Why Do Squirrels Chew on Fascia and Home Siding?

Why do squirrels chew the siding and fascia of your own home? Throughout the breeding season, pregnant females are trying to find a comfy place inside your attic to lift their infants. To get in, they solely want an area about two inches huge. Nonetheless, there are different causes for squirrel chewing behaviour which are unrelated to nesting. Skedaddle explains the particular attract that siding holds for rodents and why squirrels really feel the urge to chew within the first place.

Why Do Squirrels Chew Siding or Fascia?

Nesting Behaviour

Squirrels have two breeding seasons every year, one in spring and one other in late summer season. Throughout these occasions, females seek for a heat and dry nesting spot that’s secure from predators. In pure areas, a gap in a tree would greatest match this description. In cities, nonetheless, the attic of a human house looks like the right place to lift a household. As soon as squirrels notice it’s out there, they’ll use their sharp tooth to achieve entry to this prime location.

Dental Well being

Squirrels and different rodents have a pair of higher and decrease incisors that develop constantly. If the squirrels don’t gnaw on laborious objects to put on them down, the tooth will turn out to be misaligned, and the squirrel won’t be able to eat. Finally, the decrease tooth might even develop up by way of the cranium.



Vitamin

Squirrels acquire vitamin by way of their incessant gnawing. In addition to cracking into nutritious nuts, in addition they complement their diets with minerals from bones, rocks, and even tree bark. For instance, it’s common to search out previous deer bones within the woods with rodent tooth marks on them. Researchers have additionally documented rodents chewing on sure rocks that include calcium, magnesium, and different minerals the animals want.

Emotional Effectively-Being

A ultimate purpose that squirrels chew on the siding, fascia or roof of homes is that they merely can not assist themselves. The urge to chew is instinctual and is a technique they cope with stress. When caretakers deprive captive rodents of chewing supplies, they undergo from stress-related diseases together with ulcers, bone loss, and cognitive dysfunction. Like canine, rodents lead happier, more healthy lives after they have one thing to gnaw on. Sadly, they’re utilizing your home as a chew toy.

Regardless of the motivation for a person squirrel to start out chewing on the skin of your home, it’s unlikely to cease the behaviour as soon as it has begun. A squirrel’s tooth are extraordinarily robust, so supplies resembling plastic, aluminum, and copper are not any match for them. They could additionally try and chew on concrete or glass however can do little injury to those more durable supplies.

How Do Squirrels Get On the Roof?

Leaves and Particles

Clogged gutters could make the sting of your roof weak to squirrel entry, so you need to clear them frequently. While you enable eavestroughs  to fill with water, they have an inclination to sag underneath the burden and create openings. Extra water within the eaves can hold wood roof elements moist and promote rotten areas which are simpler for a squirrel to chew into.

Ice Dams

Below-insulated attics are vulnerable to ice dams and huge icicle formations on the roof edge. These conditions happen when heat air from inside the home rises by way of the attic and melts the snow on high of the roof. As melted snow flows downward, it contacts decrease temperatures and refreezes underneath shingles and the fascia on the roof edge. The added weight of all that ice places stress on the eaves, inflicting them to peel away from the home.



Improper Roofing

It’s unlucky that the fascia and eaves troughs of many properties are poorly constructed. This space of the roof is vital as a result of it’s the place all of the water that hits the roof finally finally ends up. These buildings fail most frequently after they lack a correct drip edge to deflect water away from the fascia and into the eaves troughs. The result’s moist wooden that rapidly deteriorates.

Be sure you examine your roof ceaselessly for injury. Any gaps or openings on the roof edge, regardless of how small, are an open invitation for opportunistic squirrels. With Ontario’s harsh winters, it is very important ensure to scrub your gutters and eavestroughs frequently, absolutely insulate your attic, and conduct any crucial roof repairs. If animals have broken your insulation, Skedaddle can take away and substitute it after disinfecting the realm.

How Can You Inform Whether or not a Squirrel Has Been Chewing?

Figuring out whether or not squirrels are the culprits behind your broken fascia or siding requires a little bit of detective work. Rodent tooth will depart plenty of little parallel marks. When they’re chewing to achieve entry, they typically make a semicircular gap 4 to eight cm in diameter. If you’re not comfy climbing a ladder to examine the realm your self, Skedaddle technicians are completely satisfied to carry out this service for you after they assess your own home.

It’s simpler to determine whether or not squirrels live inside your home than it’s to determine tooth marks. Listed below are some clues to search for:

• Unusual sounds – You could hear tiny ft working, squirrels scuffling, or acorns rolling throughout the ground.
• Brown stains on the ceiling – Squirrels, like different furry creatures, urinate a number of occasions per day. Liquid coming from a complete household of them initially soaks into nesting materials, however it will probably finally seep into the ceiling under.
• Nuts and acorns – Squirrels eat and retailer an enormous amount of meals. Discovering entire nuts or shells across the roof or within the attic is an indication they could be dwelling there.



How Skedaddle Helps With Squirrel Elimination

Skedaddle isn’t like different squirrel elimination companies that merely entice and relocate wildlife. As an alternative, Skedaddle technicians first consider your own home to find out the place squirrels are getting in. They are going to discover and take away any animals, permitting the mom to take her infants to a extra applicable den.

As soon as the squirrels are gone, Skedaddle will seal each level of entry in order that the scenario doesn’t happen once more. Holding them out is vital as a result of squirrels pose a security danger. As they assemble nests, squirrels will shred insulation and wiring, which might trigger {an electrical} quick that in the end leads to a fireplace.

Why do squirrels chew fascia? You could by no means know for certain. But when squirrels are chewing on your home or have already gotten inside, then you need to contact Skedaddle instantly for assist with squirrel management.