Squirrels occupy an unusual middle ground: they’re not classified as pests in the way rats or cockroaches are, but they can absolutely cause serious property damage. Whether a squirrel is a pest depends largely on the species, where it’s living, and what it’s chewing on. Legally, most tree squirrels are protected as game animals, while ground squirrels and some non-native species have fewer protections and can be removed more freely.
Ground Squirrels vs. Tree Squirrels
The distinction between ground squirrels and tree squirrels matters more than most people realize, because they cause different kinds of problems and are treated differently under the law.
Ground squirrels dig extensive burrow systems that can undermine foundations, damage irrigation lines, and destabilize hillsides. They always retreat to a burrow when frightened, never climbing trees to escape. Their burrowing makes them a consistent problem for agriculture, landscaping, and infrastructure. In California, ground squirrels are classified as nongame mammals, meaning property owners can remove them without a special permit when they’re causing damage to crops or property.
Tree squirrels, the ones you see running along power lines and raiding bird feeders, are a different story. Most states classify them as game animals with regulated hunting seasons. In California, for example, native gray squirrels require a depredation permit before lethal removal, even if they’re damaging your property. Non-native red fox squirrels, however, can be removed at any time without a permit if they’ve caused property damage. This legal patchwork means the answer to “can I get rid of this squirrel?” depends on exactly which squirrel you’re dealing with and where you live.
The Real Damage Squirrels Do to Homes
Squirrels’ teeth never stop growing. To keep them at a manageable length, squirrels gnaw constantly, and your house provides plenty of targets. They chew through wood siding, fascia boards, and roof trim to create entry points into attics. Once inside, they shred insulation for nesting material, leave droppings, and can make enough noise to sound like something much larger living above your ceiling.
The most dangerous damage is electrical. Squirrels chew through wiring inside walls, in attics, and on the lines running from the street to your home. They’ve been documented chewing completely through ground wires and negative wires on residential service lines, causing flickering lights and, in worse cases, fire hazards. One fire safety company reported mitigating over 50 fire hazards caused by squirrels in a single year. Power lines, transformer box wiring, and main service lines are all vulnerable because squirrels are exceptional climbers with easy access to elevated infrastructure.
Professional squirrel removal typically costs between $310 and $986, though a straightforward job can run as low as $140. Complex situations involving a family of squirrels, significant structural repairs, and electrical work can push costs above $2,195. Electrical repairs often require a licensed electrician on top of the wildlife removal service.
They’re Also Vital to Forest Ecosystems
For all the trouble they cause around homes, squirrels play a role in forest health that’s hard to overstate. Tree squirrels are among the most important seed dispersers for oak and other hardwood forests. They bury acorns and nuts in scattered locations, a behavior called scatter hoarding, and the seeds they forget to retrieve often germinate into new trees. Critically, squirrels tend to cache seeds in soil conditions that happen to be ideal for germination, creating a form of directed dispersal that benefits the trees as much as the squirrels.
This relationship runs deeper than simple forgetfulness. By carrying acorns away from the parent tree, squirrels reduce the density-dependent mortality that kills many seeds and seedlings clustered near their source. Pathogens and seed predators concentrate around parent trees, so dispersal dramatically improves a seed’s survival odds. Gray squirrels even carry larger, more nutritious acorns farther from the canopy and into open areas where they’re less likely to be stolen by other squirrels, which coincidentally places them in better conditions for growing into trees.
Some squirrel species also perform a kind of quality control. Certain chipmunks remove acorn shells before caching, which lets them discard insect-infested nuts and keep only healthy ones. This behavior actually enhances germination rates for several oak species. Tree squirrels have even been shown to influence the genetic variation of oak germination patterns through their selective caching habits. Forests as we know them, particularly deciduous hardwood forests, have been shaped in part by millions of years of squirrel behavior.
Disease Risks Are Mostly Overstated
People often worry about diseases from squirrels, but the actual risk to humans is low. Squirrel fibroma virus (sometimes called squirrel pox) primarily affects gray and fox squirrels and can look alarming, producing visible skin tumors. But humans, cats, and dogs cannot contract it. Domestic rabbits face a small theoretical risk, though infection is uncommon even in them.
Bot fly larvae are a common squirrel parasite. The larvae burrow under the skin and develop for up to seven weeks before emerging. It’s rare for people to become hosts, and while pets can occasionally pick up bot fly larvae, they can’t catch them from an infected squirrel. The most practical disease concern with squirrels isn’t an exotic pathogen but the ticks and fleas they carry into attic spaces, which can then find their way to pets and people in the home.
Keeping Squirrels Out of Your Home
Prevention works better than removal, because squirrels that are trapped and relocated are simply replaced by others moving into the same territory. The core strategy is exclusion: sealing every potential entry point before squirrels get in, or after confirming all animals have left.
Start by inspecting your roofline, soffits, and any gap where utilities enter the house. Squirrels need a hole only about the size of a baseball to squeeze through, and they’ll gnaw a smaller gap wider. Hardware cloth secured over vents and openings is effective, though it needs to be heavy gauge since squirrels can chew through lightweight screening. For ground squirrels near structures, barriers need to extend at least 18 inches underground to prevent burrowing underneath.
Landscaping choices matter too. Don’t stack firewood against your house, as it creates shelter for nesting. Avoid planting continuous lines of shrubs or ground cover that connect wooded areas to your foundation, since these act as highways for squirrels moving toward your home. Tree branches that overhang your roof or come within jumping distance (about 8 to 10 feet) should be trimmed back. For ground squirrels specifically, allowing grass to grow tall and dense discourages them, since they prefer short vegetation where they can spot predators.
If squirrels are already inside your attic, the standard approach is a one-way exclusion door that lets animals leave but not re-enter, followed by permanent sealing of all entry points. This is one situation where hiring a professional often saves money in the long run, since a missed entry point means the whole process starts over.