How to Get Rid of Squirrels in the Attic？17 Most Effective Solutions

Find strange holes outside of the attics? That can be a sign that some squirrels are nesting in the attic! If you don’t know how to get squirrels out of attic and garden and act in time, these small animals will bring great trouble to you. To avoid unexpected damages caused by squirrels, find and apply the most effective solutions below to keep squirrels away from your house!

Damages & Signs of Squirrels in the Attic

Why shall you take certain measures to get rid of squirrels in attic, walls and gardens?

The answer is:

These cute little animals will cause more damages to your houses than you can imagine if they are active in your attics or gardens. Here are some of the examples:

Damages Caused by Squirrels in the Attic & Garden

• Chewed cracks and holes in the attic, wood sidings or the interior decoration of your houses;

• Bitten electrical wires, insulation and even your wooden furniture;

• Piles of leaves and other debris brought into the attic by squirrels;

• Squirrels’ droppings in your attic;

• Harmful parasites and diseases carried by squirrels;

• Mold and mildew in the attic;

• More entry points, i.e., holes, after baby squirrels grow up in your attic;

• Plants and fruits in the garden eaten by squirrels.

In short, squirrels in your house can be big trouble for your houses if there are not enough measures taken to get rid of squirrels in attic naturally.

Signs of Squirrels in the Attic & Walls

So how to know if there are any squirrels nesting in the attic and garden? Here are some clues that may give away their traces:

1. Holes outside of the attic or in wood siding;

2. Stolen birdseed or messed up birdfeeder;

3. Squirrel droppings around your houses;

4. Small footprints that don’t belong to your pets;

5. Chewed or damaged insulation and wires;

6. Strange noise from the attic at night.

How to Get Squirrels out of Attic: Feasible Solutions

“Squirrels in my small attic are crawling around! How to get squirrels out of an attic? Any suggestion?”

“The squirrels eat my all nuts green. Every year I see these giant pecans forming, and then like overnight there's a neat pile of husks and shells. What is the best way to repel squirrels? Help me!”

If you also find squirrels nesting in your attic, you can follow the effective solutions below and learn how to get rid of squirrels in attic in a breeze.

Solution 1. Find out How Squirrels Get Inside Your Attics

To get squirrels out of attic crawl space, first off, you need to find out where their entry points are.

The possible entry points for squirrels getting into your attic include uncovered vents in the roof and wall, roof edge, plumbing mats and chimneys. You can take a thorough examination around your houses to see if there are strange holes in these spots. If yes, it is likely that squirrels have been nesting in your attic.

Solution 2. Apply Smart Security Cameras to Trace Squirrels in the Attic

Though squirrels are active during the daytime, you may still find it difficult to locate their nests and find their traces on your own.

With the help of high-resolution security cameras, you can not only find out where their entry points are effortlessly, but also catch the squirrels in the act if they chew and damage your interior decoration or electricity wires.

Moreover, you can use the top-rated security cameras to monitor the activity ranges of the squirrels from the attic. By doing so, you will know their paths better and gain more success to get rid of squirrels in the attic crawl space.

While plugged-in CCTV cameras can be disabled easily because the squirrels may chew the wires, the battery-powered wire-free security cameras, like Reolink Argus 3 Pro, enable you to monitor the squirrels and prevent them from nesting in your attic without being damaged by these fluffy animals.

Solution 3. Apply squirrel repellent attic

If there is anything that the squirrels are afraid of, it must be the spicy scent. It is by their nature that squirrels won’t get close to things with strong spicy flavor.

One of the best ways to get rid of squirrels in the attic is to apply pepper-based taste spray as a natural repellent around your attic and house.
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Mothballs scattered around the attic can repel squirrels away as well. By replacing the mothballs regularly when their smell fade, you are about to get rid of squirrels in the attic naturally.
Also Read: Will Mothballs Help Get Rid of Squirrels in the Attic?

Solution 4. Limit the Access to Your Attic

Another best way to get rid of squirrels in attic is to make your attic less accessible for squirrels. Here are some methods that you may take into account:

1. Cover chimneys with caps to prevent the squirrels from falling into;

2. Install mesh fencing underneath porches and in front of the openings;

3. Patch up cracks on your fences or wood sidings;

4. Leave one entry point for squirrels to get out;

5. Trim tree branches near the attic from time to time.

Solution 5. Coat the Unblocked Holes with Sticky Gel

A natural way to remove squirrels from attic is to apply sticky gel around the only entry.

The gel will attach to the squirrels or be brought into the nests by the squirrels. The squirrels don’t like sticky gel on themselves or in the nests so that they will leave the attic on their own.

Solution 6. Remove Food Source Around Your House

Squirrels usually diet on hard mast like acorns, walnuts, fruit and seeds. When they fail to seek the food listed above, they will eat green plants as well.

To get rid of squirrels in the attic naturally, you need to remove or cover all accessible food sources around your houses.

