Squirrel in the attic/basement.....

[John G]

besides removing my family and possessions and setting fire to the place, what can I do to solve this dilemma......?

[G Henslee]

John,

I've heard of people using a jar lid full of antifreeze before. Careful around pets.

John G wrote:

[Rod Dahl]

That's an easy one. Go to the hardware store, buy a rat trap....that's just an oversized mouse trap. Bait it with peanut butter....Choosy mothers choose JIF. But any will do... the squirrel won't last an hour and he'll be history!

[HeyBub]

In many states, you have to have a hunting license and wait for the season to open. Most squirrel seasons begin around the 1st of September and last through January.

Kill or bother a squirrel outside those dates and .....

[ricardo]

If you call animal control at the police dept, they might bring out a trap for you. They do where I live. Try to find where they are entering and fix that or you could be dealing with the same problem. A tree next to the house may give them access to the roof.

[m Ransley]

You have to find the holes after you get them out and seal them up, look for new holes they will eat their way back in. Kill , trap, poison, shoot and mothballs in the attic. It can take a long time to get rid of all of them.

[Joseph Meehan]

I don't suggest poisoning them. They are a little large for that, the smell of a decaying squirrel hidden somewhere in a wall is not pleasant and can last a long time.

I suggest trapping and removing. A professional can handle it is a short time. They know the places and types of traps that work. They know the bait that should work in your area at this time of year. From my personal experience they are not all that expensive.

I suggest you do it really fast, as soon there will be little ones in the nest and that just complicates things.

[Ross Mac]

Search 2/19 for "friggin squirrels" There were a whole lot of responses that should help you....Ross

[trader4]

Many of the home center stores or larger hardware stores have the Hav-a-Hart, box style traps that don't cost very much. The appropriate size one bated with some peanut butter should do the trick.

[John]

I like squirrels and I often give them peanuts etc. so I won't give you advice how to destroy them. However I don't like them in the house. Once a squirrel got trapped in the house by dropping through a ventilation shaft. It messed the place up (not bad) while we were away for the weekend. The ventilation shaft turned into quite a problem as squirrels would peek and drop. So I built them small ladders so they could climb back to the roof! The squirrel problem ended right then and there: I would hear a thump as then quick scramble back to the roof. Squirrels would drop in occasionally but get out just as fast.

Maybe you same a similar problem? The quirrels can get in but have trouble getting back out. If so just provide the curious georges easy way out.

[John Harlow]

So - what if they decide to build a nest there, and chew through your wiring in the meantime?

[Matt]

Are you kidding?

In addition to the ladders, he also provided them their own breaker box so they could run their utility circuits without chewing through anything. 200 amp Cutler/Hammer arc fault GFCI panel as I recall.

I think the plan is eventually the squirrels will launch their own 24/7 interactive video web site.