How Much Does It Cost to Remove Squirrels from An Attic? (2024 Update)

If we are talking about looks, squirrels were truly blessed. There is no denying that they are among the cutest animals to ever grace this planet. Unfortunately for them, not even that level of adorableness is enough to mask the fact that they pose a huge threat to homeowners.

These creatures will somehow gain access to your house, destroy the property’s well-installed insulation and fixtures, and then invite more of their family members to wreak havoc on whatever’s left.

If you suspect this rodent has invaded your territory, get rid of it sooner than later. What are the costs? Currently, the national average is around $350.

The Importance of Removing Squirrels from Your Attic

Exterior Damage

Most of the squirrels that we’ve spotted going into a home have done so through the vents found in the roof. Just think about it—why else do you think you’ve never seen one crawling under your couch, or climbing the interior walls? Those vents are usually set up to bar insects from gaining access to the property—not rodents.

They are not sturdy enough to stop mice from getting in, let alone squirrels. And once they get past that insect screening, your property is left completely vulnerable to all insects irrespective of size.

“What if my house doesn’t have vents?”

Does it have a roof? Because these creatures have been spotted one too many times chewing holes in roofs. Flat or not, they’ll scout that whole surface, hoping to find areas that look compromised. If you’d like to reinforce your roof, start with the edges and corners. Those are the parts that they like to gnaw first.

Interior Damage

The contents found in the attic will be the first casualty once they find their way through the vents or roof. Do you like storing personal items in the attic using cardboard boxes? Go check them because they are probably damaged already. They’ll then move on to the electrical wires, wooden beams, and anything else that looks chewable.

We don’t know why they are often drawn to the property’s insulation, especially whenever they are ready to breed, but they like to build nests next to them. While mating, they frequently urinate and defecate around that area, thus lowering its effectiveness.

And by the way, a decrease in the property’s energy efficiency is an obvious sign that you have a squirrel infestation problem. It’s either that or a rat infestation because those are the only rodents that love tampering with our homes’ insulation.

Health Hazards

Speaking of urine and feces, did you know tularemia, salmonella, and leptospirosis are all caused by parasites found in their waste matter? And they can easily find their way into your body, thereby compromising your immune system. Some of these diseases, for example, leptospirosis, can lead to liver failure, meningitis, kidney failure, and ultimately death.

You’ll also find yourself dealing with mites, ticks, and fleas, as these normally attach themselves to the squirrel’s body. They can quickly propagate and spread around your home, ready to infect you with protozoans, viruses, and bacteria.

What’s The Average Cost of Removing Squirrels in The Attic?

The cost will depend on a number of factors, including your resident state, service provider, the method to be used, the severity of the situation, etc. But from the information that we’ve gathered, the national average is around $350. But property owners can expect to pay anything from $200 to $650.

While these charges are normally rolled up into a single bill, you could ask your service provider to break them down so that you can understand what goes on during the process. The cost items in the bill will include (but are not limited to) per-animal fee, trap setup fee, and inspection fee.

Cost By Method

There are so many effective methods that can be employed to deal with this situation. But the service provider won’t be able to tell you right off the bat which method is more efficient because they’ll have to inspect the attic first.

Factors that determine which method is best suited for your situation include the severity of the problem, the location of hiding spots, and accessibility. From our experience, we think your service provider will go with one of two methods. They’ll either stick to the one-way exclusion door method or work with traps.

Trapping Squirrels

The cost of installing the traps and that of the initial visit from a service provider will be $400, but you have to think about the fact that the total cost is often influenced by other economic variables. So, we’d say it ranges from $250 to $550.

You’ll also have to pay for the follow-up visits, which tend to fall within the same range as the cost of the initial visit minus the cost of setting up the traps. That’s an extra $50 to $100.

Your provider will most likely encourage you to go with the wire cages or metal boxes, as these are a lot easier to use and move around. They are also durable and effective at trapping other creatures as well. If the sight of squirrels freaks you out, you could still pay the specialists to monitor the traps.

One-Way Exclusion Door

Wildlife experts love using this method, as it doesn’t stress the animal as much as the others do. It involves installing exclusion doors at the vents or entry spaces to bar any rodent from trying to access the attic. These doors have been designed in such a way that they allow the squirrels to leave at will, but struggle to get back in. that’s why they are called “One-Way Exclusion Doors”

The average cost is $350, but if we had to work with a range, we’d say the total costs will range from $250 to $550.

Cost By Severity of Infestation

If we’re talking about a small infestation, we’re talking about one or two squirrels. It only takes those two squirrels to create a family nest, which comprises three or more members. An average squirrel litter will have at least 3 babies. But if the conditions are right, these creatures can birth up to 9 babies.

Nine is not even a medium or large infestation, but a severe one. The kind that will force you to break the bank, so as to get rid of your squirrel problem. The cost of severity ranges from $200 for a small infestation, to $1,500 for severe cases.

Cost Of Removing Droppings

Just because they are cute doesn’t mean that their droppings are cute as well. They are unsightly and a health hazard, if left unattended. Identifying a squirrel dropping is easy, as it’s usually rusty red in color, or light brown. Probably due to all the nuts and seeds that they love eating on a daily basis. If the droppings are always black or dark brown, you’re looking at a rat infestation.

Cleaning specialists will charge you $100 to $250 to clean up all the poop and take care of the urine. They are so good at what they do that they won’t even leave behind an unpleasant whiff of bad odor.

Removing Dead Squirrels

We like to encourage homeowners to reach out to professionals should they find a dead squirrel in their attic. Although dead animals are harmless, they still harbor parasites that could infect and compromise your health status. If paying $100 sounds ridiculous for such a light task, go get the right protective gear and equipment.

Additional Squirrel Removal Costs to Anticipate

Attic Restoration

You’ll have to repair all the damage caused by the squirrels, especially to the insulation. Reinstalling insulation is a costly process, as it ranges from $0.30 to $1.50 per square foot for fiberglass batt insulation. The cheapest is the rigid insulation, which costs $0.25 to $1.

Multiply that with the total square foot of space in the attic and you’ll get a rough estimate of a DIY project. But if you’re hiring a pro, you’ll have to factor in labor, which ranges from $200 to $500.

Relocating Baby Squirrels

Like all babies, baby squirrels will require a special kind of care. If you’re not gentle or if you inadvertently drop them, they’ll most likely not survive. Only a professional can guarantee their safe relocation and that will cost you $175.

The trap usually costs $50, and the services rendered $125. But we’ll remind you once more, other factors are at play here. It could be more or less.

Conclusion

Removing squirrels from your attic can be a DIY project, but only if you’ve done it before. There are no bait poisons, so you’ll have to get a trap and learn how to use it. Hunting them down and killing them is cruel, to say the least. Just use food to lure them into the cage, trap them, and transport them outside. Don’t forget to seal all openings, or else they come back with vengeance.

See also: How Do Squirrels Get Into Attics? Everything You Need to Know!

Featured Image Credit: Ralphs_Fotos, Pixabay