Expert Squirrel Removal and Animal Control
Humane Squirrel Removal in The Woodlands, Texas
In The Woodlands and the nearby Houston area, squirrels can be a big problem. Despite their cute appearance, they can seriously damage homes and spread diseases. At Woodlands Wildlife Elimination, we’re experts in humane squirrel removal and animal control, tailored specifically for The Woodlands area. Our methods are designed not just to safely remove squirrels and protect your home, but also to ensure they don’t return. Keeping your family safe and squirrels at bay is our top priority.
What Attracts Squirrels to Your Property?
In The Woodlands, just like in other regions, squirrels seek out properties that offer plentiful and easy-to-access food sources. These animals aren’t picky eaters, so the diverse flora of Texas, including plants, trees, and bushes, often provides a veritable feast. Unsecured garbage bins are often another unintended food source, drawing squirrels closer to your home.
Squirrels also look for safe havens, particularly in areas where they face threats from predators or severe weather. It’s in these scenarios that homes and other buildings inadvertently become shelters for squirrels seeking refuge.
Recognizing the challenges homeowners face, we offer specialized animal control services to safeguard The Woodlands’ residences. Our experienced team adeptly handles nuisance wildlife situations, providing peace of mind to homeowners by fortifying their properties against squirrel invasions with effective, humane solutions.
The Hazards of Squirrels for Texas Homeowners
Squirrels may seem harmless, but they can be some of the most destructive pests in The Woodlands. They’re not just a nuisance but also a health hazard, carrying a range of bacterial and viral diseases. Bites or scratches from these animals can pose serious health risks, and indirect contact through their urine or feces can also transmit illnesses. Additionally, once inside, squirrels pose a contamination risk to your kitchen and places where food is handled.
The damage squirrels cause is substantial. They have strong teeth that can gnaw through almost anything to gain entry, especially into attics or roofs, making way for other wildlife and exposing your home to the elements. Once inside, they may chew on electrical wiring, posing a serious fire hazard, and tear apart insulation to create nests. Pregnant squirrels often seek the shelter of attics for their young, leading to a cycle of destruction.
How Can Squirrels Be Prevented?
Preventing squirrels in The Woodlands, TX involves a proactive two-pronged strategy. Start by making your yard less inviting to these nimble creatures. Keep your outdoor area tidy—remove brush piles, trim tall weeds, and clear out any debris that might offer shelter or nesting materials. Secure trash and protect your plants with chicken wire or similar barriers to deter foraging squirrels.
Next, ensure your home itself is fortified against curious intruders. Conduct regular inspections of your roof, attic, and any exterior crevices. Seal any potential entry points to thwart squirrel break-ins. If you spot any vulnerabilities, address them promptly yourself or consider professional help.
How Should Squirrels Be Removed?
Squirrel removal might seem straightforward, but it’s usually more complicated than expected, especially in The Woodlands homes. The squirrels you encounter are often mothers, who may have nestled with their young in your attic or within your walls. Attempting to remove the mother squirrel on your own could leave the young squirrels orphaned, leading to unpleasant odors and further complications. That’s why it’s widely advised to enlist the expertise of a professional wildlife removal company like Woodlands Wildlife Elimination. Our team is trained to handle these delicate situations with care, ensuring that the entire squirrel family is safely relocated and your home is clear of infestations without any harm to the animals or your property.
Why Hire Woodlands Wildlife Elimination?
At Woodlands Wildlife Elimination, our licensed specialists have spent years removing squirrels in many different situations. Not only are we proud to provide a high-quality squirrel removal service, but we also offer animal damage repair, animal exclusion, attic restoration, decontamination, and odor removal services as well. We are proud to provide our services at affordable prices and focus on customer satisfaction throughout the process. If you are dealing with a squirrel infestation and live in Houston or the surrounding areas, be sure to give us a call at Woodlands Wildlife Elimination today!
How to Keep Squirrels Out of the Roof?
While sleeping under your own roof might be a blessing most of the time, there are a few issues with having a roof – part of that would be a squirrel’s tendency to find its way up there. Squirrels seem to be able to find their way just about anywhere, and that’s thanks in part to just how versatile those little animals can be sometimes.
Although that’s great for them, that’s not too great for you, especially if you want to keep squirrels off your roof. Squirrels can climb virtually anything, but there’s more than just blocking off climbing in stopping squirrels from messing around with your roof. Without further ado, how can you keep squirrels off the roof?
