Squirrels In Your Attic In Collierville TN

This is especially bad because squirrels can become stuck or lose their footing and fall into small crevices. If you hear scratching, crying or screeching noises at the bottom of your wall, a squirrel is most likely trapped. If the squirrel is not rescued quickly, it can die from de-hydration and exhaustion. 

As sad as this is, it can get worse. If a squirrel dies in your wall, it will start to smell as it decomposes. This decomposition also attracts flies and other wildlife. You will have a repugnant smell that will permeate your entire home. This odor can take several weeks to a couple months to dissipate. If it is a large squirrel and the weather is warm, it could take even longer to get the smell out. Fortunately, in most cases we are able to remove the squirrel and deodorize the area to remove the odor. However, it can still take several days for the smell to fully leave. 

Squirrels will mate around December or January. You may see several male squirrels chasing the female squirrel like a game of tag. This is when the loud noises begin. Once they have mated, the female’s gestation period is about 40 days. This gives her plenty of time to start on her nest if she doesn’t already have one. Squirrels like to build nests in attics because an attic is quiet and secluded. 

Your attic keeps the squirrels away from predators and out of the weather. The squirrels typically have their young in the springtime. The babies will stay in the nest for up to three months before they start to explore outside. Squirrels have about three babies in an average litter. Once the baby squirrels become active, it can get pretty noisy.

When clients call, we like to ask questions to determine the species we are dealing with. We first need to see if all the signs point to the species in the attic being squirrels. We ask questions such as, “when do you hear noises?” This helps us to determine the type of squirrel or rodent we are dealing with. Depending on the species, some squirrels are active at night and some during the day. 

For example, gray squirrels are mostly active during the day, while flying squirrels are active at night. Flying squirrels are nocturnal. Another question we ask is “have you seen squirrels go into your attic?” Sometimes people assume it is a squirrel because they have seen them outside. What we think we hear can be completely different than what is actually going on. You could possibly have a quiet raccoon in your attic! Sometimes there are actually multiple species living in an attic. It is not uncommon for us to find rat, squirrel and raccoon evidence in an attic. 

After we ask about the type of sounds, then we want to understand the condition of your home. 

Do you have a lot of holes in the wood? 

Have you seen chew marks?

Is there a lot of rotted wood? 

These questions all have a purpose. When we ask about holes, we are also looking for the size of the hole. Squirrels tend to make baseball-size holes. If someone calls in describing the hole as bigger than a baseball, it is most likely a raccoon. If it is the size of a golf ball, it could be a flying squirrel. Even smaller holes could indicate roof rats or mice.