neighbor has squirrels in attic, I am worried of what he may do,please advise!!

[free]

Hi again,

Ok, I saw my neighbor and he told me he has squirrels between his walls in his roof/attic. He has had this problem for a long time. He keeps getting the squirrels in there. Anyhow, I know he is none to happy about me feeding the squirrels, but I know there are a couple other people on the block that also feed them from time to time. I am worried about what he will do to get them out. I know a couple years ago they trapped them and relocated them somewhere else. I heard that is a traumatic thing to do to a squirrel. I am worried he may try and poision them. Is there anything I can tell him to do to get the squirrels out of his house safely??? I am so worried about them. I am also worried because I think he is mad that I am feeding them. I am sure he thinks this is contributing to the problem, even though it is not. He had the squirrel issues long before I even started feeding them. Please, if any of you have any ideas, please share!!! I am worried:shakehead

[crazysquirrels]

Talk to the neighbor. Tell him you will capture them safely and relocate them to a different area. If you just let them go at your place I am sure they will go back and he may kill them. Tell the guy to give you 1 chance to help him and the squirrels. You will be doing him a free service and trapping them in a haveaheart trap is easy most times.

[Scooterzmom]

Hi again,

Ok, I saw my neighbor and he told me he has squirrels between his walls in his roof/attic. He has had this problem for a long time. He keeps getting the squirrels in there. Anyhow, I know he is none to happy about me feeding the squirrels, but I know there are a couple other people on the block that also feed them from time to time. I am worried about what he will do to get them out. I know a couple years ago they trapped them and relocated them somewhere else. I heard that is a traumatic thing to do to a squirrel. I am worried he may try and poision them. Is there anything I can tell him to do to get the squirrels out of his house safely??? I am so worried about them. I am also worried because I think he is mad that I am feeding them. I am sure he thinks this is contributing to the problem, even though it is not. He had the squirrel issues long before I even started feeding them. Please, if any of you have any ideas, please share!!! I am worried:shakehead

It's always a touchy situation when dealing with neighbors. Maybe you can offer him to trap them - with a humane trap - and tell him that YOU will take them and make sure they are relocated. that way you can try to find a rehabber who will safely release them somewhere safe for these little fuzzers.

Is there a way you can feed them without him seeing you do so? I had to feed my wilds on one side of the house only where one of my neighbors did not see me do it because she reported me as a "nuisance" to the city and I would have been fined.

[Jackie in Tampa]

playing loud music in the attic will help to drive them out...then HE NEEDS TO REPAIR where they are entering..
good luck..people can really be butt heads:shakehead

[free]

Thanks for the replies.

My husband tried talking to him yesterday. He told my husband that where they are it is impossible to get them to them. They are in a little hole that they chewed through. I am not sure, but he says he can hear them running in the walls. They got through by chewing a hole in the roof/soffit. My neighbor has trapped them before and just dumped the squirrels off in a forest preserve not far from our house(this is what he told me). I have always read this is very hard on a squirrel. I looked up online and found this place that will remove wildlife safely and humanely. On this site it said that it is not good to trap them because one may be a mama and has babies inside as well. The site said if you remove the mama and take her away from the babies, the babies will die. I could give him the number of this place that knows how to safely go about doing this, but I am not sure he will want to pay for the services.I am Not even sure how much it costs.

Wow, I did not know you can get fined for feeding squirrels. I thought it was a free world! People feed the birds all the time. They even sell bird feeders. I hate this whole situation honestly. I do want him to hurt these guys. I am just afraid he is going to have to get them out professioanly, but am also sure he cannot afford to pay for it or will not pay for it( otherwise he would have did this to begin with).

I was only feeding the squirrels on the one side of my house where he could not see, but then I started feeding them in front of my house to ensure everyone got a chance to eat( I have one little guy who cannot make it to the back yard, he has an issue with being wobbly and blind in one eye. He stays near the tree so I try and leave nuts there for him incase he comes down. This is how my neighbor found out I was feeding them.

would it be safe for me to stop putting food out in the front? I mean the squirrels are so use to it that they wait for me to feed them in the front. It is like they know I put the food down there and always go there and expect there to be food there. I dont want the squirrels to think I left them high and dry without any food anymore. I think they are use to me leaving the nuts there now. What should I do? These are times I wish I lived on acres of land with no neighbors around!!

