We’ve had a problem in the past with flying squirrels nesting in our attic. What can we do to keep them out? P.N., Revere, MA

They’re Cute, But You Don’t Want to Live With Them

The most important thing that you can do to keep any type of squirrels out of your attic is to “squirrel-proof” your home. By that I mean sealing up any of the openings that they are using to get inside and reinforcing places that could become future openings. That can be quite a job though. I recommend that you contact a professional to do the work.

Flying squirrels, and squirrels in general, are notorious for chewing their way into attic spaces. If a squirrel finds any kind of a hole into a void space, it will gnaw and work at the opening until it is big enough for its body. The bad news is that flying squirrels are even tougher to keep out of attics because they are so small. They can squeeze through a crack the width of your little finger. The even badder news is that squirrels don’t even need a hole; they are very good at creating their own. If they can find an edge that they can grab ahold of with their teeth, they can make an entry into your attic and their new home. Flying squirrels have another advantage in that they can glide from a nearby tree directly onto your roof.

Squirrel Exclusion is a Permanent Solution

At Colonial, we do a lot of squirrel-proofing work, or squirrel exclusion as we call it. We not only caulk and seal openings around the roofline, we reinforce weak areas, install chimney caps, screen vents, etc.—anything that it takes to keep squirrels out. Our exclusion work is permanent and guaranteed. If you don’t already have squirrels in your attic, exclusion is pretty straightforward. If you already have tenants, we first have to get the squirrels out of the space by using a one-way device over their entry point that will let them out but not back in. For more on squirrel exclusion methods, see “Squirrel-proofing Your Home.”

While gray squirrels tend to nest in attics singly (a mom and her young), flying squirrels are known for their communal nesting habits. It’s not uncommon to have half a dozen or more flying squirrels sharing attic space, and they remain active through the winter. See “Flying Squirrels Will Den in Attics During the Winter.”

Photo credit: Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)