Squirrels are not your Friends...

Most people would agree that there certainly isn’t anything cuter or more endearing than little fuzzy squirrels romping around the trees playing tag and gathering nuts.   If you are the bird feeding type you are both bemused and frustrated on how tricky and persistent they can be robbing the bird seed bought by your hard earned dollars and would rather them go somewhere else for their dinner, thank you very much……..

Squirrel damage to high voltage attic wiring

But as a homeowner you need to be aware that these innocuous little creatures pose a real hazard to your home and possessions.   Along with looking for easy food they are also in need of shelter and you have a perfect situation for them to exploit.

Your attic is a nice dry warm location and shelter from the elements as well as protection against natural predators such as hawks, owls and small mammals such as foxes, raccoons or dogs.  Your attic insulation also makes the perfect nesting material for setting up house and raising their young.

All that is necessary is finding an existing opening such as a torn screen on a gable end or soffit vent, deteriorated siding,  or some other building penetrations to gain access. And if these are not available then they come fully equipped with very efficient teeth that can simply gnaw their own passage way into squirrel nirvana.

Not only will they drive you crazy with their coming and goings and cruising around overhead during the middle of the night, but they also have this chronic chewing behavior and will damage and/or destroy other items accessible to them in the attic.

And herein lays the problem……. A significant amount of high voltage electrical wiring is typically found running through the attic area and they are attracted to the plastic covering which they incessantly chew until exposed live copper wires are left. (See Photo)

Exposed wires, short circuit, overheating, and fire can result.

You may or may not be aware of the fine print detailed in your home owners policy but, and this is a big but, most insurance companies exclude coverage when it can be proven during investigations that the fire was caused by rodent activity!!!!!! This of course includes mice, rats, etc. but also the infamous squirrel living as an uninvited tenant in your home.

So, although they are cute, they pose a real danger to your home and lives and proactive monitoring at minimum and active strategies when discovered may need to be implemented in order to remove them from the building to prevent them from even considering moving back in any shape or form.

There is not enough room in this article to elaborate on exactly what actions can be taken so I would simply recommend that you do your internet research on proven methods of rodent defenses, preferable before and certainly after animal intrusion is first discovered.