sorry really cant help with what youre asking, although they are cute they can be as destructive as heck! maybe marylin can help shes really good with stuff like this, and i think just today someone else posted about a relative being a wildlife rehabber also...good luck, and sorry i couldnt help you more. i wish i had a solution for nosey chickens lol

Just wonder if you have some low hanging tree branches over the roof,otherwise how would it get that high. I had a problem with squirrels running on my roof and I solved that by having someone come and trim the branches. They could no longer jump from branch to roof.

pump has a good idea. I think it must be an imprint on their brain hunting for a warm place to live. I would keep something on the window that he can't chew through. Making holes is a lot less damage than squirrels will dol

Hmm... well, there is a tree in the front of the house. Tomorrow I'll have to look and see if the squirrels can get to the house from that tree. However, the window they go in is on another side of the house. I have seen them scurry out the window and down the stucco of the house.

Susan, on my front and back doors and bedroom windows I replaced the regular screen with a pet screen. Pets can't rip, claw or chew through the screen. I used to have a 139 pound dog and he used to rip right through the old screen - with the pet screen even the cats can't rip through it with their claws. You can get a pet screen kit at Home Depot to replace your son's window screen in the bathroom.

I have had a squirrel for years in my front yard tree who battles with a starling every year. The starling chases the squirrel from his hole in the tree every spring so she can make her nest and lay eggs and every winter he comes back. He tries to get into his hole every now and then but the starling will have none of it. I think it is imprint rather than scent.

Anne

I don't know very much about squirrels. My friend, Nara, swears by putting fox urine around to keep squirrels and raccoons away. You can buy it at sporting goods stores, but, myself, I would opt for some very strong screen to keep him out, and also trimming any branches that might give him a way up. When we put siding on our house, we are putting Hardi, which is a cement siding. They even make soffit material to go under the eaves, and that is a prime concern for me....especially to keep raccoons out. I've seen too many cases of raccoons moving into attics and having babies and besides the mess, sometimes the babies will fall down in between the walls.

Caroline had a very good idea that she posted about recently.
She put up a squirrel house. If the squirrels have a decent house to nest in, they might forego the window. We have squirrel houses here too and squirrels nest in them.

I also have squirrel houses and they are occupied. I try to put cloth or stuffing out because they'll make holes in my porch pillows and pull stuffing out. I have a gazillion squirrels including a pet one I raised and never had any do damage to my house or outbuildings. They have made birdhouse holes bigger to use. I don't think they imprint.

First, you must find a way to keep the squirrels off the house. You will continue to have the problem until the squirrels are denied access.

Common Access Points:

1. A tree limb that is overhanging the roof or within a few feet of the roof.

2. Ivy or other vines climbing the exterior walls.

3. A trellis to close to the house is a squirrel ladder.

4. Electric power wires. The critter climbs the utility pole and gets onto the wires and then may have access to your roof depending on the details of your installation. In our town, the power company lays out the distrubition transformer and wires (on the pole) in a way that discourages squirrels. However, in some installations, the squirrels do manage to get on the insulated service entrance wires without electrocuting themselves.

5. Wood siding or wood downspouts are climable.

6. Ancillary buildings nearby. Most building codes call for a minimum separation between unattached building such as sheds for fire protection purposes, but if you are ina rural area, you building may have been constructed differently. I've seen many old farm houses with a smoke house or utility shed located a few feet from the back door. If the shed is climable, it is a stepping stone for the squirrels.

In our neighborhood, we have red (fox) and gray squirrels. Our experience has been that it is the little fiesty red squirrels who are the most persistent, do the most damage, and the most difficult to evict. My next door neighbor was invaded by red squirrels. They entered his house by chewing a hole through the roof next to the chimney. He made repairs and removed two trees that were too close to the house. The problem was solved once the squirrels were denied access to the roof.

Lots of good info here, thanks!

Squirrels are rats with cute tails. Destructive and smelly when they get into the home to nest. If you don't mind having squirrels around then deterring them from trying to make nest in your home by building nesting boxes in convenient trees usually works well. Personally as cute as they are I do not care much for squirrels because they also play havoc in gardens as well as homes. I treat them as the rodents they are by trapping them and moving them far far away.

CT

I love my squirrels! They do have access to my roof and every part of the house as the pine trees nearby have branches that reach our house. They have not done any damage yet. My neighbor hates them. He has trapped over 35 already and relocates them. I hate that he does that. He's upset because they drink the hummingbird nectar! I guess I'm trying to tell you that they can always be trapped and relocated though I don't care for that. When they are released in a territory that belongs to other squirrels, they will get pretty beat up by the those squirrels. Good luck.

A squirrel is a rodent, a nuisance and very destructive, as you well know. For best results, call a professional exterminator. Seek their advice and follow it.
They may trap them, they may put out poison.
But you need to get rid of them one way or another.

Squirrels are delightful little creatures and as I said I have many and they have never done damage to my wood house, and outbuildings. Some eat walnuts out of my hand. They have their own clans and don't like my boy who was brought to me by my son when he was a few weeks old and is not from around here. So he is a loner. I have lived here 27 years and have a yard full of huge trees and they have total access to my house and never did damage.

Perdita is right, these squirrels are very destructive and they are ruining the house. We can't even open that one window because they would come right into the house. The window screens keep getting ruined and the window sill reeks of squirrel waste. I have to keep cleaning it. We HAVE to get a new window there now, whether we like it or not, to get rid of lingering odor. Then we have to keep the window closed until at least after the first nesting next year.

Also, I don't think I've gotten into this, but there is also a whole family of squirrels living under the roof of the porch. They have chewed away the wood, and are living in there. If we don't fix the problem, they will chew their way into the attic, where they can chew wires and cause a fire. They would also then be close to being inside the house. This problem is easy to fix, but expensive. I haven't posted about it because I know what I have to do. We have to remove the whole porch roof and rebuild it, and cross our fingers that the trusses aren't damaged. All of these repairs are going to cost thousands of dollars.

Then we were advised by pest management that we have to hope they don't move to the upper roof, where they aren't presently located. I never liked squirrels, but now I really hate those destructive little rodents.

Also, I've been reading a LOT about squirrels, and even people who like them should maintain distance from them. They are easily imprinted onto humans when they are fed, and then they can't tell friendly humans from people who want to kill them. I've read that interacting with them guarantees them an early death. Even if it doesn't guarantee an early death, it certainly increases the chances of it.