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March 2, 2009
squirrels in the ceiling
Apparently our building has holes in the cornice through which several generations of squirrels have bred so at the first whiff of spring they crawl in and start building a nest. The cornice repairman won't seal the cornice until they've bred and left. Anyone have any suggestions as to ways of encouraging them to leave?
Comments
squirrels need encouragement to breed?
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at March 2, 2009 5:16 PM
A snake. But then you'd have to get rid of the snake. You could put a laptop up there and run, on a continual loop, the YouTube video of the woman making squirrel melts. Maybe they'll get the hint. But in my experience with New York squirrels, they'll never get the hint. Not only that, they'll chew up your wiring and eat your plants, to boot.
Posted by: RaginCajun at March 2, 2009 5:20 PM
A good humane trap is about $50 online http://www.epestsupply.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=3634801025 Just catch and release in a park. Maybe check the nest for babies.
Posted by: edifice rex at March 2, 2009 7:15 PM
We had the same issue that we just resolved.
If your repairman wont seal the holes until they breed and leave, you seriously need to find a new repairman. His job is not to encourage squirrel procreation, it is to repair stuff.
We sealed up the hole and set traps in the ceiling. Got lucky in that the squirrels were not there when the hole was sealed so the traps never sprung and no squirrels have returned.
Posted by: newsouthsloper at March 2, 2009 7:16 PM
I once had a racoon mama and litter in my attic. I place a boom box about 5 feet away with ample volume, and they were gone within a day.
If this proves to be impractical because of overly sensitive neighbors, I would wait for a nice, warm day when any self-respecting squirrel is out foraging and block their return. Saturday is supposed to be warm but rainy.
The Ridgid SeeSnake (seriously) might be the perfect tool to see if tykes got left behind while the grownups are out.
Posted by: renomandru at March 2, 2009 8:01 PM
Do you have a b-b gun? Squirrels can be tasty in a good marinade. When I was a kid squirrels used to get in the bird feeder (usually only once though).
Posted by: lechacal at March 2, 2009 8:28 PM
l, you might be surprised to know that, unlike firearms, it is completely illegal to own any kind of airgun/bb gun in NYC.
Posted by: denton at March 2, 2009 8:32 PM
Seriously? Wow. Good thing I don't have one I guess. What about sling shots?
Posted by: lechacal at March 2, 2009 8:47 PM
my very strong advice is to get a good pest control guy to "evict" them.
squirrels (or worse raccoons) can cause humongous damage if left alone. the mess and stink these tiny critters can leave is mindboggling. trapping them in is not an option. they will either chew their way out any way they can or worse, they'll curl up and die and the smell...all i can say is the horror....the horror.
get them out before they breed.
we had just one in a country house roof.
$800 later he was gone.
a neighbor went away for 3 months. 2 raccoons (momma and baby). they never told us the number, but it was in the $10's of thousands.
afterwards, you might want to look at the trees near your house and prune back any branches that would give them access to your roof.
Posted by: manofelt at March 3, 2009 10:12 AM
if you can trap them (squirrel traps are $20 at home depot), you should release them right outside your house. assuming the guy can patch the holes adequately they won't get back in. it can be deadly to just relocate an animal to unfamiliar location. i know it's just a squirrel but it'll do fine (and be less hassle) to just let it go in your yard or such.
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at March 3, 2009 10:28 AM
The repairman is right about having to get rid of the squirrels first. Now is a good time, before any babies are born. A Havahart trap is the way to go, but if you catch and then release them in your yard or even in the park, they will go right back to their nest in the cornice. Squirrels are very territorial and have an amazing homing instinct. You have to transport them over 15 miles or over a body of water to ensure they don't return. If squirrels have been nesting and breeding there for years, you may have quite a population of squirrels that consider your cornice "home" and will do their best to re-establish a nest there. Not sure they would be able to chew through a new cornice, but they might try.
Posted by: petunia at March 3, 2009 11:33 AM
We tried the traps approach (only $60 setup from Empire Pest Control on Court Street), but only one squirrel was caught in two weeks. AND, the same squirrels can come back to your roof from as far away as ten miles. See this link for loads of squirrel info: http://unexco.com/SQ1.html.
We cancelled the trapping and went with exclusion -- Kingsway Exterminators in Brooklyn -- they set up a one-way door on the hole in the cornice and the squirrels were gone within two days. The exterminators then remove the one-way door and place mesh over the entry hole to keep the squirrels out. I think $495 is their usual fee.
The downside is numerous screws holes in the cornice and unsightly metal mesh over the ends of the cornice, so a genuine repair is still in order, and it will be slightly more extensive than it would have been with trapping.
Posted by: rcw66 at May 27, 2009 1:53 PM
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