Service Summary:
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A Grove technician will assess your property and determine if installing a one-way door is an option.
- A one-way door will be installed to allow the squirrels to leave, but not return. Other entry points will be sealed.
- A follow-up service is required to pick up the one-way door and seal up the entry point.
Squirrel Info
These adorable tree friends are so much fun to watch. You might have even invited them onto your property with some yummy peanuts or even bird seed!
Unfortunately, our Calgary winters are tough and our squirrel friends need a warm place to stay as much as we do. They also need a place to store all of that hard-earned food they have collected throughout the year. They sometimes choose our homes for that place. Make sure to contact Grove eco-friendly pest control to assess the situation in your home.
Read on for more info on squirrels.
Unfortunately, squirrels can cause damage in your home. They love to get into attics through gaps in the soffits or other holes. They can sometimes even chew themselves a hole through a weak point in the wood or plastic siding. As rodents, they need to gnaw things to keep their constantly-growing front teeth in check. This means that if they have chosen your home as their home they will be chewing something! It could be harmless like a piece of wood that is out of sight or it could be harmful like an electrical wire. As much as we love to watch the squirrels, the risk is often too high to let them live in our homes.
Control Methods
At Grove, we do not like to trap and release squirrels. Squirrels struggle to adapt to new areas and the move is often too stressful. They do not know where to find food or water, and there may be competing squirrels that will attack! The chances of survival are very low when a squirrel is moved outside of its known area.
We prefer to use one-way doors for evicting squirrels from your home. After a Grove technician has installed the one-way door, the squirrels can leave but they can’t re-enter. This service is not available all year, unfortunately! There are two things to consider when evicting squirrels: offspring and food caches.
Squirrels usually have one litter per year in the spring. This can happen as early as March, but is more often in April or May. The baby squirrels take 7-10 weeks to leave the nest and don’t fully mature until about 9 months. We don’t want to evict the mother when her babies are still in your home! Not only is it inhumane, but the mama squirrel will try desperately to get back in to the home, often causing more damage.
Squirrels are notorious food hoarders. They spend most of summer and all of fall collecting food and storing it for the winter. Squirrels will often have multiple caches of food, but if they find a nice secure place (like your attic), they can store a great deal of food there. If we evict a squirrel too close to the winter season, we separate it from its food source for the winter. This is a death sentence.
Therefore, we can only humanely evict squirrels after their young have left the den, but before the late fall, so they still may have time to collect enough food for winter. That’s a really short window! This time period will depend on the squirrel species, weather conditions, and many other factors.
Give us a call at Grove Eco-friendly Pest Control to discuss your situation with a professional.
Red Squirrels
Red squirrels are not exactly red. Their coats tend to be a more rusty brown colour but can also be more of a greyish brown. They are slightly smaller and much slimmer than the Eastern gray squirrels.
Red squirrels are native to the Calgary area. They prefer mature trees that produce pine cones for them to feed on, though you can see them climbing all over any tree or structure. They primarily live high in a tree cavity, but sometimes dig burrows in the ground in which to live and store food.
Red squirrels are ferociously territorial. You might see the grey and black squirrels all hanging out and playing/fighting together, but you won’t see red squirrels do that. You might see a couple of red squirrels barking and chattering at each other while stomping their feet. This may seem cute to us, but is indicative of a serious territorial battle!
Unfortunately, the red squirrel population is struggling in Calgary primarily due to the competition from the non-native Eastern Gray Squirrel. At Grove, we do everything we can do protect red squirrels!
Eastern Gray Squirrels
The Eastern Gray Squirrels are the most common type of squirrel you will see around Calgary. They’re usually grey, but can have a special genetic mutation that makes their fur black. Yep, all of those black squirrels you see around are actually the same species as the grey ones! These squirrels are larger than their red cousins.
These squirrels are not native to this area; they are native to the East of the continent. They can be considered an invasive species due to the damage they cause the other native squirrels.
However, because they have been around for so long and have spread beyond their introduced area, they are what biologists call a “naturalized” species.
Eastern Gray Squirrels are prolific and adapt well to many different environments. This is why we see them all over the city.
FAQ
How do you get rid of squirrels in Calgary?
The most humane way to remove squirrels from your property is to evict them using a one-way door. This allows the squirrels to leave, but not return! They will find a new nest nearby. If they are trapped and relocated to an unfamiliar area, they will struggle to survive. A professional company can help identify where the squirrels are entering and seal up all entry points around the property permanently.
Can I trap squirrels in my yard in Calgary?
Trapping squirrels is a legal option for squirrel control in Calgary, but it’s not a humane option. Relocating squirrels to an unfamiliar area can be lethal, as the squirrel does not know how to find food, water, or shelter, and there may be other aggressive squirrels competing for the same territory.
Is it hard to get rid of squirrels?
Squirrels can be difficult to remove from your property. The most humane way to remove squirrels from your property is to evict them using a one-way door. This allows the squirrels to leave, but not return! They will find a new nest nearby. If they are trapped and relocated to an unfamiliar area, they will struggle to survive. A professional company can help identify where the squirrels are entering and seal up all entry points around the property permanently.
