Squirrels are rodents, they can chew through almost anything just like rats and can enter your attic with ease. This is because squirrels, like most mammals, need to hibernate through the winter and this means collecting and storing large amounts of food in a den that is warm enough to live out the cold. Since the invention of cities and suburbs, the rate of this type of hibernation invasion is getting more and more common. When once this country was a stretched out farmland it is now packed with cities filled with millions of houses, all with attics. Why waste time finding a natural den that will be freezing cold all winter, with only your fur to rely on when a nip here and rip here can get you into the creme de la creme of living spaces. The human’s attic. Warm but not too warm, no one ever goes up there and it’s perfect for storing nuts. The insulation makes a great nest, though squirrels do not reproduce in the winter as their babies may freeze to death.
There are a number of different species of squirrels you can have in your attic. For simplicity, the three main varieties are black squirrels, brown or red squirrels and grey squirrels. Black squirrels are the most aggressive and will try to kill other squirrels when they run into them. They are believed to have much more testosterone than grey squirrels who are peaceful and live in large familial groups. The black squirrel is better at mating and finding food as well as finding places to nest. They are the kings of the squirrel world and other squirrels tend to be scared of them. The grey squirrels and the black squirrels do, however, mate in the mating season. That being said there is still violence and death. The squirrels will fight, ripping at each other’s tails to make the other look less worthy to the female. They will sometimes kill each other. While grey squirrels are normally social they will kill other squirrels for mating and even cannibalize their own children when food is hard to find. So do not be fooled by grey squirrels’ calm demeanour and the crazed actions of the black squirrel. They are both dangerous, both riddled with disease and both want entry into your attic.
Red or brown squirrels are much rarer and about half the size of grey squirrels and smaller than black squirrels. They tend to live in the wild more where they do not have to compete with other squirrels for food and dens. However, they are just as likely to enter your attic as any other squirrel, often in the summer to give birth to a litter and then vacate after a few weeks. This is something that can happen in the summer with any squirrel and will cause even more damage than a winter hibernation. The squirrel female is terrified of males other than their mate, though even their mate will be aggressive to the children and try to eat them. The males will get shoved out of the nest by the female after copulation. The males will leave to find other squirrel babies to kill so their will be the only ones left. The female will collect food and protect her children from other males which is why they tend to live in attics. A squirrel who gives birth and raises her young will make a serious mess in your attic. A squirrel there to hibernate will make less of a mess but over a much longer time. This is why it is important to know when a squirrel is active and what they sound like.
Squirrels collect nuts like mad hoarders so you will likely hear nuts rolling around in the attic. You will hear most of the activity in the early morning when the squirrel wakes and leaves to hunt for nuts and other food. They will return often late at night, by 8 or 9, well after dark. These are the two times you will hear them because other times they will be out or asleep. If you hear prancing and rolling nuts at these times of day and night then you can be sure you have squirrels in your attic.
