After getting some quotes for pest removal, decided to do it myself.
The attic itself is a nasty place, filled with old dirty loose fiberglass, but with a respirator, it's not completely unnavigable.
Got a new trap on FBMP for $30, reg $80, wired in a plastic jar so it would be difficult to get the food out and thus increase the likelihood of the paddle being triggered (had to do that after the first time they just got the food and left).
Since it's a live trap, it required me to go up every couple of days to check on it so that the squirrel wouldn't starve to death. But I didn't have to go up much. Day 1 to set up the trap, Day 3 to improve/reset/rebait, and Day 5 to remove the little buddy out of the attic.
After 2 hours of rewatering and feeding it some apple cores, a 30 minute walk to the city park to release it.
With all the googling, of course all the ads started serving me all the pest services, which led to a deep dive of companies and google reviews and costs. $500 is about what you would pay just for the removal, and closing up all the holes costs extra. Anything less would see you reading reviews of crappy companies, and websites of said crappy companies proudly showing one way exit traps screwed into the roof through the shingles. So now your vermin is gone, and now you have a leaking roof. Sure the holes could be patched up with some caulking, but the reviews don't give me much confidence.
I'm left with some hole somewhere, but that requires a very tall ladder that I don't have, but now that I have a live trap, and I have to deal with going into the attic anyways for rats in general, I'd rather have the existing hole they can predictably use to get in, instead of them eating through the roof vents (plastic) which is a more expensive fix.
Like everything home maintenance, there is nothing difficult about removing a squirrel. The live trap is just a next level version of what a rat trap is, and not having to schedule appointments with random strangers is a godsend.
I had no idea that I was saving $200 every time I went into the attic to rebait and reset the rat traps.
Posted by qqererer
7 Comments
The squirrel will return.
We occasionally get a mouse in the house and I have reused the same live traps for years now. I go 2 miles away from the house to an reserve and let them out.
Strobe light goes on for 15 minutes off for 30 freaks them out they leave. Also you can walk around the outside of your home and figure out where your hole is.
I read the title and wondered “who the heck wants a pet squirrel and why would they pay $500 for it?” lol.
I drove a squirrel 10 miles away and it came back
Did you eat it?
Or Attic Squirrel meets his soulmate at the park, build up a nice winter buffet, they have squirrel babies, and all live happily ever after.