If you’ve heard scratching, chirping, or gnawing in your ceiling, you may have squirrels living in your attic. In this handy guide to keeping squirrels away from your Houston yard, you’ll learn the characteristics of common squirrels in the area and the health hazards they can cause. You will also learn how to eliminate factors that attract squirrels to your yard and the best way to keep them and other wildlife away from your property by partnering with 911 Wildlife, a professional Houston wildlife control company.
Characteristics Of Common Squirrels
The most common species of squirrels in the Houston area are fox squirrels and eastern gray squirrels. Both are types of tree squirrels, which means they’re most likely to be found in wooded areas or any areas where there are trees.
Fox squirrels range between 19 and 29 inches long, including their tail. They may be bright rust-colored or black with white spots on their face and tail. The eastern gray squirrels, including their tail, are 15 to 20 inches long. They’re gray with lighter gray hair interspersed.
Fox squirrels primarily eat acorns and hickory nuts but will also eat tulip poplar fruit, maple tree seeds, corn near woods, berries, fungi, and bird eggs. Gray squirrels typically eat nuts, especially acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, and walnuts. They also sometimes eat maple or tulip tree seeds, fruit, corn, and opening buds.
Fox squirrels are typically active during the day and evening, gathering nuts for winter. They prefer hickory forests but will also live in mixed forests, pine woods, cypress stands, and mangrove swamps. Their population is generally between two and six squirrels every two acres.
Eastern gray squirrels are active year-round and most active in the morning and evening on days without significant weather. They like to live in mixed forests with nut trees, especially hickory and oak forests and river bottoms. They often forget where they’ve buried their nuts, and new trees will grow from those sites.
If you’ve seen either type of squirrel on your property, you should talk with a squirrel pest control company like 911 Wildlife to see what you can do to encourage them to leave.
The Health Hazards Of Squirrels On Your Property
There are many health hazards of having squirrels on your property. The first is the diseases they may carry, including:
- Tularemia
- Ringworm
- Leptospirosis
- Rabies
- Ticks
- Fleas
Squirrels also pose a problem because of their constant need to gnaw. Their front teeth can grow up to six inches a year, so they must chew on anything they can to keep them from overgrowing. That’s bad news because they aren’t picky about what they gnaw on, including:
- Furniture
- Walls
- Floors
- Ceilings
- Doors
- Door jams
- Insulation
- Cabinets
- Cables
- Electrical wires
- Water and natural gas pipes
This can lead to significant property destruction, potential water damage, possible carbon monoxide poisoning, and serious fire hazards. That’s why it’s imperative that you call a professional company that does pest control for squirrels, like 911 Wildlife.
How To Remove Factors That Attract Squirrels To Your Yard
One of the best squirrel pest control methods is to prevent them from showing up in your yard in the first place. Some factors you can remove are:
- Clean up dropped fruit and nuts from trees in your yard.
- Get rid of bird feeders.
- Take pet food and water bowls inside.
- Put away bird baths.
- Fix leaky faucets and sprinkler systems.
- Use downspout extenders or splash stones to ensure water isn’t pooling from your downspout.
- Seal any cracks or crevices in your foundation.
- Put covers over vents and chimneys.
- Cut tree branches back six to eight feet from the roof of your house.
If all these measures fail, and you still have squirrels invading your property or house, it’s time to call 911 Wildlife for professional squirrel pest control near you.
The Best Way To Keep Squirrels And Other Wildlife Away
For the best squirrel control in Houston, partner with 911 Wildlife to get them out of your house and back into the wild where they belong. We’re owned by wildlife rehabilitators, and the Humane Society of America approves our squirrel removal methods, the Wildlife Center of Texas, and the DFW Wildlife Coalition, among others. For help with your squirrel problem, contact us now!
"I'm a big fan of this group. They really care about the process and the effect of pest removal on all of the wildlife. Their process is humane and efficient. I have used them a few times and will always use these folks."
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