You may be having a peaceful evening in your home, watching your favorite television show on Netflix, when all of sudden, you hear a weird sound coming from upstairs. As you head up the stairs to investigate, it continues, and you realize that the noise is coming from your attic. Suddenly you realize: the sounds are probably caused by flying squirrels in your attic.
During colder months, the gray squirrel finds attics or chimneys for shelter during harsher weather. Squirrels can scurry up trees, cross a branch, and climb onto your roof. From here, all they need is a one-inch hole or weak area in the soffit or fascia to chew through and start building nests in your attic. Like all rodents, squirrels can wreak havoc on your home in a number of ways. Are you hearing unusual sounds on your roof? Noises in your attic in the early morning or late evening hours? Suspicious squirrels in attic sounds? Do you suspect that you might have squirrels in your garage, chimney, or fireplace?
Perhaps it’s more than just a fear of squirrels in your attic; perhaps you’ve actually seen them entering your attic space through holes or vents. Squirrels can chew holes through materials if they are determined; they can easily get into your home and make a variety of different types of damage and sounds. If you’re hearing gnawing, scratching, and pattering sounds–especially in early morning or daylight hours–it’s usually squirrels.
Damage From Squirrels in Your Attic
If you hear what you suspect are squirrels in your attic sounds, it’s imperative that they are removed immediately. Squirrels in house eaves and attics can damage insulation and electrical wiring. They can even cause power outages and may start fires. If squirrels are trapped inside a building or an attic, they run around and can knock down and destroy anything in their path. Furthermore, they can chew on your windows, which can be expensive to repair. It’s important to keep an ear out for noises in your attic, which could indicate that squirrels have invaded your home.
Remember, squirrels have teeth that are strong enough to break apart acorn shells or other nuts. To keep their teeth under control, they gnaw and build nests. Within your home, this natural behavior of squirrels could result in:
- Damaged Wiring: Squirrels love to chew on wiring, which has a hard surface for gnawing. The damage may be gradual – starting as bite marks along electrical cords – or could be so swift that a fire suddenly starts with no apparent source.
- Exterior Damage: Squirrels can also chew on vinyl and wood siding. Between these parts and your attic, moisture is allowed to pass through, leading to leaks, water damage and flooding that also appears to have no source.
- Insulation: If squirrels have invaded your home and attic, they could be tearing apart your home’s insulation or ruining it with bodily fluids. This could cause your heating and cooling bills to increase. In all cases, it’s less effective, damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced.
- A Fire Hazard: Squirrels also like to build nests in your chimney or vents. Flammable materials, from paper to cloth, often compose these nests. As such, a small spark could quickly go up in flames, spreading to the rest of your home if you’re not prepared.
- Flooding: Squirrels also target your home’s pipes to trim down their teeth on a firm surface. The damage to your pipes may be slow, resulting in leaks and mold, or could result in a flood with no warning.
It’s important to be proactive against squirrel damage; keep an ear out for squirrels in your attic sounds so that you can remove these pesky critters immediately.
Health Hazards From Squirrels in Your Attic
If you hear flying squirrels’ attic noise, not only can these pests cause physical damage, but they can also cause health hazards for your family and your pets. Their urine and feces are absorbed by your attic insulation, which can damage the material. Furthermore, their waste can leave a strong odor and stains throughout your attic. Finally, squirrels’ urine or feces could expose humans and pets to salmonella, rabies, Leptospirosis, Tularemia, as well as other diseases and bacteria.
Unfortunately, if you hear squirrels’ noise in the attic, their bodily fluids are only one health hazard. When one or two squirrels die, their bodies either remain in your attic or get trapped in your walls. Not only are these carcasses difficult to remove, but they also cause an odor problem and can attract other pests.
Finally, it’s important to remember that squirrels may be carrying ticks–especially in the summer–and their carcasses could attract mites and fleas.
If you hear strange sounds coming from your attic and you suspect that you have flying squirrels in your attic, call Eliminate ‘Em immediately. Our professional experts can humanely remove squirrels and secure your house so that they can’t come back in. Don’t put up with squirrels’ noise in your attic; they cause physical damage and health hazards. Contact ‘Eliminate ‘Em Pest Control Services today!
