Squirrelly!

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dthornton

inspector gadget
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Help! My house (2 story, 1890, "balloon" framing [exterior wall studs run from the foundation to the attic]) has squirrels. They are going in the top of a soffit/fascia (?) board above a second floor window. From there, they somehow crawl down the wall, halfway across that wall, and in between the dining room ceiling (9 1/2' ceilings) and the floor above it. I'm working on my side porch (adjacent to the dining room) and have pulled the beadboard ceiling off of it. Above where the porch ceiling was, on the outside of the dining room wall, I can see studs, but the wall I see is not the dining room interior wall (double studs, perhaps?). The dining room ceiling is higher than the porch roof, so I can't actually see between the dining room ceiling and the floor of the room above it. However, the squirrels (a mom and her litter) sometimes make an appearance in this area and scamper down the wall and across the porch. Now that I have given you the background, how can I rid my house of the squirrels? I thought of using smoke, but I'm afraid of driving them deeper into the house instead of out. Moth balls don't work, and I can't get in between the walls or the ceiling/floor to chase them. I hesitate to use poison, because I don't want them to die inside the walls. Do any of you have experience with this? Ideas? :help:
 
I know this is going to sound like a lunatic and his antics...well ok it is. :D
I have had really good luck getting rid of mice with Dryer sheets, lots of them. I buy a box at the store and they go everywhere I can stuff em. nooks crannies and paths they take. I have also sealed up all holes with spray foam and screen packed together, but with squirrels you will need something more solid like a piece of wood or hardware screen.
See if the sheets work, then close the place up.
And this is all personal experience from a farmer, not some link someone gave me from the www.
good luck.
 
I had a problem with squirrels at my moms house and I got a live trap and used peanut butter as bait. I set the trap next to the house and ended catching 9. Was that more than in the attic, yes. But I got the ones living up there. I relocated them about 8 miles down the road, sealed up the hole in the soffit and have not had a problem since. You have to take them far enough away that they don't find their way back.

I'm not a farmer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once...;)
 
I had a problem with squirrels at my moms house and I got a live trap and used peanut butter as bait. I set the trap next to the house and ended catching 9. Was that more than in the attic, yes. But I got the ones living up there. I relocated them about 8 miles down the road, sealed up the hole in the soffit and have not had a problem since. You have to take them far enough away that they don't find their way back.

I'm not a farmer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once...;)

I am a farmer and I would not give the squirrels to the neighbors (unless they live in the White House). Sorry but when I get a pest animal in a trap they DON'T walk out, if you catch my drift.
 
I am a farmer and I would not give the squirrels to the neighbors (unless they live in the White House). Sorry but when I get a pest animal in a trap they DON'T walk out, if you catch my drift.

Thats why they went to the country and also because my mother said "Oh...you're not gonna kill them are you?"
 
Thanks, guys! :) D, anything's worth a try! Oldog, that's a good idea and would probably work for the mom (she runs across the porch roof several times a day). I'm thinking the babies might not be ready to come out on their own. Blue ... think an electric cattle prod would work for that? If not, a swim in the lake might do it! :D I'll give some stuff a try, and see what happens. :clap:
 
Cattle prod would not work very well, just make them mad. I use a 22 to the head, quick and no suffering of the animal.
 
Unfortunately, I live in the city, so I'm thinking that would put ME in a much worse place than the squirrel! :( So, you interested in doing some squirrel hunting in Iowa? :beer:
 
Once you get the little buggers out, remember all those gaps and holes you find in a baloon frame need to b closed up to stop air flow when ever you can. It's that firestop thing.
 
Unfortunately, I live in the city, so I'm thinking that would put ME in a much worse place than the squirrel! :( So, you interested in doing some squirrel hunting in Iowa? :beer:

You don't have to dispatch them in the city, just take a little road trip out into the country and take care of them there. Just don't let them become someone elses problem as they do get trap wise after being caught once.
 
Squirrels can be EXTREMELY destructive. I recently had to replace the lead boot on my roof that covers the sewer vent. Seems the squirrels chewed the lead off the top edge causing a leak. I guess with that much lead ingested I probably have a bunch of brain damaged squirrels. I live in the suburbs and it is not unusual for me to see over 15 squirrels in my back yard. If one gets too destructive, I will trap him and give him swimming lessons/
 
I don't think it would be illegal to shoot them with a paint ball gun. the paint ball will scare the heck out of them and the paint will wash off with the rain. Besides, wouldn't it be funny to see a bunch of purple squirrels running around ? I think they would eventually get the idea that they aren't wanted and will move by themselves
 
elbo, THAT is a hilarioua idea! Punk rocker squirrels - hmmmmmm .... :banana:
 
that really is funny, I'd love to have the plans to make the catapult
 
That's hilarious!!! Problem is, he'll probably come back!
 
you could put a basketball hoop at the end of the trajectory and charge a buck a toss
 
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