Finding How Squirrels Get Up There
The first thing you need to do is find how squirrels even get to your roof. There are a few ways that they like to find their way to a high place, although it depends on each property and how high your roof might be. Nonetheless, in most situations, there’s likely a tree or an overhang that gives squirrels a much easier path right to the top of your home.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case – the majority of squirrel issues are probably caused by long limbs or overhanging spots where a squirrel can jump, although it’s not all. Sometimes, vents, gutters, and exposed sections of a home can give enough of a foothold to boost a squirrel to the top of your home.
Either way, it’s important to find out which one it is; both have simple solutions, although they’re very different from one another. Nonetheless, fortunately, there are a few ways that you can take care of either method for a squirrel to get up to your roof. In the end, it really comes down to making the journey as tough as possible for the squirrel, so prior knowledge is helpful in making the right choices.
Making It Tough
The best way to keep squirrels out and off your roof is to make it tough for them to get up there. Luckily, that’s as simple as trimming your trees. Cutting off excess branches that reach towards your house and moving other parts of the tree that come close to your roof can make it nearly impossible for a squirrel to make its way to the top of your roof. It’s not impossible, but it’s close.
On top of that, however, you can install guards and mesh designed to make things hard for squirrels. These are designed around either being impossibly slippery for squirrels to climb or to give an overhang that keeps squirrels stuck underneath. While these don’t go on your roof, they do go on trees that might lead high enough for squirrels to jump to your roof, preventing them from getting the opportunity.
Of course, there are other less direct methods too – whether that’s calling animal control or local company or simply removing bird feeders, there are quite a few methods. If you put guards on trees, and trim branches, and the squirrels still don’t stop making their way up to your roof, then you might want to try moving gardens inside, making bird feeders inaccessible, or moving whatever might attract the squirrel.
In the end, it really depends on your situation. For many, cutting tree branches is more than enough to prevent squirrels from accessing your roof. For others, they might need active removal or to add PVC/other slick surfaces directly to the roof. That’s why it’s important to see how squirrels get up to your roof, to begin with, as it gives you a way to know what has to happen to fix the problem.
Taking Action
How to Keep Squirrels Away from Garden?
There are many different species of nuisance animals that cause severe damage to gardens, both the flower and the produce varieties. One of the most harmful critters that will cause damage to the garden you work so hard on is the squirrel. Squirrels are damaging to gardens in many ways, but they often like to eat different roots and stems of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In addition, they will also try to hunt around your garden, digging things up and breaking stems. Continue reading to learn how to keep squirrels away from the garden.
Bring in Some Professional Backup
The most effective way to keep squirrels away from gardens is to hire a professional wildlife removal company, such as A+ Animal Solutions. Wildlife removal companies have seen many different squirrel infestation scenarios and know how to deal with each of them. If you decide to remove the squirrels, these professionals can take care of this for you, as well as provide prevention services that will keep any future squirrels from getting access to your garden.
Use Some Fencing
Another great way that will physically not allow squirrels to be able to get to your plants is to build a fence that surrounds your garden. An obvious error to this idea would be the fact that squirrels can climb. This is why it is necessary to install a chicken wire or mesh-material cover to create a “roof” over the top of your plants. A fence might be a lot of work, but it works wonders not just for squirrels, but most of the other nuisance animals that want to eat your plants as well. Once you have your fence up, it will be impossible for birds, deer, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and many more critters to cause you any problems.
Plant Some Special Plants
Since the topic of discussion is keeping squirrels away from your garden, it is only fitting to talk about planting certain plants that squirrels are deterred by. There are some common plants, such as marigolds, mustard plants, mint plants, and garlic plants, that are very effective. In addition, there are more exotic plants that could be used as well. The basic theory of using these plants is to plant them around the border of your garden, creating almost a wall of deterrents.
Startle the Squirrels
An interesting idea to keep in mind that can keep squirrels away from your garden is to never let them get comfortable. Many people like to let their dog or cat roam around their yard already, so this is an easy one. Since a roaming potential predator instills fear in squirrels, it is likely that they will either not get into your garden at all, or that they will spend very little time there. In case you do not have any outside pets, there are some other options. Try setting up a scarecrow in the center of your garden. You can even try using hawk decoys, owl decoys, coyote decoys, and fox decoys in order to frighten squirrels.
Scent Repellents
In addition to using any plants that squirrels hate, there are some other deterrent methods that can be used to keep squirrels away. There are many different pre-made solutions that can be purchased that are said to deter squirrels. If you want to opt for the homemade route, there are many different squirrel repellent recipes you can try. One of the most common homemade options is to find a spray bottle. Once your spray bottle is ready, fill it partially with cayenne pepper powder, and then fill it with water. This can also be done with minty essential oils, hot sauce, vinegar, and other such substances. Spray this mixture around the perimeter of your garden and it should keep the squirrels away.