# Squirrels in the Walls!



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Hi Y'all,
Here's why you don't want to ignore rodents in any building. They gained access to the inside of the shop by climbing the support posts for the porch. Then the porch rafters gave them a comfortable place to rest while they attacked the fascia board. They gnawed the fascia to enlarge the opening under the rib of the 3-rib building panel on the roof. Once inside, they had the run of the place because there was no ceiling and the builder had left an open space at the top of the walls. They set up housekeeping in my shop, but they aren't housebroken at all. It seems they destroyed about half the insulation in the void between each pair of studs. Some of it they carried off, and the rest they shredded and compacted against the floor. They appear to have designated certain spaces as their bathroom. The insulation in those spaces is very odiferous. I didn't take any photos of the wiring, but some of the wires are stripped bare of insulation for about 6 inches to a foot at a time. They would leave both the black wire and the white wire bare, but leave the insulation between them. All the wire needed was a good twist to create a dead short. I'm stripping the whole thing down to the studs and starting over with fresh insulation and repairing wires as I go. 

I've spent a lot of time denying access and repairing the damage. A little time spent earlier on access control would have saved a lot of time and money later.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

They do a number on things once the get inside. I know of a lake cabin they got into several years ago. They evidently couldnt figure out how they got in and destroyed window trim, Sheetrock and other things. Then to add insult to injury they starved to death in there. Talk about a mes! The cabin had been winterized in October and they weren't discovered until early April.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I came back from sea after 3 months and it was apparent my bride hadn't been using my truck. I opened the hood to check fluid levels before I took her out for a spin, and the engine compartment was packed full of leaves. Somebody had been building a nest. I started shoveling out the leaves, and heard the sound of something hard hitting the deck under the truck. I found the OBD connector on the ground, and started looking at the wiring harness in that area. The little buggers had chewed off the connectors, and about 4 inches of the harness. 

Fortunately they only damaged those wires, nothing else. I crimped on some blind caps, and she fired right up. 

I can't stand those destructive little buggers. Fortunately the dogs keep them from getting comfortable near the house.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I live in the country on 2 acres. We have 4 cats here, two were inherited from my inlaws when they moved to town. There are no mice, no chipmunks, and no squirrels. Cats can be a nuisance but they are way better than the critters they keep away.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

My parents lived in retirement community in Clearwater, Florida. They put rubber snakes under the hood to keep squirrels out. A neighbor lady had the wiring in her car replaced twice because of squirrels getting under the hood and chewing the insulation.
Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Put moth balls up in the overhead space from time to time. That should work for many types of critters Saw a fellow camper who worked part-time at a campground put moth balls under his motorcycle trailer to keep spiders and other undesirables out.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

If only my wife liked cats................... We're over-run with squirrels here, and they're not the least afraid of humans. My wife will open the back door to catch one on the deck digging in her flower pots - and it just sits there and looks at her. Even worse is the ground hog that seems to have moved in. I thought that they were nocturnal and afraid of humans but not this one - I see him strolling down the yard in broad daylight with one of my tomatoes in his mouth, occasionally stopping to take another bite. The tomatoes are in Earthboxes, off the ground on cement blocks but he manages to pick all the tomatoes he wants now that he ate the zucchini plants. Guess next year I'll have to put a fence around them - unless I can arrange an "accident" between now and then. The county used to loan traps so that you could catch them and transport them to the next county but now you have to buy them.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

And then the guy in the other county brings them back over to your county. Once any animal becomes a nuisance they will always be one, same for anything from a mouse to a bear. There is only one lasting solution.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

I handed a 525-round box of .22LR to my neighbor's son. He keeps the squirrel population under control.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> And then the guy in the other county brings them back over to your county. Once any animal becomes a nuisance they will always be one, same for anything from a mouse to a bear. There is only one lasting solution.


True, but a little difficult in development of 1/2 acre lots. My immediate neighbor has the same opinion of groundhogs as I do - it moved to my lot after cleaning him out earlier this summer - so he probably wouldn't have a problem. I found a local company that specializes in trapping critters, will give them a call tomorrow and see what their prices look like.


