Getting squirrels out of your roof requires a combination of identifying how they’re getting in, sealing those entry points, and either waiting them out or having them removed. The process typically costs $300 to $600 for basic trapping and removal, though a complete eviction plan with exclusion and repairs can run $1,400 to $4,000. Before you do anything, you need to confirm squirrels are actually the problem and rule out a few timing issues that could make things worse.
Confirm You’re Dealing With Squirrels
The noises squirrels make are distinct. If you hear scratching, scampering, or chewing sounds during the daytime, especially in the morning and afternoon, you’re likely dealing with tree squirrels (gray, fox, or red squirrels). If the noises happen at night, flying squirrels are the more probable culprit. They’re nocturnal, smaller, and can squeeze through remarkably tiny gaps.
Beyond noise, look for these signs in your attic: small brown droppings clustered in corners or along pathways, nests made of leaves, twigs, and shredded insulation, chew marks on wood beams and wiring, and a musky smell from accumulated urine. Damaged insulation that looks balled up or tampered with is another giveaway. Chewed electrical wiring is the most dangerous sign, since it creates a real fire risk.
Find Every Entry Point
Squirrels typically enter through roof edges, soffits, gable vents, ridge vents, and gaps where fascia boards have pulled away. They chew to widen existing cracks, so even a small gap can become a squirrel-sized hole quickly. Walk around your house and look at the roofline from the ground with binoculars, paying attention to any area where materials meet at a seam or corner. From inside the attic, look for daylight coming through gaps, and check for dusty or sooty areas that show footprint trails.
Tree branches that hang over or touch your roof act as a highway. Squirrels are exceptional climbers, and an overhanging branch within 6 to 8 feet of the roofline is all they need. Trimming branches back is one of the most effective preventive steps you can take.
Check for Babies Before Sealing Anything
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the one that causes the biggest problems. Gray and fox squirrels breed in mid-December through January, with a smaller breeding wave in June. After a 42- to 45-day gestation, mothers give birth to about three young per litter. The babies are born blind, hairless, and completely helpless. They don’t leave the nest until they’re weaned at 10 to 12 weeks old.
If you seal up entry points while babies are still inside, the mother will tear your roof apart trying to get back in, often causing far more damage than the original entry hole. And if she can’t get back in, the babies will die in your attic, creating a serious odor and sanitation problem. Before sealing anything, inspect the attic carefully for nests. If you find baby squirrels, wait until they’re old enough to leave on their own (around 12 weeks), or hire a professional who can relocate the family together.
One-Way Exclusion Doors
The most reliable removal method is a one-way exclusion door. This is a device installed over the main entry point that lets squirrels leave but prevents them from getting back in. Once the squirrels exit to forage during the day, they can’t return. Professional installation of an exclusion door runs about $225 to $400.
For this to work, every other potential entry point must be sealed first. If you install an exclusion door on one hole but leave a gap at a soffit vent, the squirrel will simply find the other way in. Use galvanized steel mesh or hardware cloth to seal secondary openings, since squirrels chew through wood, plastic, and foam with ease. Leave only the primary entry point open with the exclusion door in place. After a few days with no signs of activity (no new droppings, no sounds), remove the door and permanently seal that last hole with metal flashing or steel mesh.
Trapping and Removal
Live trapping is another option, but it comes with legal complications. In many states, it is illegal to relocate a trapped animal off your property. New York, for example, prohibits releasing a live-trapped animal anywhere other than the property where it was captured, including parks and state land. The reasoning is that relocation spreads diseases like rabies and causes severe stress to the animal. Regulations vary by state and even by squirrel species, so check your local wildlife agency’s rules before setting traps.
If trapping is necessary, most jurisdictions require you to hire a licensed nuisance wildlife control operator. Professional trapping and relocation costs $300 to $600 on average, depending on how many squirrels are involved and how accessible the attic is.
What Doesn’t Work Well
Ultrasonic deterrent devices are widely sold for squirrel removal, but independent testing has consistently found they fail to meet the effectiveness claims made by manufacturers. Squirrels may briefly react to a new sound but quickly habituate to it.
Predator urine and “eviction fluid” products are marketed as a way to scare animals out of enclosed spaces. These have been studied primarily for raccoons, and even in that context, results were underwhelming. One brand of raccoon eviction fluid achieved a 50% success rate in chimney evictions, while plain water used as a control achieved 25%. That margin is not confidence-inspiring, and there’s even less evidence these products work on squirrels. Mothballs, ammonia-soaked rags, and bright lights in the attic fall into the same category: occasionally helpful as a mild nudge, but unreliable as a standalone solution.
The methods that actually work are physical. Seal the holes with metal, install exclusion doors, and cut back tree access. Everything else is supplementary at best.
Cleanup and Damage Repair
Once the squirrels are gone, the job isn’t finished. Squirrel droppings and urine can carry diseases, including histoplasmosis, a respiratory infection caused by fungal spores that grow in animal waste. Disturbing contaminated insulation without protection can send those spores airborne.
If the infestation was brief and limited to a small area, you can clean it yourself wearing an N95 respirator, gloves, and eye protection. Mist droppings with a disinfectant solution before sweeping to keep dust down. For longer infestations where insulation is heavily soiled or compressed, professional attic remediation is worth the cost. Technicians use commercial-grade vacuums and antimicrobial treatments to decontaminate the space, and damaged insulation gets replaced entirely.
Structural repairs are the other consideration. Additional roof repair to fix squirrel damage costs $150 to $1,000 for a small hole, and $1,000 to $3,000 if water damage has occurred through the openings squirrels created. Chewed wiring should be inspected by an electrician before you close the attic back up. The total cost to remove squirrels from an attic, including trapping, cleanup, minor repairs, and sealing entry points, runs $500 to $1,500 for most homeowners.
Preventing Them From Coming Back
Squirrels prefer cavities over open-air nests because their young survive at higher rates in enclosed spaces. Your attic is essentially a large, weatherproof tree cavity, which makes it permanently attractive. Prevention needs to be ongoing.
- Trim branches so no limbs come within 8 feet of your roofline.
- Cap all vents with heavy-gauge steel mesh or purpose-built wildlife vent covers.
- Inspect your roof twice a year, ideally in late fall before the December breeding season and again in late spring before the June breeding window.
- Reinforce weak points like soffit corners, fascia board joints, and areas where different roofing materials meet. Metal flashing over wood is far more resistant to chewing than wood alone.
- Remove food attractants like bird feeders placed close to the house, or switch to squirrel-proof feeder designs.
Squirrels are persistent and adaptable. A repair made with caulk, spray foam, or thin plastic will last weeks at most. Every seal needs to be backed by metal to hold up against rodent teeth that never stop growing.