Outdoor Animal Control - Roof Rats/Squirrels - I need them gone!!

I haven't heard the critters for some time. I used to hear sounds once in a while and thought I was hearing things. I have no idea which part of the house they are in. I hear them in the walls of my office. In the ceiling of the office. In the crawl space above the bedroom. (I have a pointed roof but the only room with a high ceiling is the office.) As you can tell by the time of this post, I am having difficulty sleeping for the last couple of nights.

I don't want to poison them, cause they will just hunker down in the wall somewhere and when they start to decompose, I am sure there will be a smell. Any suggestions on how to get them out of my roof so I can seal the hole in the roof screen vent.

For an occasional intruder, trapping is recommended. Once animal(s) are gone sealing all entries to exclude them is critical. If you have an infestation, it is best to call an exterminator to inspect for droppings and nests and to set up traps. Some exterminators will identify entries and seal them. Baits and poisons are not recommended because animals can die in wall voids and inconspicuous place and then you will have to deal with odor problem until animal is completely decomposed. This could take several weeks depending on size of animal.

Hi Commteacher,

You've already gotten some good advice. Live trapping is probably the best way to get them out. You can hire a pro who should come to check the traps at least every 12 hours or you can do it yourself. Once they are removed you MUST have every inch of electrical wiring checked by a certified electrician. My neighbor's house burned down because of the squirrels in the attic that chewed the wires. Please read this post.
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=268063&highlight=squirrels

Newt

The general rule of thumb is if you hear them at night they are rats if you hear them in the morning they are squirrels.

from the sleepless night comment I would think that they are rats.

Seal all holes larger than a quarter
Steel wool works good for a temp fix

try to find where they are running inside the house and how they are coming in

Look for rub marks, dirt discolored lines that look like the white light switch in a kids room as far as the staining.

I would not wait until the rats leave to seal the holes,
Do it now and trap aggressively with glue boards in the attic

Rats run along walls so place your traps there and pay particular attention to the rubs if there are any.

When you think that you have caught them all because you are not catching anymore in the glue switch to snap traps to make sure you haven't got any that are just too smart for the glue traps

I would also put bait stations on the outside of the home particularly any wooded areas or areas near trash piles

I haven't heard the critters for some time. I used to hear sounds once in a while and thought I was hearing things. I have no idea which part of the house they are in. I hear them in the walls of my office. In the ceiling of the office. In the crawl space above the bedroom. (I have a pointed roof but the only room with a high ceiling is the office.) As you can tell by the time of this post, I am having difficulty sleeping for the last couple of nights.

I don't want to poison them, cause they will just hunker down in the wall somewhere and when they start to decompose, I am sure there will be a smell. Any suggestions on how to get them out of my roof so I can seal the hole in the roof screen vent.

Try mothballs

we had grey squirrels in the attic dormer in last house, drove us nuts-4;30 am wake up calls are not fun-mothballs worked well in summer, until I found them outside along the edge of my house when the heat wave broke, rocky and friends just rolled them out I guess-I tried everything, damm things are very smart, watch them go into the have a heart traps, eat great lunch and just rework trap and walk out-I couldn't believe my eyes-finally, I broke thru dormer plaster wall where I heard them the most, and found their nest with them in it-I mixed a solution of skin so soft (avon product) with water and sprayed them and their nest-they ran out screaming-I covered entranceway with metal and they never came back. But I would have squirrels following me along the lower telephone wires whenever I walked the dog and constantly clicking and making noises at me-so they have a great memory as well. we finally moved to avoid the heckling of the rodents- new (old house) had flying squirrels in the attic-these were smaller than average greys with more a webbed arms and legs-caught one with the hava heart traps-the others learned and never went into traps again and I cound't find their nest- I use to go up at night, dusk really and wait for them to come in- I was able to get one with a b-b gun but I don't reccommend it-many missed shots -most likey ruined my insulation up there-finally our two barn cats caught them outside (great hunters these two cats) found them playing with them more than once- next time I hear anything up stairs, the cats will become attic cats-good luck- name withheld to protect the innocent homeowner from peta

Living in Florida I never though about the effect of cold weather on mothballs, but that makes sense

If they are in the attic try Raid fumigators and be ready to seal the entry points that you have already located.
If they are in the walls borrow Sammy's hammer