We recently (1 year ago) renewed the exterior of my house with new siding. Now squirrels are trying to make a hole, breaking the siding and Tyvek insulation. This is a spot that squirrels have been attracted to before. They have not made the hole yet, but I need to act quickly and fix the damage before winter comes. Should I place a metal sheet over the area? a mesh with barbwire? spray repellent over the siding? all of the above? – Lucio

This proves the point that squirrels are not easily deterred when they are busy trying to make an entrance hole. It also confirms that squirrels can find and utilize weak spots or places where a hole can be more easily started. They look for soft wood or edges and corners where they can get a grip with their teeth. If you installed your new siding over an area with rotting wood, the squirrels may detect that (see How Do Squirrels Get into Attics?).

Squirrel exclusion methods are only as effective as the squirrel is determined. Some methods work better than others. Repellents have little effectiveness against squirrels that are determined to get into your attic. Squirrels can also chew right through caulks and most other materials (see Squirrel Damage!). Sheet metal is impenetrable to squirrels but installing it properly will be the tricky part. If you leave any kind of a gap or edge around the metal that squirrels can get their teeth into, they will just make their hole around the perimeter of the metal patch instead.

Let the Pros Do This Job for You

And, unfortunately, if that squirrel really wants to get into your attic, it will find more than one way to do so. You may just seal up one area to find the squirrel chewing in another location. When our trained team does a squirrel exclusion job, they inspect your entire house top to bottom to find those vulnerable places. Then they use various sealing and reinforcing methods that are appropriate for the spot (see Squirrel-proofing Your Home). And all of our exclusion work is guaranteed. If we do the work, you’ll never have to do this again.

If the squirrel has already gnawed its hole and gotten into the attic, you need to make sure that it (and any babies) are out of the attic before you seal it up. At Colonial, we use one-way valves that let squirrels out but don’t let them back in. Once all squirrels are out, we seal up the final holes and finish the job.

You should also consider having that squirrel trapped and removed from your property. If you’re dealing with only one very savvy squirrel, that could solve your problem. Call our nuisance wildlife specialists.

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