I have an unwanted visitor in my old house. The door of attic is sealed off with concrete and wood, I can't get in unless I drill it open.
Inside is no light just the wooden roof frame and some old wood lying around.
Now something is running around. We have lots of squirrels here. And it sounds like one. Running fast and suddenly stopping. It wakes me up in the morning when I would like to sleep.
What should I do? Did you ever had a squirrel in your attic? How did you get rid of it?
There are these battery operated rodent repellents. They make a certain high pitched noise and the rodent allegedly runs off. Does this work also with squirrels?
Thanks in advance. You advice is highly appreciated.
Mothballs are a bust. I had one in my attic and he used the mothballs for a pillow. Sprayed pepper spray in hole during day sealed access hole with plastic and next morning he was back. Had to set large wire animal trap every day for about two weeks with peanut butter. Tried smaller wire trap and he kept getting bait. He got the bait out of the large trap several times until I fine tuned the trigger and lubricated it with WD-40. Was going to shoot him in the face after I caught him but he stood up on his hind legs held onto the cage like a convict and begged for his life with quiet little woof sounds. Figured if he was that much of a man I would relocate him. Closed up hole with temporary patch in case he wasn't alone but have not had any new squatters. I have several of the sonic wing dings but they are not effective.
A couple of years ago I turned my mountain vacation cabin into my home. The attic was infested with squirrels. Several bait boxes of D-con inside the attic and a nice pellet gun outside took care of the problem in a few weeks.
I highly recommend both parts of the solution. Squirrels will eat D-con about as well as rats do. And even the most dedicated house-squatters have to come out to ferriage. That's where the pellet gun comes in. There's a nice one available, complete with scope, at Wallyworld for under $100.
John
-- John De Armond See my website for my current email address
I had a problem with possums in the ceiling cavity a few years back. It didn't worry me, I can sleep through any noise, but it drove my wife insane. Tried the electronic repellent - didn't work. Finally solved it by opening the manhole and chucking the cat up there. Left it there all day. Cat had a ball and the possum/s decided it was time to relocate.
It all depends on the laws of your state. In my state (MI) you don't need a license to hunt small game on your own land. Further, if an animal is a pest it can be dealt with.
Hmm. Makes sense that the state would have facilities for relocating a destructive deer or moose or even a mountain lion. They certainly do it for alligators in Florida.*
So, call your state game and fish commission and demand they relocate the pesky squirrel(s).
That's what your tax money if for (tell them)!
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*Though not Louisiana. I recall an interview with the governor of Louisiana when a reporter suggested that animal preservation activists were opposed to an open hunting season on alligators.
"Well, son, they don't know nothin' 'bout gators! We's lip-deep in gators down here! They's lined up on the side of the interstate just a-waitin' for somebody to have a flat! You gimme the names of some of them folks up in Massachusetts or wherever and I'll SEND 'em some 'gators. We's got lots!"
Well yes, actually I do. Achieving a head shot from 30 yards on a squirrel or crow or other vermin is quite satisfying. An eye shot is even better.
But that doesn't apply here since squirrels are little more than rats with fluffy tails and they're being destructive. Ergo, they're killed for a reason.
By "trap and relocate", you're really saying, "catch the vermin and dump him out elsewhere to become someone else's problem. That's sooooo considerate of you.
Glad to see you have that kind of time on your hands. I don't. Or more correctly, I have no time to waste preserving the lives of vermin. This is misc.rural. You know, the country. The opposite of city. Where folks eliminate vermin and pests forthright and get on with other things.
As for sealing the holes, well, since the vermin chewed holes in my eaves to get in the attic in the first place, what would your odds be that sealing the holes would pose anything more than a minor inconvenience?
Funny thing about that theory. I've used the stuff all my life and never had vermin die anywhere that produced an odor that I could smell. My >theory< is that the poisoned vermin go outside to die.
I have had a rat or mouse drag a sticky trap back into a wall and die. Even then, the odor only lasted a day or two.
Since he didn't solicit your opinion on that topic, I suggest MYOB.
John
-- John De Armond See my website for my current email address
Lemme guess, you grew up in the city in a building that somebody else maintained and now you've moved to the mountains to live the Snuffy Smith lifestyle.
You might want to find some of your rural neighbors who grew up there and find out what they think of your strategy of spending the rest of your life putting out dcon and shooting squirrels with a pellet gun instead of FIXING THE DAMNED HOLE. Be prepared to become a laughingstock.
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