[sleeping koala]

In Australia, if you have possums (not same as your Opossums ) that get into your roof. You are not allowed to relocate them any further than your own property.

Cheers
SK

[free]

Oh, forgot to mention, where would I find a rehabber who would know about relocating the squirrels if needed? Would they have to be dropped off at a wildlife rehab facility? I do not know of one close to me. I live in Chicago IL. on the North Side not too far from Ohare airport.

[free]

That is awsome. I really do not see the point in relocating the squirrels. I think the better idea would be to close the hole up properly where the squirrels are getting in. I mean how stupid is it to relocate them, there are dozens of squirrels that live around here, relocating a few is not going to fix my neighbors issue, fixing his house the right way will. I like that law you guys have in australia!!!






In Australia, if you have possums (not same as your Opossums ) that get into your roof. You are not allowed to relocate them any further than your own property.

Cheers
SK

[Jackie in Tampa]

This is how I see it...
if you remove sqs from the property..
it creates a void, allowing others to move in...
An established tree and property is the territory of certain sqs...
those sqs will not allow others to move into their property/territory...
so by trapping and transporting them elsewhere..
does nothing!
It allows space for new tenants and the old tenants are lost in a place where others are already established..
This puts a hurting on all the sqs involved..
IT does not help anything...

I hope this works out...

[free]

I agree, relocating is not a good thing to do. Do you think if he gets them out, he should just let them go over here where they are use to things? The only thing is, he has to fix his house so they cannot get back in, otherwise I am sure they WILL move back in. He had this issue a couple years back. I think he is thinking that because we feed them, we are keeping them around here and hence making things worse. I do not see it that way because he has had this issue for years now way before we even moved in this neighborhood 11 years ago.

I am at a loss as to what to do. We will try and talk to him and help him figure this out, but in the end, he is going to do what he wants to do.

I hate this!:shakehead










This is how I see it...
if you remove sqs from the property..
it creates a void, allowing others to move in...
An established tree and property is the territory of certain sqs...
those sqs will not allow others to move into their property/territory...
so by trapping and transporting them elsewhere..
does nothing!
It allows space for new tenants and the old tenants are lost in a place where others are already established..
This puts a hurting on all the sqs involved..
IT does not help anything...

I hope this works out...

[Jackie in Tampa]

I agree, relocating is not a good thing to do. Do you think if he gets them out, he should just let them go over here where they are use to things? The only thing is, he has to fix his house so they cannot get back in, otherwise I am sure they WILL move back in. He had this issue a couple years back. I think he is thinking that because we feed them, we are keeping them around here and hence making things worse. I do not see it that way because he has had this issue for years now way before we even moved in this neighborhood 11 years ago.

I am at a loss as to what to do. We will try and talk to him and help him figure this out, but in the end, he is going to do what he wants to do.

I hate this!:shakehead
squirrels are mother natures gardeners...they plant the trees and have been doing so forever..
you and I feeding sqs did not cause them to inhabit where they are...we are simply keeping them healthy and keeping nature in sync and FAT.

If you have trees, you have sqs... They are a gift from God and without them...everything would stop eventually. They are the bottom of Mother Natures food chain, they have many purposes!

Maybe if you buy $15 worth of hardware cloth for him so he can staple over entrance/exit holes and keep them out... he needs to play the loud music early early in the AM and drive them out and staple all but one hole closed, allowing them escape time...and before dark, close up the last hole..
usually if there is one way in, they will make another...they are safety conscious critters and try to laeve themselves an out always.
Hope it can be handled without poison.. trapping is very expensive if done using a pro...:peace
keep us in the loop...

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

Talk to the neighbor. Tell him you will capture them safely and relocate them to a different area. If you just let them go at your place I am sure they will go back and he may kill them. Tell the guy to give you 1 chance to help him and the squirrels. You will be doing him a free service and trapping them in a haveaheart trap is easy most times.


Wonderful advice! :thumbsup You know, I didn't realize that people hated squirrels until I excitedly told our neighbors about my baby squirrels and they were very NOT excited. The guy said that squirrels are just nasty rats with pretty tails. See if they get any extra stuff from my garden this year! :nono