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

I don't have any pets but keep poison trays in my out buildings and at least for me that keeps the rodents under control.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

What a hassle Andy . To think in theory that they could have potentially burned your shop down  

I hate cats but when I lived on an acreage it was the best solution . It's amazing how industrious those little buggers can be though , as you've seen in your case . You have me a little concerned now , but I don't have any insulation in yet so I guess I'm safe lol


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Those were some industrious squirrels, I've seen where they tried getting into a house by eating the chimney's lead step flashing, they didn't get far maybe the lead made them stupid and the forgot why they were doing it. However, in the umpteen houses I've worked on 90% of all entries were made via the gable louvers. Back in the late 80s I did find a completely chewed off plastic dryer vent then the plastic flex tube hose thing which let them into the mud room of the house.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Just in case the rest of you don't know it, squirrel is good eating. It just not that cost effective between the time it takes to skin and cook them as to the energy they provide. But if its for revenge then it doesn't really matter.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Just in case the rest of you don't know it, squirrel is good eating. It just not that cost effective between the time it takes to skin and cook them as to the energy they provide. But if its for revenge then it doesn't really matter.


I've eaten a fair amount of squirrel, but you're right, it's not really worth the trouble. Squirrel hunting was a right of passage when I was a kid. A young man (girls didn't hunt back then) would hone his skills on squirrels before moving on to the much more elusive and challenging white-tail. Deer weren't nearly as plentiful then, and one needed a good deal of skill and a lot of luck to even see one. 

All of my squirrels have gone on to the happy hunting ground. Even in the city limits on a half-acre lot, there are things you can do. Gamo makes a scoped pellet gun that shoots a pellet at 1,400 fps. A head-shot is easy, quick and deadly. The neighbors squirrels have started moving into the yard, but at least they didn't grow up in my shop. I've called a truce for the moment, but woe unto the squirrel who takes an interest in my shop!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Just in case the rest of you don't know it, squirrel is good eating. It just not that cost effective between the time it takes to skin and cook them as to the energy they provide. But if its for revenge then it doesn't really matter.


add them to the rabbit, beaver, quail, pheasant, chukar, dove, fish, ducks, grouse, pheasants, turkey, goose and woodchuck hunt...
.22 and a blow gun are a great way to git'er done...


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Stay away from the brains spongiform encephalopathy.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

My brother uses .22 ball caps right in the city. He says they are quieter than a pellet gun.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=.22+...oTCOrG3cGLkMgCFcU0iAodmXgCAQ&biw=1920&bih=943


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> My brother uses .22 ball caps right in the city. He says they are quieter than a pellet gun.
> https://www.google.ca/search?q=.22+...oTCOrG3cGLkMgCFcU0iAodmXgCAQ&biw=1920&bih=943


I've never seen .22 ball caps and had to look them up before I knew what they are. Pretty cool, but my pellet rifle is legal to shoot in the city where a firearm is not.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I'm sure they aren't where he is either. I think any pellet gun that shoots over 495 fps might also be illegal here. You have to have a PAL (Possession and Acquisition License) up here to purchase a pellet gun over 500fps. That's the same license we need to purchase firearms and ammo.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

As I've mentioned before, I hate them bushy tailed rats too. They're especially bad if you have fruit trees or a garden.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Ghidrah said:


> Stay away from the brains spongiform encephalopathy.


those are easy to spot..
liver and kidney test any and all before taking them home...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> My brother uses .22 ball caps right in the city. He says they are quieter than a pellet gun.
> https://www.google.ca/search?q=.22+...oTCOrG3cGLkMgCFcU0iAodmXgCAQ&biw=1920&bih=943


those are great on wintered in nights for the mice that run down the base board...
never have to leave the easy chair...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

you just never know what kind of vermin are hiding behind walls until they are exposed...:no::no:

eventually they are


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## Bryan Rocker (Jul 10, 2014)

I have had to remove squirrels from 2 different houses. The current one took several weeks since they previous owner put the steel soffit down to low and made an easy access for them. Now days I have 2 jack russels, a rat terrier and a min pin and the squirrels are no longer a big problem. If they hang around long the dogs dispatch them quick, usually the day after trash day....


