Squirrel Removal in Commerce, GA

Squirrels in your Commerce home

Squirrels are the animal Commerce homeowners hear overhead most often, and the layout of the older parts of town makes it easy for them. Mill houses were built on small lots, a short distance apart, and the yards have had decades to grow big oaks and pecans. A squirrel can run a limb to one roof, hop to the next, and check every house on the row for a way in. It only needs one.

On these houses the usual openings are the gable vents at each end of the roof, gaps behind loose fascia boards, and the seam where a back room or bathroom added later meets the original roof. That last spot is a classic construction gap: two roofs that were never really tied together. Once inside, squirrels chew wiring, tear up insulation for nests, and gnaw on wood and siding. Removing them is only half the job. The other half is sealing the house so the next squirrel on the row can't walk in.

What you are hearing and when

Squirrels are active in daylight, so the sound usually comes in the early morning and again in the late afternoon: quick running, light scratching, sometimes something rolling across the ceiling. Noise that starts after dark and goes on through the night is more likely a flying squirrel or a roof rat. That difference matters, because each animal uses different openings, and a pro will want to know what time of day you hear it before deciding how to seal the house.

Why mill houses are easy to get into

A mill-era house in Commerce has usually been patched and added onto for generations. Vent screens rust through. Fascia boards pull away where gutters have leaked. A back addition sits under its own roof that meets the old one at an angle, and that joint is rarely sealed well. The houses are low, so a branch or a fence post can put a squirrel on the roof in one jump. A good inspection walks the whole roofline and both gable ends, because on these homes there is usually more than one opening.

Don't shut the mother out

Squirrels in this area raise young mostly in spring and again in late summer or fall, though the timing can run long in some years. If a mother is shut out while her babies are still inside, she does not give up. She chews a new hole next to the old one to get back to them, and the damage gets worse. If she can't get back in, the young die in the attic and you get a smell. That is why a pro checks for babies before any opening is closed.

Wiring, insulation and siding

A squirrel's front teeth never stop growing, so it chews on whatever is nearby. In an attic that includes the plastic coating on electrical wires, which can leave bare wire and is a known fire risk. The wiring in an older house has often already been patched or added to over the years, so it's worth having a pro look at what was chewed. Squirrels also shred insulation for nesting and will widen a small hole in siding or trim until they fit.

Cutting back trees helps, but it isn't enough

Trimming limbs back from the roof is worth doing, especially where an old shade tree hangs over a small house. But squirrels can climb brick, siding, downspouts and utility lines, and on a tight row of houses they can come from the neighbor's roof. Tree work cuts down on traffic; it does not keep a squirrel out of an open vent. Sealing the openings is what actually stops them.

How the pro does it

The pro inspects the roof, the gable ends and the add-on seams, and checks the attic for babies. A one-way door goes over the opening the squirrels are using so they can leave to feed but can't come back, and live traps may be used alongside it and checked every day. When the attic is empty, every opening is closed with metal: steel mesh, flashing and heavy screen that squirrels can't chew. Then nesting material and droppings are cleaned out. Flying squirrels get the same treatment, just with a closer look for smaller holes.