Outdoor Pest Control - squirrels and mothballs
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sgull
05-20-09, 05:22 PM
A couple of squirrels have apparently nested in the insulated overhang of the building where I work. It's inaccessible unless I was to cut open the walls. They're getting in through a small opening that should have been closed off during construction but wasn't. I closed it off with a 3/4" piece of plywood, but they chewed threw it in a day or so to get back in.
I was told that if I throw mothballs in there that they would leave. But I read that they should be the naphtha-based ones that apparently smell bad. At the store all they sell are the kind called para moth balls, and I think these are probably the kind that would be ineffective. Or does it matter, anybody know?
I was told that if I throw mothballs in there that they would leave. But I read that they should be the naphtha-based ones that apparently smell bad. At the store all they sell are the kind called para moth balls, and I think these are probably the kind that would be ineffective. Or does it matter, anybody know?
Gunguy45
05-20-09, 05:39 PM
Heavy hardware cloth..and they sell the naptha kind at Wally World (WalMart) near the ironing boards and closet storage.
spdavid
05-20-09, 05:56 PM
Napthalene is the ingredient you are looking for.
sgull
05-20-09, 07:54 PM
Heavy hardware cloth..and they sell the naptha kind at Wally World (WalMart) near the ironing boards and closet storage.
I'm strongly suspecting there's a squirrel nest in there with squirrel babies. I could put the heavy hardware cloth on there but if there are baby squirrels in there they would die in there and smell. Or the parents would just chew their way in at some other spot to get to their babies. I was hoping maybe if got the naptha kind of mothballs and threw them in there the parents might take their babies and clear out.
Unfortunately there's no Walmart near where I live (rural town in SE Alaska). All we have is one hardware store and all they have are the non-stinky "para" kind of mothballs. :mad:
I'm strongly suspecting there's a squirrel nest in there with squirrel babies. I could put the heavy hardware cloth on there but if there are baby squirrels in there they would die in there and smell. Or the parents would just chew their way in at some other spot to get to their babies. I was hoping maybe if got the naptha kind of mothballs and threw them in there the parents might take their babies and clear out.
Unfortunately there's no Walmart near where I live (rural town in SE Alaska). All we have is one hardware store and all they have are the non-stinky "para" kind of mothballs. :mad:
chandler
05-21-09, 05:13 AM
Yes, put the mothballs up there days ahead of the repair. That way the animals can retreat outside with their young. Then close it back up with the hardware cloth.
sgull
05-21-09, 09:34 AM
Yes, put the mothballs up there days ahead of the repair. That way the animals can retreat outside with their young. Then close it back up with the hardware cloth.
Okay, but would you have an idea whether the "para" type mothballs would be effective, as compared with the standard old fashioned napthalene-based ones? These para mothballs are all that's available where I live. Para-dichlorobenzene instead of the napthalene is the active ingredient, and on the box it says "no clinging odor" which makes me suspect it's not strong enough or something to repel these critters. I asked at the store whether they had mothballs with clinging odor, and they said no.
Okay, but would you have an idea whether the "para" type mothballs would be effective, as compared with the standard old fashioned napthalene-based ones? These para mothballs are all that's available where I live. Para-dichlorobenzene instead of the napthalene is the active ingredient, and on the box it says "no clinging odor" which makes me suspect it's not strong enough or something to repel these critters. I asked at the store whether they had mothballs with clinging odor, and they said no.
Newt
05-21-09, 11:26 AM
If you do indeed have squirrels, be sure to inspect every electrical wire in your attic. I watched my neighbor's house burn down 2 years after they got the squirrels out. The firefighters determined it was started by squirrels chewing on the wires!
Newt
Newt
sgull
05-21-09, 01:04 PM
If you do indeed have squirrels, be sure to inspect every electrical wire in your attic.
I do indeed have squirrels. Or had them, depending on whether they cleared out after I put para type mothballs in there (I doubt it).
So now the fun begins, to inspect every electrical wire around where I suspect they could have accessed. :(
Thanks again Newt.
I do indeed have squirrels. Or had them, depending on whether they cleared out after I put para type mothballs in there (I doubt it).
So now the fun begins, to inspect every electrical wire around where I suspect they could have accessed. :(
Thanks again Newt.
Newt
06-21-09, 10:02 PM
Sgull, did you ever get all the wires inspected and if so, did you find any damage?
Newt
Newt
sgull
06-22-09, 12:33 PM
did you ever get all the wires inspected and if so, did you find any damage?
No I never inspected anything up in there because to do so would require cutting into finished-out interior sheetrock walls and some rather extensive demolition (then reconstruction of course) of the porch roof overhang/eave situation there, and some siding, and even with that I can't be sure that I'd be able to see or otherwise access for such inspection everyplace the critters may have been up in there. It would be much more involved than say simply crawling around in an attic with a flashlight to do the inspection. I'd have to be the one to convince my boss that to go through all the trouble would be worth the effort and expense, and then of course if we didn't find any wires with damage (or any wires period, which is probably what would happen), it would end up seeming like a big waste of time and money.
No I never inspected anything up in there because to do so would require cutting into finished-out interior sheetrock walls and some rather extensive demolition (then reconstruction of course) of the porch roof overhang/eave situation there, and some siding, and even with that I can't be sure that I'd be able to see or otherwise access for such inspection everyplace the critters may have been up in there. It would be much more involved than say simply crawling around in an attic with a flashlight to do the inspection. I'd have to be the one to convince my boss that to go through all the trouble would be worth the effort and expense, and then of course if we didn't find any wires with damage (or any wires period, which is probably what would happen), it would end up seeming like a big waste of time and money.
Newt
06-23-09, 01:46 PM
Well, be sure to put fresh batteries in your smoke detectors yearly and replace the detectors every 7 to 10 years!
Newt
Newt