Help! Need vent cover for squirrel issue!

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Jenniferla32

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So the vent cover and critter barricade that was installed on the side of my house by the roof (for the bathroom exhaust venting) did not do its job. Squirrel ate through the barricade, ripped the vent cover slats off, and took apart the duct (I hope I’m using the right terminology here 😣). Extreme cold and snow here (a worker can’t just come to cover the outside easily (tall, 2-story colonial) so I soaked a sheet in peppermint oil (supposed to be a deterrent) and really stuffed the opening. The squirrel remained on my roof and was not leaving, so I inspected for a nest and babies- couldn’t find anything but they could surely be anywhere. Well, squirrel managed to get back in (now there is a half-broken critter guard with a sheet balled up in it). At this point, there has to be babies, due to her persistence.

I never hear attic movement (yet), just an occasional scratching above my bathroom, where she must be coming and going (where the vent is). I am going to wait til the babies are grown (if there are any...again, can’t find them, but it’s likely) and then scare them out or whatever. THEN I will need to cover this vent opening (4-inch?). I cannot find anything good online to purchase for covering. Most things are plastic and there is a bendable Wall-e cover that looks like it will not stand up to the squirrel.
Do you have any ideas or products that will help??? All metal covers I find are huge for the roof, not the side of the house. Chicken wire and ??? If this doesn’t get done the first decent weather day, I fear the birds will move in (which is originally why I got the critter guard). I’m exhausted and clueless, and nobody seems to have answers for me.
The one good thing is I am single and don’t use my attic...there are just screens/storm windows up there and a small box with a Christmas decoration). Please....help!!! 😩
 
I also wonder if there aren’t enough screw openings to have it be super flush against the siding?
 
Squirrels will seek shelter in an attic, not always only for nesting.
Just to escape the cold.
And for protection from predators.

If you don’t kill it or trap it, it will be bothering you for several years.
And eventual babies will carry that on.
They will chew wood, wires, cable or antenna coax, tear up the insulation.
Then they will eventually chew into the warmer house below the attic.

Get a Hav a Hart trap from HD or wherever.

Peanut butter on a piece of bread will lure it in pretty quickly.

Put it somewhere near where you see it climbing up the house.

You might catch one, or maybe a handful of squirrels.

Take the trap at least five miles away to release them.

Or kill it with car exhaust, there are kits you can buy for that.

Watch Youtube vids on trapping squirrels.

Or buy a good pellet gun and kill them.

They are cute in the yard, but a serious threat to your house once they learn that you provide shelter.

They will never quit.

Consider them as tree rats with bushy tails.

Or hire a wildlife trapper, but you will pay hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands.
Once your house is targeted, word gets around in squirrel town.
 
Thank you. I went up there today and the squirrel seriously tried to befriend me. I couldn’t see any nest but I have a friend coming over to check with me (since they can burrow under insulation, there’s a lot of searching to do. Shooed the squirrel out, but think she came back. I just don’t want to lock her out if there are babies inside. From what I’ve read, it’s highly likely. I was too rattled to get a good look for nipples or to see if it’s male. :(
 
I spoke with a squirrel rehabber and she said now is the time for the first litter. I went and inspected carefully but couldn’t find a nest. Used a piece of metal to cover the hole from the inside (just won’t use the bathroom vent), and will address the outside / remove the metal / attach the venting again in the spring. The squirrel is still running around on the roof making noise. Hopefully she can’t find another way in and will get bored.
 
One doesn't have to worry about squirrels adapting after relocation after all they are rodents. Squirrels eat mostly seeds and nuts that are found by scavenging.
 
One does not have to worry about darn squirrels at all.
They are not endangered, they are thriving.
Yes, trapping and relocating usually ends in their death.
Shooting or drowning or gassing them is more humane.
Better than starvation, becoming coyote lunch, or roadkill.
But people can’t face killing little cute fluffy squirrels, so instead they leave them to destroy their home.
Stupid.
IMHO.
No different than putting out deadly mousetraps, these are just bigger and fluffier invaders.
 
Well the good thing is, I wasn’t worried about how to get the squirrel out, I wanted to make sure she stayed out (and didn’t leave a nest behind)! I didn’t want a bunch of others to follow her lead! Covered from the inside, and I’ve heard her on the roof a couple times, but seems the problem is fixed. I just hope she doesn’t find another way!
 
My son was a licenced rehabber still does one occasionally. He turned his squirrels loose on his own wooded property as his house is tight with no infiltration. He has rehabbed several white squirrels and has seen them about for a year or so. Some of his squirrels hang around and come back begging for peanuts. But after awhile they move on or expire.

I quit feeding the birds as it resulted in too large of a squirrel population. My guess is that that they forage abroad in search of easy pickens and if they find a good spot they stay. If you trap and relocate the experts say you must go five to ten miles away from your home or they might find you again. When I counted 14 in my backyard at one time I started trapping and relocating but gas is too expensive to continue that. I have quit feeding and have red shouldered hawks that nest on my property each year so that helps.

Here's an interesting article; How To Get Rid of Squirrels in the Yard? (A Simple Guide) - Pest Strategies
 
At my old house a young guy bought an old lake cottage down the street, he was turning into a full time house. He poked a hole thru the kitchen ceiling to poke his head up to see what was up above and black walnuts started pouring down. By the time he was done poking holes he had 2 pickup truck loads of nuts.
 
billshack said:
I had squirrels in my attic, I went to hardware store and bought 2-3 packs of rat , mouse poison . Bang problem solved .
Click to expand...
Poison is a great solution - until one dies in a hidden corner of the attic and you have to live a couple of weeks with the stench of decay.
 
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