Have you ever seen that cartoon where a Westchester squirrel knock on the door of the home and says, “Excuse me, but your bird feeder is empty.?” It has made its way around Facebook over the years and always makes me laugh. I grew up in south New York and squirrels are just the way of life in that area. You really can’t go outside without seeing one. And sometimes they get into places you don’t want them to be.



One of those places is your attic. Squirrels usually start nesting in attics in the early spring when it is time to give birth, because it is safe warm and dry. The New York squirrel living in your attic is probably female with a litter of 3 to 5 babies. Since squirrels are rodents, they have to chew in order to keep their teeth from getting to long. They will chew on the beams in your attic, making them unstable. They will chew through insulation to make nests for their babies, and through electric wires to clear the way for that nest. And, they will chew through your ceiling or walls.

Yes, it is true. Squirrels will chew through the ceiling. Maybe they are just working to keep their teeth in shape or it could be that the opening they used to go in and out (they do this several times a day for food and water) closed somehow. It is unusual for this to happen, but it has happened. Getting the New York squirrels out of the attic is imperative. As the babies grow, they can fall to the inside of the walls. Squirrels climb many things, but the smoothness of the drywall in your home is difficult for them to maneuver up. An adult Westchester squirrel maybe able to, but a baby won’t. If the baby ends up inside a wall, you will probably need to have someone cut through the wall and get the baby out.

Traps are one option, and there are as many types of traps out there as there are ways to get the New York squirrels out. However, the best option is to have a professional take care of it. They know where to look, they know what to look for, and they know the best ways to get the Westchester squirrel family out of your attic humanely.

Visit our Westchester animal removal home page to learn more about us.