Squirrels in the Attic home page.

How to keep squirrels out of your house