animals living in an attic can cause serious damage to the electrical system of the house, to the pipes, to the support structures of the roof and can also carry more or less serious diseases. The various strategies for securing a pet-free attic are based on frequent house maintenance. Regularly inspecting the attic and exterior of the house, combined with several precautionary measures, can prevent animals from reaching the attic of your home.
Steps
Step 1. Check that no animals are currently living inside your attic
If there are animals that already reside there, you will have to chase them away either with traps, and then release them, or by contacting qualified professionals. Preventive measures that will allow you to keep the animals out of your attic would trap all the animals that already live inside it, and this could create further damage, damaging the attic and forcing you to get rid of the bodies of several deceased animals..
- Find out if there are any sounds coming from the attic, for example: thumping, rapid movements, or rolling noise. The type of sound, coupled with the time of day, can help you determine what type of animal is in your attic. For example, in the case of squirrels, you will hear noise during the morning and at sunset, since they are diurnal animals, but you may also hear something sneaking at night if your attic is infested with rats. Larger animals, such as raccoons, would make a lot of noise if they moved around your attic.
- Inspect the attic if you think it may be haunted. Go inside and look for any traces the animals may have left if you don't see them directly. Some signs may be: feces, nests, nibbled cables, gnawed wooden planks and holes in the wall that give to the outside, perhaps created by chewing through the wall.
- Sprinkle flour in front of every hole you can find that leads to the outside of the house. If the animals leave your house looking for food, you will see their footprints in the flour the next day. Alternatively, close the hole in a non-permanent way with paper towels. You will notice the animals passing by if the paper has moved.
Step 2. Inspect the outside of your home
Most animals will enter your attic through small holes or man-made openings, such as chimneys or air vent holes. Larger animals, such as raccoons for example, will even bite by clawing at the weak points of the exterior walls of your home to break through. The most effective way to keep animals out of your attic is to find and eliminate any possible entry points you notice outside your home.
- Walk around the perimeter of the house. Look for holes in the roof or in the part between the roof and the outer walls. Keep in mind that even the smallest holes can be a problem: squirrels can pass through holes of 3.8 cm in diameter, and bats can be satisfied with just 1 cm.
- Use a ladder to reach areas that you cannot inspect with a view from the ground. Pay particular attention to the architectural features of your home in the area immediately below the roof. There may be holes or gaps for decorative purposes.
- Inspect all the air vents in your attic. The vents in the attic are the vents located in the lower part of the roof that comes out of the perimeter of the external walls of the house. Check them to make sure they have grates or covers, and also check that they are not wide enough for animals to pass through.
- Make sure all air vents have firm covers over them. The animals may have been able to loosen them to get in. Check the size of the ventilation holes to make sure animals can't get through them to get into the attic.
- Inspect the chimney. Check if it is possible for an animal to be able to enter the chimney through the upper opening.
Step 3. Bar any entrance to the roof
- Purchase a 0.65 or 1.3 cm mesh wire mesh.
- Cut a piece of net wider than the hole to be covered by at least 20-30 cm.
- Secure the retina in place using a stapler.
- Continue to block the retina by hammering U-nails through it.
Step 4. Fit covers for the air vents
If you don't have covers on your current vents, buy them and screw them in place.
Consider using a resistant 1.3 cm mesh screen or a steel cover to cover the photo from the inside as well. Cut a piece and fasten as before with staples or nails
Step 5. Add heavy steel shielding to the attic air vents
If your attic vents are large enough for an animal to enter, the shielding you are going to install will help prevent animals from getting through the gaps in the vent covers.
- Put the steel shield in place from inside the attic. Use U-nails to hold it in place. Don't use too dense screens, as you don't want to excessively reduce the airflow inside the attic, but just keep animals away.
- Install the screens during the fall or winter if possible. Any bats residing inside your attic during that time will have come out to hibernate.
Step 6. Consider installing a chimney pot
If your fireplace opening is too wide, you can buy a chimney to prevent animals from getting in.
- Find out which type of chimney is best suited to your fireplace. Choosing the right chimney is very important, since the wrong one could excessively reduce the air flow or even cause flames inside the chimney.
- Follow the instructions received with the chimney to install it, or ask a professional to do it for you.
Step 7. Remove any food sources
You can make your attic less inviting by removing easily accessible food sources from outside your home and garden.
- Keep all garbage cans tightly closed and, if possible, keep them in the garage or shed.
- Feed your pets inside the house, or immediately remove their bowls from the landing after they eat, so that no traces of food are left outside.
- Collect any nuts or fruits that fall from the trees in your garden.
- If you have a compost bin, have a very heavy lid. Animals might be able to move it if it was too light.
- Remove any bird feeders from your garden.
Step 8. Equip your garden with a squirrel nesting box
It may be impossible to totally get rid of squirrels from your property, especially if you live in an area full of trees, but you can always provide them with a better, easier-to-reach alternative to your attic, in the hope that they will abandon it.
Step 9. Trim or cut tree branches
If you have trees that extend above the roof of your house, you may want to shorten the branches to make your roof less easily accessible.
Consult a professional to find out if your roof may be damaged during branch removal. Also ask if the changes you intend to make could damage the tree before proceeding to cut and shorten anything
Warnings
- Learn about local laws regarding releasing wild animals into the wild. You have to make sure you drop the animals you managed to catch with your traps in the right places.
- Mice, rats, bats and raccoons are carriers of diseases. Be careful if you find any animals in your attic. Don't provoke them and don't try to trap them from you unless you are an expert in this field.
