Do you have squirrels in your attic in Memphis TN? If you have squirrels in the attic of your home, you are not alone! One of the main problems we get calls about here at Apex Wildlife Control is for squirrels in the attic. These unwanted visitors may be small, but they can make a big entrance and a lot of noise.

Some indications that you may have squirrels in your attic are chewed holes the size of baseballs or smaller. You may see squirrels running around on your roof. Inside your home, you may hear a scurrying sound, chewing or scratching noises above your ceiling. These sounds may take place in the attic or even in the walls. Once squirrels get into your attic, they will easily travel throughout your entire home.

Once we know the species we are dealing with, we can proceed further. Following a positive identification, we begin the trapping and exclusion process. The trapping process will vary depending on species. However, we normally complete the process in one to two weeks. It is now the time to see about fixing your home up and sealing it from squirrel re-entry. However, one item that can slow things down is if you have rotted wood on the home. Rotted wood can be a big problem and is sometimes very costly to fix. It is always good to know if rotted wood is abundant before we come out.

Sometimes squirrels, especially babies, can get stuck in a wall.  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 will die from dehydration and exhaustion.

As sad as this is, it gets worse. If this happens, the squirrel will start to smell as it decomposes. This decomposition will also attract flies and other wildlife. You will have a repugnant odor that will permeate your entire home. This smell can take several weeks to a couple months to dissipate. If it is a large fully-grown 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 may still take several days for the smell to fully leave.

Squirrels can also attract other nearby predators that are looking for a reliable food source.  It is not uncommon for raccoons and rats get into an attic once squirrels have found a way in. The most squirrel activity during the summer months will be early in the morning or when the sun is setting. Squirrels will leave your attic when it gets too hot during the day. Squirrels are most active during the day, but you may still hear them sometimes during the night.

During the winter months, squirrels will stay in their nests to keep warm and are not very active. You may still hear them in the attic and see the holes where they are entering, but they will not be seen outside of your home as much.  These little creatures will be fat and glossy when fall weather appears, and they will live on the food that they "squirrelled" away during the summer months. 

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 loud noises begin. Once they have mated, the female’s gestation period is about 40 days. This gives her plenty of time to start assembling her nest if she doesn’t already have one. Squirrels like to build nests in attics because attics are quiet and secluded.

This seclusion keeps them away from predators and out of the weather. 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 likely dealing with. We first need to determine if the signs point to squirrels as the species in your attic. 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. 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's a squirrel because they have seen them outside. Sometimes what we think we hear is completely different than what is really going on. You could possibly have a quiet raccoon in your attic! Sometimes there are actually multiple species living in the attic. It is not uncommon for us to find rat, squirrel and raccoon evidence in an attic.

Once we know the species we are dealing with, we can proceed further. Following a positive identification, we begin the trapping and exclusion process. The trapping process will vary depending on species. However, we normally complete the process in one to two weeks. However, one item that can slow things down is if you have rotted wood on the home. Rotted wood can be a big problem and is sometimes very costly to fix.

Our company does not fix rotted wood or do any major carpentry work. If there is a lot that needs to be done, we ask that you have a carpenter come out to assess your home and repair those areas first.  Our main focus with exclusion work is sealing up the small gaps, securing vents and patching up the smaller holes. If there is rotted wood around your home, it needs to be repaired before we perform exclusion. We can’t secure any of our work to something that could fall apart or is easily chewed through.

Apex Wildlife Control wants to always have the highest quality work. We want satisfied customers who know our work is going to hold up and last!