Humane Ways of Preventing and Discouraging Animals from Entering Your Attic and Chimney

Christmas Day we were sitting in our living room with family and friends when we heard a very loud noise coming from our chimney and attic. Everyone jumped and silence replaced the chatter and noise of children playing with new toys and adults talking about how much they paid for the toys. My husband opened the glass doors to the fireplace and I had a vision of Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation in my mind just waiting for the squirrel to come running out of the fireplace creating a scene worthy of Home Alone. Thankfully, no little furry friend came running out into our home but it was obvious that we had a visitor in our home and it was not the animated Disney version of a chipmunk. We contacted our local exterminator and they said they would be happy to come to "exterminate" the home invader. At hearing their version of "exterminate" my husband and I decided to research humane ways to keep animals out of our chimney and attic this winter.

During the winter, animals search for warm places like attics and the insides of your walls. Our chimney, since we do not use it, is also a place that birds, squirrels and bats love to take refuge. Repellents can be an effective means of deterring animals from entering your attic and chimney. For example if you have squirrels in your attic, a humane solution is the Squirrels-be-Gone ($8) invention. A simple, inexpensive way to keep squirrels out of your attic by using ammonia (squirrels hate the smell of ammonia). This top fits a container of ammonia and allows it slowly to filter into the air to keep squirrels away for months.

Animal screens for chimneys are a safe and humane means of keeping animals from entering your chimney. These screens come in all shapes and sizes and are not that expensive to purchase. They are easy to install and will alleviate your problem before it becomes an issue for an exterminator.

If bats are in your attic, you need to take a different approach to discourage them. Bats like warm, dark areas so keep your attic cool and well ventilated. Light the area during the day and night to discourage bats from roosting. If this fails to discourage the bats, you need to find where they are entering and seal up the hole. Bats can enter your attic through holes as small as a pencil so you must be diligent in sealing up any cracks and holes that bats can use to enter your attic.

Unfortunately, trapping and removing squirrels, chipmunks and other animals is not an effective means of deterring them. They will just come back or be replaced by others. In addition, while repellents and other deterrents may work in the short-term, animals will eventually overcome obstacles such as these. The only truly effective and humane way of getting rid of animals in your attic, crawlspaces, walls and chimney is to prevent them from entering them in the first place. This requires homeowners to be vigilant in repairing holes and cracks in the exterior of their homes, roofs and crawlspaces. You should conduct a home inspection at least once every year to determine what repairs need to be completed to correct any damage to the exterior of your home. By sealing cracks and holes as soon as they are detected, you will keep animals from entering your home thereby making the issue of how to get rid of them mute.