Trapping squirrels in Monroe Township, NJ

Recently, I was sent to a home in Monroe Township, NJ, to resolve a squirrel infestation, and made a video to show how a wildlife technician approaches a situation where animals take up residence inside the structure of a home where they can cause all sorts of damage and mischief.

This was one of the more challenging access points to locate. The squirrel nesting area was well hidden, but there is usually some subtle clue that gives away their location. Here, I observed some nesting materials sticking out of the vent holes in the soffit. Oftentimes, squirrels won’t make their nesting area right next to the access because they want some distance between themselves and potential predators. However, in this case the access point is extremely close to where the animals were nesting. Here, there was a torn off loose piece of soffit in the corner of a common, generic roof return that builders often refer to as a “pork chop.” These roofline corners are relatively easy to build compared to other roof designs, but aren’t particularly elegant, hence the name. Sometimes, like we see here these roof corners are used by squirrels and other wildlife to gain entry by ripping right through the plastic. Squirrels are rodents with exceptionally strong teeth and claws and are able to make their way through vinyl or plastic building materials with relative ease. This particular hole was well hidden. I can’t get into the mind of a squirrel, but it often seems that they make hidden access points to help avoid detection. Here, the hole goes right into the soffit where the squirrels built a private nesting area. I’ll need to build a one-way around the hole that will allow the animals to exit but prevent their return and get dome traps on the roof. 

We then set up traps for blocking access into the residence and, hopefully, trapping them for relocation to a more suitable habitat. Here, I managed to get the one-way set up as best as I could by wrapping some hardware cloth around the opening. Once the squirrels real that they are locked out of their home, they will often try to tear out a new hole nearby. It is important to discourage them from doing so. You can also see the traps that are properly secured to the roof. The most important thing is that everything is functional and properly secured. It doesn’t have to be pretty; it just has to work until the squirrels are removed since these structures are all temporary. With the set-up in place, these squirrels will be denied from returning to the nest after they come out to forage, and hopefully, they will step into the baited traps so I can safely and humanely relocate them.