According to fossil evidence, squirrels have been climbing, gliding, jumping, and hiding for at least 36 million years. Today, the tree squirrel makes up about half of the species. While some people think they’re cute because of their shiny eyes and bushy tails, they can be serious nuisances and cause expensive damages with their constant gnawing. One of rodents' unique traits is that they have chisel-like, blade-sharp front incisor teeth that constantly grow, sometimes up to 1/16 of an inch per week. To prevent those chompers from getting out of control, which can cause them injury or prevent them from eating, they continually chew on things that can grind them down. They are also blessed with keen senses of smell that allows them to locate food under a foot of snow, and even through a closed container. They’ve been known to bite through plastic and metal to get to their next meal.
They literally and figuratively can trip people up by digging holes and burying food in the yard. Squirrels are known to steal each other’s hidden stashes, so they often dig holes and pretend to bury an acorn to throw off the potential thieves. After the bait and switch, they sometimes forget exactly where they put the goods. If you think a squirrel figures, “whatever,” before giving up and finding a different meal, you’re sorely mistaken. Instead, they can dig and dig, turning your yard into a minefield of holes. However, these forgotten food pockets can have an ecological benefit; the lost acorns grow into new trees.
These annoyances can even make your property less attractive by scaring off songbirds. Bird feeders are a common robbery target, and the rodent is agile enough to climb the poles or chains that hold them. Most give birth after about a month and a half, so if you hear the telltale chittering in your roof, garage, shed, or other parts of your property, it’s time to get in touch with Wildlife Services.
They are even known to climb transformers and capacitors looking for places to nest, and when combined with the gnawing, can cause power outages. These sneaky climbers were responsible for a rash of blackouts at the University of Alabama and even brought down the cutting-edge NASDAQ market not once but twice. Inside an attic or home, they are one of the most destructive creatures. Squirrels can also be a fire hazard, as they have been known to chew on electrical pipes and expose the bare wire, which can short out and spark up very easily. This alone is reason enough why you can’t ignore a fluffy-tailed invasion.
If you’ve got chittering and chattering on the brain from this pest, trying to get rid of them yourself can prove fruitless. Getting professional help to rid yourself of squirrels and keep them out is vital. If you live in the Northern Illinois area and you’re ready to have these climbing nuisances make like some trees and leave,
contact Wildlife Services so we can get started as soon as possible.
