A gray squirrel's incisors grow about six inches per year, so it chews constantly to wear them down. In your attic, what it chews is rafters, insulation, and wiring.
Scratching overhead around dawn and dusk is the classic sign of squirrels in an attic. The noise is annoying; the chewing is the real cost. Gnawed electrical wiring is a documented fire risk, and shredded insulation quietly raises your utility bills long after the squirrels move on. This is not a problem that resolves on its own, because an attic that suits one squirrel suits the next one too.
It starts with an inspection to confirm what you are dealing with and find every opening, which is usually a gap at the roofline, behind the gutter, or a hole the squirrels chewed themselves. You get a written quote based on what I find, approved before any work begins. The job ends with the animals out and every entry point sealed in materials squirrels cannot chew back through, because removal without sealing only buys time.
Timing matters: squirrels raise two litters a year, typically late winter and mid-to-late summer, and a nest of dependent young changes how the job has to be handled. That is one of the things the inspection determines.
A squirrel that has been resident for months has widened its entry hole, established scent trails that attract others, and contaminated insulation. If you are hearing activity in the ceiling or walls, an inspection will tell you exactly what is going on and what fixing it costs, in writing, before anything else happens.
I handle squirrel work in Statesville, Hickory, Taylorsville, and throughout Alexander, Iredell, Catawba, Wilkes, Caldwell, and Burke counties.
Timing is the best clue you have from inside the house: squirrels are active in daylight, especially early morning and late afternoon, while rats and mice are mostly heard at night. An inspection confirms it from the evidence in the attic.
No. An attic is warm, dry, and safe from predators, which is exactly what a squirrel wants, and the damage compounds the longer it stays. The problem ends when the animal is out and the entry points are sealed.
It depends on how many entry points the structure has and what damage exists, which is why the job starts with an inspection and a written quote. You approve the scope and price before any work begins.
Request an inspection and I will follow up to schedule a visit, or call or text (828) 352-8266.