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

TwoSkies57 said:


> you just never know what kind of vermin are hiding behind walls until they are exposed...:no::no:
> 
> eventually they are


I had bees get into the stud space in my house a few years ago and they had eaten the gyp board from the backside thru to the paint on the outside. That is how I found them , my hand went thru the wall into their nest. Didn't get stung, but taped up some cardboard over the hole til I could get some spray into the stud cavity and kill them off. Then I had to cut out the drywall and clean it out, the nest went from top plate to bottom plate, and fill the whole space. Then had patch the drywall. It was in the living room. they had eaten up the insulation and used it to make the nest. 
Herb


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Before I made the squirrel shields for the bird feeders a tree rat would latch on and clear out a tube of sunflower seeds while 4 to 5 collected them from the ground. I have an old 760 powermaster bb pellet gun, the more you pumped it up the faster the bb went. The closest feeder was about 25 feet from the kitchen window. I tested the gun on a waxed carton till I got it to 5 pumps to dent instead of penetrate then pumped it 4 times for the squirrels. 

When a blue jay is on the feeder non of the other birds are allowed on the feeder. When a TR is on the feeder, no one else gets to eat period. Anyway close to a whole summer I'd get to pop 4 or 5 TRs a week from the feeder. I don't know if it was the sound of the bb gun or getting tagged by the bb but those guys would jump, everyone got to run away and everyone came back. Then my kids ratted on me and the warden took my powermaster away from me until I made the shields.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

When I had invaders in my eaves, this was my solution. The metal angle was held in place by the shingles and didn't need any fasteners. They were about six feet long and once in position they won't easily move. I left the edges "shear sharp". The varmints made unsuccessful attempts to get back in a couple of times and then probably found an easier roof. There's a new generation now... I'll see if it keeps them out.


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## PriscillaCNewman (Aug 18, 2016)

GEt someone to get them out of that place


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## Loonboy (Sep 2, 2016)

Such animals do have stronger adaptaiblity than such big and fierce ones. That's why they can survive and increase their population even when human beings dominated the earth.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

When I lived in NY State I had a wood shingled roof on the house, and several times over the years that I lived there, squirrels (Tree Rats) ate through the shingles and got into the attic. Each time I didn't know about it, until it rained and the rain coming through the hole had ruined a ceiling and wall in the house. I set rat traps in the attic with peanut butter for bait and it was a quick and easy to get them, but then I had to repair the hole, the ceiling, and the wall. An older friend put me onto how to keep them from eating through the roof, so I tried it and I never had any further squirrel/roof problems again. He told me to spray #2 fuel oil (untaxed diesel oil) on the roof shingles with a garden sprayer on a day when the shingles were very dry. He said that the oil would soak in well and preserve the wood, as well as making it very undesirable for the squirrels to bite into. It worked very well and I never had a "squirrel hole in the roof" problem again. 

In my present location I have squirrels outside to deal with every now and then, but my real problem is with the Canada Geese. They help me mow my lawn, but not very well, and they fertilize it as they eat, so it's a diminishing return. They also lubricate the sidewalks, and this is why they must go. I've tried many things to keep them away. The Alaskan Malamute was the most effective at keeping ALL of the wild life away, but only for the 14 years of her life (she kept the fishermen away from shore too). I really don't want another BIG dog, so I've been trying other methods. The plastic Owl Decoy attached to the top of my park bench down near the lake worked quite well, for about 6 months, until they figured out that he wasn't real. When he was there I had no birds at all in the yard.

I'm about to buy a fierce looking plastic Coyote decoy mounted on a pipe that gets driven into the ground in the middle of the yard. It will rotate like a wind vane, so the occasional movement should make him look more real in the hope that he will keep them away, and for a longer time. I can move his post around the yard occasionally too. I'm going to put the owl decoy in a tree up near the house to see if it chases the squirrels away. If it seems to work for the squirrels, I'm going to get another one for the other side of the house. 

I don't hunt, and I never have, but I have the fire power to take care of the squirrels, if I have to. I just prefer a more humane method of keeping them away. 

Charley


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