If you read news, whether online or in the paper, there is an article almost every week about a massive power outage caused by a squirrel that climbed into a transformer. These opportunistic, curious rodents just can’t keep away from man-made structures, including our attics. A squirrel in your attic is a ticking time bomb, figuratively speaking. It’s important to get it out as soon as possible—enlist a Maryland squirrel removal pro if needed—before you incur thousands of dollars in damage.
Squirrels Cause Fires
Squirrels have large and strong front teeth that have to be constantly used in order to keep them from overgrowing. That’s why squirrels gnaw on everything even if it’s not edible. Once in your attic, a squirrel can chew on wires, and even plumbing pipes, just for the sake of chewing. Squirrels cause hundreds of attic fires throughout the U.S. every year. Many get extinguished in time, but in some cases attic fire may cause total loss of the house and even fatalities.
Squirrels Cause Water Damage
How do squirrels get in your attic? They simply pick a spot along your roof line and chew a hole. Even if your roof is in excellent shape, a determined squirrel can get in. When a squirrel makes a hole in your roof, it opens up the possibility for water damage. Rain will go right through the hole, soaking through the attic insulation and roof deck, and causing mold and rot. If the squirrel lives in your attic for a long time, it may make several such holes for convenient entry and exit. Imagine all the water-damaged materials and personal property you might have to replace.
Squirrels Are Territorial
Once a squirrel makes a nest in your attic, it’s the squirrel’s attic now. This means if you need to get anything from your attic, you are now an intruder. So much for spring-cleaning! A mother squirrel may attack a person if she believes you are a threat to her babies. While it’s not a very common situation, it can happen and you may end up with a few bites and scratches. The good news is, squirrels don’t carry rabies, so it’s extremely unlikely to contract rabies from a squirrel.
Squirrels Have Babies in Your Attic
The most common squirrel species in Maryland is the Eastern Grey Squirrel. These squirrels typically have 1-2 litters a year, one born around March and the other one around May-June. Each litter may have between 1 and 6 baby squirrels. If you don’t handle the squirrel problem right away, you may end up with 10 squirrels by June instead of 1. That’s ten times the chewing and ten times the urine/feces damage to your attic. Although both the mother and the babies eventually leave their nest, the mother can return next year to the same breeding grounds. For these reasons, it’s best to act fast if you have a squirrel nesting in your attic. This time of year, it’s probably a mother with her young. If you hear scratching noises coming from your attic or see signs of water damage, it may be an indicator of a squirrel problem. Contact us today for squirrel removal in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia or Washington, DC. Our experienced technicians will humanely trap and relocate your squirrel intruder.