When you hear scratching and scurrying sounds coming from your attic, you’re likely dealing with an unwanted houseguest—squirrels. As homeowners in Pittsburgh know, humane removal isn’t just about eliminating these rodents; it’s about ensuring they’re treated with respect while effectively protecting your home from damage. At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, we’ve developed approaches that balance wildlife welfare with your property’s safety.

Squirrels may look adorable as they dash around Point State Park, but when they take up residence in your attic, they can cause significant damage and health hazards. Their constant chewing, nesting habits, and waste create issues that require professional attention.

Let’s explore why humane methods matter and how our approach at Skedaddle ensures both effective removal and prevention of future invasions.

Understanding the Squirrel Problem in Pittsburgh Homes

Squirrels are remarkably adaptable creatures, which explains why they thrive in urban environments like Pittsburgh. Their natural habitat continues to shrink due to development, pushing them to seek shelter in our homes—particularly in attics, walls, and other cozy spaces.

• Black, gray, and red squirrels are common in local neighborhoods
• They produce two litters annually—spring and late summer
• Squirrels need only a two-inch gap to access your home

Seasonal Patterns: During winter, squirrels don’t hibernate but seek warm shelter, making your insulated attic particularly appealing. In spring and fall, female squirrels search for safe nesting sites to raise their young, often choosing quiet, protected spaces like attics.

Entry Methods: Unlike some wildlife, squirrels are excellent climbers with powerful teeth that constantly grow. This combination makes your home vulnerable as they can:

1. Scale exterior walls using downspouts, nearby trees, or rough siding
2. Chew through soffit, fascia boards, roof edges, and vents
3. Exploit existing damage from weather or home aging

Understanding these behaviors is essential for effective and humane squirrel removal. At Skedaddle, we leverage over 30 years of experience to identify exactly how squirrels have accessed your home and where they’ve established their den. 

The Real Dangers of a Squirrel Infestation

While squirrels might seem harmless, they can cause extensive damage to your home, sometimes before you even realize they’re there.

Property Damage Concerns

Squirrels’ need to constantly chew leads to serious structural issues:

• Electrical Hazards: Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of squirrel infestations is their tendency to chew on electrical wiring. This behavior creates serious fire hazards, with the potential for devastating consequences. The Insurance Institute for Building & Home Safety reports that rodents’ damage to electrical wiring is responsible for thousands of house fires annually.
• Structural Damage: Squirrels chew on support beams, joists, and other structural elements, potentially compromising your home’s integrity over time. A single family of squirrels can damage large sections of insulation, reducing your home’s energy efficiency and increasing utility bills.
• Entry Point Expansion: What starts as a small entry hole often becomes larger as squirrels continue to use and chew around it, creating additional access points for other wildlife or water intrusion.

Health Risks to Consider

Beyond property damage, squirrels bring several health concerns:

• Their droppings and urine contaminate insulation and can spread diseases
• Nesting materials harbor parasites like fleas and ticks
• Accumulated waste creates unpleasant odors and air quality issues

Unexpected fact: A squirrel’s nest can measure several feet in size and contain various materials that are fire hazards when near electrical components or heating systems.

The longer squirrels remain in your home, the more extensive these problems become. This is why our humane squirrel removal services at Skedaddle emphasize promptness alongside compassion.

Skedaddle’s Humane Squirrel Removal Approach

At Skedaddle, we’ve pioneered humane removal techniques that respect wildlife while effectively protecting your home. Unlike traditional methods that may harm animals or separate mothers from their babies, our approach ensures all squirrels are safely removed and families stay together.

Our Four-Step Process

Our humane squirrel removal approach follows a comprehensive four-step process:

1. Thorough Inspection and Assessment: We conduct a detailed 35-50 point inspection of your home to identify all entry points, nest locations, and the extent of the infestation. This assessment allows us to develop a customized removal plan specifically for your situation.
2. Humane Removal of All Squirrels: Using specially designed one-way doors and hands-on techniques, we ensure all squirrels—including mothers and babies—are safely removed. For immobile baby squirrels, our technicians carefully hand-remove them and place them in specialized reunion boxes.
3. Clear and Clean Contamination: We remove nesting materials, soiled insulation, and sanitize affected areas to eliminate health hazards and odors that might attract future wildlife.
4. Prevention and Exclusion: We secure all entry points with heavy-gauge screening and deodorize areas to mask hormonal scents that could attract other squirrels.

The Baby Factor: Special Considerations

One of the most challenging aspects of humane removal is handling situations where babies are present. During the annual breeding seasons (February-April and August-September), special care is required.

Our Baby Squirrel Protocol:

• We use thermal imaging cameras to locate hidden baby squirrels in wall voids and inaccessible areas
• Technicians carefully remove babies by hand when they’re too young to move independently
• Our specially designed reunion boxes keep the young warm and safe while attracting the mother
• Once reunited outside, the mother relocates her litter to an alternative den site

This approach ensures no orphaned babies are left behind and maintains the critical mother-baby bond, which traditional removal services often overlook.

Why DIY Squirrel Removal Often Fails

Many Pittsburgh homeowners attempt to address squirrel problems themselves before calling professionals. While the DIY approach might seem cost-effective initially, it often leads to greater expenses and frustration.

Common DIY Methods and Their Shortcomings

• Noise Deterrents: Many homeowners try using radios, ultrasonic devices, or other noise-makers to drive squirrels away.
  • Reality Check: Squirrels quickly adapt to consistent noises, especially mother squirrels who are highly motivated to stay with their babies.
• Store-Bought Repellents: Various commercial sprays and granules claim to repel squirrels through scent.
  • Reality Check: These products typically provide temporary results at best and must be continuously reapplied, often in difficult-to-reach areas.
• Trapping and Relocating: Setting live traps to catch and relocate squirrels elsewhere.
  • Reality Check: This approach:
    • May be illegal without proper permits in Pennsylvania
    • Often separates mothers from dependent babies
    • Creates a revolving door as new squirrels move into the vacated space
    • Fails to address the root cause—access points to your home

The Value of Professional Intervention

Our safe squirrel control methods offer several advantages over DIY approaches:

1. Complete Family Removal: We ensure all squirrels—including hidden babies—are removed, preventing the heartbreaking scenario of orphaned young.
2. Proper Exclusion: Our technicians identify and secure all potential entry points, not just the obvious ones, preventing re-entry.
3. Knowledge of Behavior: Understanding squirrel biology and behavior allows us to predict movement patterns and effectively remove even the most stubborn individuals.
4. Safety: Our professionals are trained to work safely in difficult conditions like steep roofs and tight attic spaces, reducing risk of injury.

As one Pittsburgh customer noted after attempting DIY removal for weeks, “I wish I’d called Skedaddle immediately. Their expertise made all the difference.”

Secure Your Home with Skedaddle

If you suspect a squirrel infestation in your Pittsburgh home, it’s crucial to act without delay. The humane and expert approach offered by Skedaddle will not only resolve immediate issues but also prevent future problems, ensuring that your home remains secure and wildlife is treated with the care it deserves. Contact Skedaddle today to discuss your squirrel removal needs and safeguard your property with the help of experienced professionals.