COUNTDOWN TO BABY SEASON: “Is Having Squirrels Living In Your Attic So Bad?”
Over the years I have had plenty of customers relieved to hear that they have squirrels, rather than raccoons, in the attic. It makes sense why they feel having a smaller critter in the attic would mean less damage, right?
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Squirrels can be every bit as destructive, if not more destructive than raccoons. Squirrels are rodents and are habitual chewers, meaning that their front teeth are always growing and they must continuously chew on anything and everything to grind those teeth down. I have seen extensive damage to attic spaces over the years, including damage to insulation, electrical wires, drywall and even to the wood structure of the home.
In my opinion, the most destructive animal to have inside your home is the small Red Squirrel. The reason is Red Squirrels love to burrow into the insulation where all your electrical wires are normally hidden to raccoons and the larger Grey Squirrels. By tunnelling into the insulation, they create holes, causing easy passage for the buildings heat to escape through the insulation. This would result higher electrical bills for heat in the winter and for air conditioning in the summer.
Another reason for the increase in damage caused by Red Squirrels is because they store an abundance of pine cones and black walnuts in the attic. This means they can stay inside the attic for prolonged periods of time during the colder months without ever leaving. We have had customers open walls during a renovation and have thousands of pine cones pour onto the floor. With no reason to leave the attic they are spending 10 times more time in the attic than a typical Grey squirrel would. More time to cause damage.
It is very important to deal with a wildlife intrusion quickly to prevent them from doing further damage to your home. It is also less expensive to remove wildlife before the babies are born.
Call Gates Wildlife today 1.877.750.9453 to receive your no obligation, on-site free estimate.
