My Experience with Flying Squirrels

I don’t know if you have ever had that sinking feeling of lying in bed and hearing little creatures scurrying around in the attic.  Well, unfortunately, my wife and I recently experienced that feeling.  Flying squirrels are cute as they can be, but I didn’t want them in my attic.  So I called Terminix.  When most people hear Terminix, they think of exterminating termites, but Terminix does offer other services.  A wildlife specialist from Terminix called me, and made an appointment to assess the situation.  He looked at the vents, soffits and fascia boards all around the perimeter of my roof spotting possible entry points for the flying squirrels.  He found 4 points of possible ingress.  He then entered the attic and found signs of flying squirrels and of bats in the attic.  He informed me that if flying squirrels find their way inside, bats will often follow.

After a thorough examination, he quoted me a price to rid the attic of the flying squirrels and bats.  I asked how they convince those cute little flying squirrels to leave their new found home.  They actually apply drops of Fox urine to cotton balls, and place those cotton balls strategically around the attic.  It seems that flying squirrels want nothing to do with a Fox.  After the little critters are gone, they block entry with heavy screen wire, or flashing if necessary around all those points of entry.   Terminix provides a one year warranty against the squirrels returning, and an additional year warranty can be purchased.

After the flying squirrels are gone, and their return blocked, Terminix will clean the attic.  They will remove all the insulation, and vacuum the attic, then spray a disinfectant solution.  They will then blow in insulation that has been treated with boric acid.  It seems that no rodents, even mice, like boric acid.

I will do a follow-up blog and let everyone know how everything turns out after Terminix has finished the job.  Hopefully my flying squirrel issue will be history by then.