Solution 7. Use Noise Deterrents to Repel Squirrels in the Attic

Another solution to get rid of squirrels from the attic is to scare them off with noise deterrents. Quite similar to other small animals, squirrels are timid and prone to be horrified by sounds and movements.

Aside from investing in a specific noise maker, you can use the two-way audio security cameras to do the job as well. These security cameras are able to give off audio alarms (siren) and even your customized recordings once they are triggered by abnormal movements.

Solution 8. Apply Live Traps to Get Squirrels out of Attic and Walls

Live traps and funnels are also feasible ways to get rid of flying squirrels in the attic. You may seal all possible entry points and leave one open to set up traps.

By putting squirrels’ favorite food like acorns and seeds as bait in front of the traps, you are able to attract the squirrels to the traps successfully. Once they leave the attic, they can’t get back anymore.

In order to remove squirrels from attic completely, make sure that no baby squirrels are left in the attic. Or else, their parents will come back and continue to destroy your attic.

Solution 9. Relocate the Squirrels in Non-Lethal Traps

After catching the squirrels and their babies in the live traps, you are able to get rid of squirrels in the attic without killing them by relocating the whole squirrel family to a forest or a woodland at least 10 miles away from your houses.

These frightened squirrels won’t find their ways back to your house once they find out that is not a welcome place.

Also mind that you shall relocate the squirrels to the natural environment but not near the neighborhood. If you have no idea where to move the animals, contact local authorities and they will offer you a helping hand.

Solution 10. Seek Help from the Professionals

If you find it hard to repel squirrels in the attic on your own, you may ask local professionals to remove squirrels from attic and walls. They are able to deter squirrels quickly and guide you what to do when you see them next time.

Correspondingly, the cost of getting rid of squirrels in the attic will go up compared to solving the squirrel issues on your own.
Editor’s Note: These solutions apply to repel other exterior animals, like raccoons, chipmunks, deer and opossums, in the attic and garden as well.

Bonus Tips: How to Get Squirrels out of Gardens & Yards

Aside from damaging your attics, squirrels can ruin your well-managed gardens as well. In this part, we have collected several practical methods for you to remove squirrels from attic and your neighbors’ cats and dogs in the yards and gardens.
#1. Clear Up Your Garden. The main reason for squirrels and the next-door pets coming to your gardens is hunting for food. By picking all fallen fruit on the ground and eliminating access to other food resources, you are able to keep squirrels and your neighbors’ dogs and cats away from your yards.
#2. Use Squirrel-Proof Birdfeeders. The bird seeds are the biggest attractants for squirrels that visit your gardens. You may place your birdfeeders in a high place which is beyond the reach of squirrels.

This man has made a squirrel-proof birdfeeder on his own and uses the security camera to monitor his creation.

#3. Your Pet Dogs/Cats Can Help as Well. Small animals like squirrels will treat bigger animals like your pet dogs or cats as their enemies. Put it simply: your dogs can scare off squirrels while having fun in the garden. You may also check here to learn if your pet can safeguard your house.
#4. Install Motion-Activated Appliances in Your Garden. As we have mentioned above, squirrels are timid animals and they will get horrified by small sounds and motions. Both motion-activated sprinklers and noise repellents are possible options to deter squirrels and also your neighbors’ pets in the gardens.
#5. Plant Special Plants Like Mint in Your Garden. As humans, you may love the scent of mint a lot but that’s not the case for squirrels. Squirrels are afraid of the smell of mint and you can plant some mint around the possible entry points of the gardens to keep squirrels away from your houses.

#6. Build Gopher Cages to Protect Your Plants. Your plants are within the squirrels’ menu as well. To protect your plants from squirrels, you can make a gopher cage with chicken wires. By doing so, squirrels will neither dig out your plants nor eat their roots.
#7. Mulch Your Plants with Pebbles. It is squirrels’ nature to dig holes and store their food underground. Your new plants may suffer from their habits but funny enough, they don’t always remember where they hide their food!

To get rid of squirrels in the gardens, you may put a layer of hard materials, such as pebbles and other beautiful stones, on the surface of the soil.

FAQs

1. Will squirrels leave the attic on their own?

Squirrels won't always leave on their own, especially if they have already given birth to a litter.

2. What can I put in my attic to get rid of squirrels?

To repel squirrels from your attic, soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them around, as squirrels dislike the smell. Additionally, soak rags in vinegar and put them where squirrels are active. Mothballs can also be effective but use them cautiously, as they can be harmful to humans and pets.

3. What noise scares squirrels out of the attic?

Ultrasonic repellers emit high-frequency sounds that make squirrels uncomfortable. They're simple to install and can cover a wide area. While the sounds aren't harmful, squirrels will find them intolerable and leave your garden or attic over time.

Conclusion

It's important to take proactive measures to get squirrels out of attic and prevent them from nesting in your home and garden. By identifying signs of squirrel activity and applying effective solutions such as finding entry points, using security cameras, and applying natural squirrel repellent attic, you can avoid the damages caused by these small animals and maintain a squirrel-free environment around your home.