Squirrels have become quite accustomed to and unafraid of humans. There have been many cases of squirrels biting humans. This commonly happens when humans try to feed squirrels by hand. This is not a good idea. Squirrels don’t usually pay attention to what they are eating or biting, since they are always on the lookout for predators.

Most people think squirrels are cute and harmless, but they climb, chew, crawl and contaminate. Squirrels can store many pounds of nuts in an attic and cause a ceiling to cave in.

Squirrel noises in the house or business can be very irritating and loud. During mating season male squirrels will chase females, and the chattering and scampering can be downright obtrusive.

If a squirrel should die in or under your home or business, the dead-squirrel odor will emanate into the living quarters, causing headaches and nausea.

If you have a squirrel infestation in your attic, it will tempt raccoons and squirrels to enter the attic, too. Raccoons will hunt down squirrels and rats that may already be living in the attic, and then feed on the rodents' existing food suppl


Disease
Like other urban wildlife, squirrels are also capable of transmitting serious illnesses. Squirrels are heavily infested with pests, which can spread into your home or business searching for hosts. Ticks, fleas, chiggers and mites are all known carriers of disease.
Several cases of mites biting humans indoors have been reported.
Squirrels are primary carriers of tick fever, powassan virus and rabies.
Tick fever is a virus that results in, obviously, a fever, chills, headache, eye pain, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. Tick fever can be a severe illness, especially in children and the elderly.
Powassan virus can cause severe encephalitis in humans and has an up to 60% fatality rate. Infected humans may experience sleepiness, disorientation and become semicomatose.
Rabies, a virus, progressively paralyzes and can kill any mammal, including humans. Rabies is generally contracted through contact with an infected squirrel through biting. Though humans should avoid contact with any squirrels, if a squirrel seems especially fearless around humans, it could be infected.

Damage to homes and property
Squirrels will chew, dig and tear insulation, water lines, as well as electrical wires, inside of walls causing thousands of dollars in potential repair costs, not just by the immediate damage they cause but by the subsequent electrical fires or floods that may result from their activities. They will also use these hard to reach places as a latrine so any insulation or flooring that has been saturated by their waste has to be treated or replaced.

Need for Professional Help
It is generally not a good idea to try to tackle this problem if you are not trained in this field for several reasons. To begin with, squirrel infestations pose a disease risk. Secondly, a homeowner may successfully trap and kill an adult squirrel, only to smell the nasty odor of baby squirrel carcasses rotting under the house or business. It can take between one and two years, depending on the size, for a squirrel’s body to decompose, and even longer for the odor to dissipate. Along with decomposing bodies come maggots and other bugs, including fly larvae. Also an expert can figure out where the animal has travelled in the home and will be able to identify the repairs that need to be made. In addition even when caged, a squirrel can still be dangerous as it can reach out and scratch or bite the person that is handling the cage. Another reason to avoid handling the situation is you don't want to inadvdertantly break the law, as it is illegal to trap and release rabies vector animals in most states.

Call us if you need help with a Squirrel Problem
703-232-0857