Why Do Squirrels Chew Wires?

Imagine your teeth uncontrollably grew forever. Eventually, your face would be a mutilated mess taken over by sharp tooth fragments. Or, you would have to pay a premium for a tooth trimming. Well, this is the case for squirrels. Luckily for humans our teeth stop growing in our mid-20s. However, squirrels never get that sort of oral relief.

The squirrel’s diet consists of mainly nuts, seeds and fruit. A lot of those varieties are hard on teeth. If humans had a diet of strictly those foods our teeth would wear away to stubs. But, squirrel’s teeth constantly grow to combat that problem. This is why we see them gnawing on all sorts of different objects such as wood, metal or plastic. They chew on these items to control their growing teeth and prevent them from getting too long. They will bite on different materials several times a day.

When squirrels get into the roof of your home there are plenty of different materials for them to gnaw on. They can get into your attic through small holes they chew in your house’s walls or roof. Once inside they will look for a safe place to build a nest. This happens primarily throughout the spring breeding season. Mother squirrels need a safe and protected place to raise babies. While in your roof or attic squirrels are exposed to electrical wires and support beams. These are excellent materials to gnaw and control their growing teeth.

In 2013, the Brantford Expositor reported on the worst squirrel infestation they have ever seen. When the homeowner’s lights and electricity stopped working they called in an electrician. They found a huge squirrel nest in the attic. Electrical wires were chewed right through and a lot of the wood had been gnawed to the size of toothpicks. This posed a huge safety hazard and the repairs on the house were astronomical.

It’s incredibly important to remove squirrels from your roof or attic at the soonest point of discovery. Early detection in the Brantford-area can help reduce similar damages as reported in the Brantford Expositor. Something that starts as a small hole in your siding can increase to complete rewiring or repairs to the structure of your home. These concerns also pose a huge risk to the safety of the homeowner and their family. Squirrels chewing wires can result in fires. Also, the weakening of load bearing wooden beams can cause severe damage to the structure.

Keep tabs on squirrel activity on your property. They have also been known to gnaw on car wires, decks and fences. Brantford’s Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control can help with early detection or remove squirrels already in your roof.

Call Skedaddle at the first indication of a squirrel infestation – 1-888-592-0387