Squirrel Removal in Canton, GA

Squirrels in your Canton home

Squirrels top the list of attic calls in Canton, and the town gives them two kinds of opportunity. Near downtown, the older homes from the mill era have been re-roofed and added onto so many times that their rooflines are full of joints: a dormer framed in later, a porch roof tied into the main house, a gable vent with its third screen. On the hillier north side, the slopes are covered in oaks and hickories, which means acorns and nuts in every yard and branches reaching over the roof.

A squirrel in the attic isn't something to wait out. Its front teeth never stop growing, so it chews constantly, and that includes the coating on electrical wires. It also tears up insulation for a nest and damages siding and roof edges getting in. The right fix is to get the squirrels out without trapping any babies, then close every opening with metal so the next one has nowhere to go.

Older Canton homes have more seams

A house that has stood near downtown Canton for decades has usually been worked on by several owners. Each new roof, addition or vent replacement creates a joint, and joints are where squirrels chew. Common spots are the corner where an addition's roof meets the original, a fascia board that has softened behind a gutter, and the louvered vents at the gable ends. Newer homes along I-575 have their own weak points, usually construction gaps at the eaves that were never closed. Either way, the inspection has to cover the whole roofline.

Hillside lots put the roof within reach

On a sloped lot, the back of the house may be two stories tall while the front eave sits only a few feet above the ground. That uphill side is an easy target. A squirrel can jump from a fence, a woodpile or a low limb straight onto the roof. Trimming branches helps, but it won't solve the problem alone, because squirrels also climb brick, siding and downspouts. Sealing the openings is what actually keeps them out.

Baby season changes the order of the work

Gray squirrels usually have young in spring and again in late summer or fall, though the timing varies from year to year. If you seal the hole while babies are inside, the mother will chew a new hole to get back to them, usually right next to the patch, and the damage gets worse. If she can't get back, the babies die in the attic and you end up with an odor problem. A pro checks for a nest before any opening is closed.

Wiring and insulation damage

Squirrels gnaw on whatever is in front of them: rafters, ductwork, stored boxes, and the plastic coating on wires. Chewed wiring in an attic is a known cause of house fires, and in an older Canton home it may be running alongside wiring that is already decades old. They also flatten and soil insulation where they nest. Once the squirrels are out, the pro will tell you what needs cleaning. Full insulation replacement is not always needed, so ask what is actually damaged.

Daytime noise or nighttime noise

Gray squirrels are active early in the morning and late in the afternoon, so that is when you hear them. Noise that begins after dark and continues through the night points to southern flying squirrels or roof rats instead. Flying squirrels are small, live in groups, and slip through gaps a gray squirrel couldn't use, so the pro looks for smaller openings. The removal approach is the same; the inspection is just more detailed.

How the pro gets them out

After finding every opening, the pro installs a one-way door on the main entry so the squirrels can leave to feed but can't get back in. Live traps may be used as well, and they are checked every day. Once the attic is confirmed empty and no young are left, each gap is closed with steel mesh, metal flashing or other material squirrels can't chew. Done properly, those repairs should last as long as the house.