Squirrel Removal and Exclusion

Scratching and running in the attic during the day, mostly in the morning and late afternoon, is almost always a squirrel. Cypress Critters & Pests gets the squirrels out with one-way doors and live traps, closes every hole with hardware cloth and metal, and repairs the chewed wood. Michael Gerbino does the work himself in Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston. Call Michael at 713-775-8799 to have the roofline looked at.

Is it a squirrel or something else in the attic?

The clock is the biggest clue. Squirrels keep daytime hours, so they wake up when you do. Rats and raccoons work the night shift. Use the table to sort out what you are hearing.

When you hear it	What it sounds like	Most likely
Early morning, soon after sunrise	Quick running, scampering, something rolling across the ceiling	Squirrels heading out for the day
Late afternoon, before dusk	The same running, plus scratching near the eaves	Squirrels coming back in
Middle of the night	Light, steady scratching and gnawing	Roof rats or mice
After dark	Heavy walking and thumping	A raccoon

Outside, look for a round hole about the size of a tennis ball at the edge of the roof, chewed corners on the fascia board, and squirrels running a power line or a branch straight to the same spot on the house. Michael has seen plenty of homeowners watch a squirrel go in and out of their roof from the driveway without knowing what they were looking at.

Where do squirrels chew their way in?

Squirrels do not wait for an open hole. They make one. Their teeth never stop growing, so they chew on everything, and soft wood and plastic at the roof edge are easy work.

Gable vents. The thin screen behind the vent slats is the most common squirrel door on Gulf Coast houses. They chew a corner and push through.
Roof-to-fascia gaps. Where the roof deck sits on the fascia board (the trim along the roof edge) there is often a small gap. A squirrel widens it into a hole.
Soffit returns. The boxed corner where a lower roof meets a second-story wall has seams a squirrel can open in an afternoon.
Ridge and roof vents. Plastic vent covers on the roof get chewed straight through.
AC line chases. The gaps where refrigerant lines and wiring enter the house are another way in, low or high.

Once inside, squirrels chew wiring, nest in the insulation and store food in the attic. Chewed wires are the part that worries Michael most, because you cannot see them until something stops working.

Why does trapping alone not keep squirrels out?

A neighborhood full of trees is a neighborhood full of squirrels. Take two out of an attic and two more find the same chewed hole within weeks, because the scent of the old nest leads them right to it. Trapping without sealing is a loop that never ends. What ends it is closing every opening on the roofline with material squirrels cannot chew through, the work laid out on the animal exclusion and live trapping page. Sealing is the part that lasts.

Texas law counts gray and fox squirrels as game animals, so any squirrel Michael catches is removed alive and handled following Texas Parks and Wildlife rules.

Why does the time of year matter for squirrels?

Squirrels can raise two litters a year here, one in late winter into spring and another in late summer. If the mother is shut out while her young are still in the nest, she will chew a new hole to reach them, often right next to the one that was just closed. Young left behind die in the attic. Michael checks the nest before the last hole is sealed so the whole family is out first.

How Michael handles it

Inspect. He walks the whole roofline, not only the hole you saw, and checks the attic for nests, chewed wiring and travel paths. Squirrels often have more than one way in.
Get them out alive. A one-way door goes on the main hole so squirrels can leave and cannot return. Live cage traps are used where a door will not fit.
Seal. Every opening is closed with hardware cloth (a heavy galvanized wire mesh), metal flashing or a sturdy vent cover. Squirrels chew through wood, screen and plastic. They do not chew through metal.
Repair. Chewed fascia and soffit pieces are replaced, and Michael tells you if he saw wiring that needs an electrician.
Trim the access. He points out the branches that give squirrels a bridge to the roof so you can have them cut back.

The same roofline gaps squirrels open are used by roof rats and mice, and a torn soffit is more often the work of a raccoon. If you have bats coming out at dusk, that is a different job, covered on the bat exclusion page. When a squirrel dies inside a wall and the smell shows up, see dead animal removal. All of it is under wild animal control services.

Call Michael at 713-775-8799 if squirrels are running your attic.

Where Michael does this work

Each town has its own squirrel page:

What decides the quote?

Michael gives you a number once he has seen the roof. What moves it: how many holes and weak spots there are, how high and steep the roof is where they sit, whether there are young in the nest, how much fascia or soffit has to be replaced, and how many vents need metal covers. Call 713-775-8799 or reach him through the contact page, and he will walk you through what your house needs.

Questions people ask about squirrel removal

Why do I only hear the noise in the morning and evening?

That is the squirrel schedule. They leave the attic soon after sunrise to feed and come back in the late afternoon, so the running and scratching bunches up at those two times. Noise in the middle of the night points more toward rats or mice. Michael confirms which animal it is during the inspection by looking at the holes and droppings.

Can squirrels in the attic chew through electrical wires?

Yes. Squirrels chew constantly to keep their teeth worn down, and wire covering is soft enough to strip. That is one of the main reasons not to leave squirrels in an attic. Michael looks for chewed wiring while he is up there and tells you what he finds, so you can have an electrician check anything that looks damaged.

What is a one-way door and how does it work?

It is a short metal tunnel fastened over the hole the squirrels use. It lets them push out to go feed, but they cannot push back in. Once they are out and the nest is clear of young, the hole is sealed for good. It gets squirrels out alive without anyone having to handle them in the attic.

Will squirrels chew through the patch on my roof?

Not if the patch is metal. Squirrels get through wood, plastic, foam and window screen with no trouble, which is why a quick patch often fails. Michael closes the openings with hardware cloth, metal flashing and sturdy vent covers, which are materials a squirrel cannot chew through, and fastens them so they cannot be pried loose.

Is it a problem if squirrels have babies in my attic?

It changes the order of the work. If the mother is shut out while the young are inside, she chews a new hole to get back to them, and young left behind die in the attic. Squirrels can have two litters a year here, so Michael checks the nest every time before the last opening is sealed.

Should I cut back the trees near my roof?

It helps. Branches that hang over or touch the roof give squirrels a direct bridge to the gaps along the roof edge. Cutting them back a few feet makes the house less handy for them. Trimming alone does not keep them out, since squirrels can jump and climb, but together with sealed openings it makes a real difference.

Contact Us Anytime

Michael handles raccoons, opossums, squirrels, rats and snakes day or night. He inspects the whole house to find every way in, catches the animals alive, and seals the openings so they cannot come back. He also repairs the damage they leave behind.

Call or Text Michael

(713) 775-8799

Cypress Critters & Pests

Cypress Critters & Pests is owner-operated by Michael Gerbino: humane wildlife exclusion, live trapping and pest control around Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston.