For many people, seeing a squirrel outside is a thing of joy. Seeing these amazingly cute animals in their natural habitats is great. However, this changes when their habitat becomes your home. Many homeowners don’t realize that squirrels are destructive animals until these rodents start wreaking havoc. With that in mind, here are five ways squirrels cause damage to homes.
- Damaging the Outer Structure of Your Property
Damage from animals usually starts as soon as they’ve entered your home. If you’ve seen a squirrel, you likely know that they’re strong chewers. Considering that, this makes it quite easy for squirrels to enter through any weakened parts of your home. Therefore, many squirrels enter a home through the weak points of a home’s attic. If you’re dealing with large squirrels, the problem becomes even worse. Squirrels of all sizes will chew through enough of your home to safely get inside. - Many Squirrels Carry Diseases
Many people often feel that squirrels are less harmful than rats or mice, based on their appearance. Unfortunately, these animals often carry the same diseases as other rodent family members. The average squirrel could bring in ticks, mites, and even rabies into your home. In order to avoid dangerous diseases, many homeowners contact animal removal services. - Ruining Your Personal Property
Another type of damage from animals occurs when they build nests. It’s natural behavior for many animals to build nests as it makes them feel at home. Animals in your home will use whatever they find to create a proper nest. Unfortunately, this often means using your personal belongings as nest material. Making matters worse, squirrels don’t care about what is and isn’t valuable. Therefore, you could soon find that squirrels are using your valuable mementos as nest material. - Fire Hazards Caused by Chimney Nests
Squirrels often damage homes in a variety of ways. One of these ways is through their obsessive nest building. One study found that squirrels lose up to 25% of their food supply to thieving animals. Therefore, squirrels often pretend to bury food in other locations to throw off these thieves. These animals might decide that your chimney is the perfect place for a new nest or food cache. As you likely know, flammable items packed into a tight space creates a potential fire hazard. - Risk of Damaged Electrical Wiring
If you have squirrels in your home, be prepared for possible electrical issues. Damage from animals in your home often takes place where electrical wires are present. You’ll find that this no different while having squirrels in your home. Many homeowners believe that squirrels primarily consume nuts, which is true. However, these animals often chew on random items or surfaces in order to sharpen their teeth. Unfortunately, squirrels in your home often gnaw on electrical wiring to accomplish this task. This often causes homeowners to deal with electrical outages or the risk of being shocked by a live wire.
To summarize, squirrels often cause massive amounts of damage after invading a home. It’s understandable to want these animals out of your home, without them getting hurt. Therefore, it’s best to look for human squirrel removal services in your area. Statistics gathered from the National Pest Management Association found that without pest control services, rodents and bugs would eliminate 50% of the entire world’s food supply. If squirrels are currently in your home, they’re likely causing immense damage. Considering that, you’ll want to contact a rodent removal company as soon as possible.
