If you are like me then your attic has become a place for storage and not much else. You don’t really use the attic to do much else than store old clothes, Christmas decorations or memorabilia. It seems that the attic has become the natural place for storage.

While your family may not find much use for the attic, you can be sure that squirrels will see it as the perfect location to build a home and raise a family. The fact that no one really goes into their means that they will have peace and quiet most of the time, and the insulation can be the perfect foundation for bedding and warmth. It is the ideal spot for a California squirrel.



The problem is that you probably don’t want these rodents occupying a place in your San Francisco house rent free. They are destructive little animals that make messes and carry diseases. Who would want that in their home? The reality is no one. If you find that squirrels have made their way into your home, here are a few things you can do get them out, and do it safely.

Your first plan is to remove entryways into the attic itself. While the squirrel may live in your attic, he or she is going to go out each day to scavenge for food. This your opportunity to deprive them reentry, by closing the access points they have been using in your California home. You want to begin by patching up any holes you find in the siding or walls of your home. Do not 0nly use wood however. Squirrels are quite adept at chewing, and if it is a small piece of wood that is all that is standing in the way of them regaining access into your home you can be sure they will win that battle of wills. Get a piece of metal or use wood that is encased with a wire mesh. This should do the trick.

Once you have closed off holes, you need to the enclose vents with a wire mesh as well. If you have ever seen a hamster squeeze its way through a hole, then you should know that a squirrel is equally as slippery. The gap in a vent is enough space for a squirrel, but a mesh can remove that space and make it so you can deny them access.

Covering the chimney with a wire mesh is also a must. Just so you know, squirrels can get down the chimney but are not able to find their way back up. This means that there only means to get out of the chimney is through the opening into your San Francisco home. You clearly don’t want them into your house, so call animal control if need be. They should be able to help you with the challenge of getting the squirrel out. Once it is removed you can safely put in the mesh to block the chimney.

If you are finding it hard to get the squirrel out of the attic to block its pathway to getting back in, then you will need to work on this problem first. The best place to begin is to create some kind of funnel out of a sheet of metal that can act as an escape hatch of sorts. The funnel should be about a foot long. Create a big enough gap for the funnel to fit into the wall.

Next you will need to cause the squirrel to want to exit. There are two plans that can work. We will start with the one with the greatest success first. Put some food outside that is visible from the funnel. Let the squirrel see that the food so that it will go and investigate. This may take a couple of days for it to be brave enough to go for it, but it will eventually do so. For food use such things as peanuts, apple slices or pear slices. These are things that California squirrels absolutely love, and they will find them too irresistible to pass up on.

If you find that the California squirrel simply will not go for the food, then the next option is to try to scare it out. Squirrels are not fond of loud noises, so it is time to turn your attic into a disco. Put a boom box near the opening to your attic, and blast the loudest music you can find. The initial shock of the noise should cause the squirrel to run for its life. Out the funnel it will go.

Once you have gotten it out, then it is time to enclose the entryways. Remove the funnel, close the hole, and keep the little critters from gaining access to your San Francisco home ever again. You will then have your home to yourself again.

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