If you’re a Toronto homeowner, you may have wondered how pests such as squirrels manage to find their way into your attic. Unfortunately, one of the most common entry points is right above your head—through the soffit vents. The combination of aging building materials and a squirrel’s determination can result in significant squirrel damage in your attic, leaving you with questions on how to get rid of squirrels. 

At Skedaddle, we’ve seen firsthand the challenges of squirrel removal in Toronto and are here to explain how they can enter your home and what you can do about it.

How Squirrels Use Soffit Vents to Enter Your Home

Soffit vents are designed to allow proper ventilation throughout your attic. While they serve an important function for maintaining airflow, they also become a target for squirrels due to their location and material. These vents are often made of wood, aluminum, or vinyl—materials that are no match for a squirrel’s sharp, constantly growing teeth. For squirrels on the hunt for nesting spots, soffit vents are an open door.

Squirrels are adept climbers and strategists. They can scale brick walls, shimmy along power lines, and leap from overhanging tree branches to reach the roof of your house. Once on your roof, they use their teeth to chew through soffit vents with impressive persistence. It only takes a small gap—about two inches—for them to gain entry. And if areas around the soffit vent are already weakened by weather or age, their task becomes even easier.

Once inside, the damage escalates quickly. Squirrels are highly active and will begin building nests, shredding attic insulation, and chewing on anything within reach, including electrical wiring and wooden beams. These actions don’t just create a mess; they create safety hazards and potential fire risks in addition to compromising your property’s structure.

The Extensive Damage Squirrels Cause Inside Attics

One of the first signs of squirrels in your attic is the noise. You may hear scratching or scampering during the early morning or late evening. But the damage they cause involves more than just being a noisy nuisance. Inside attics, squirrels can cause destruction that becomes increasingly expensive to repair, especially the longer they remain undetected.

Their favourite activity? Chewing. Squirrels have powerful teeth that continually grow, and they keep them sharp by chewing on hard materials. Electrical wiring in your attic often becomes an unintended target, which poses significant safety risks such as fire hazards. According to fire experts, damaged wiring caused by wildlife, including squirrels, is responsible for a considerable number of household fires annually.

Squirrels also damage insulation when building their nests. They claw and shred the insulation material to create comfortable spots for sleeping and raising their young. Over time, this destruction can cause your home to lose energy efficiency. Heating and cooling costs can skyrocket, as your home struggles to maintain a consistent temperature.

Additionally, they leave behind droppings and urine, which can soak into the insulation and create unhygienic conditions. This buildup can attract secondary pests such as insects and exacerbate health risks for your family, including respiratory issues caused by airborne contaminants. Squirrels also bring in nesting materials, like dry leaves and twigs, which can accumulate into bulky, flammable hazards you don’t want anywhere near your home.

Why Squirrel Babies Make Removal Even More Urgent

If you think removing one squirrel is challenging, wait until you’re facing a family of them. Female squirrels typically seek entry into homes during their mating seasons, which take place in late winter and summer. These periods mark the beginning of increased indoor infestation risks as they prepare for their litters to arrive.

When a mother squirrel secures a spot in your attic, she’ll waste no time creating a safe nesting environment for her babies. This often includes additional chewing and material displacement. Between February and April or between late August and September, baby squirrels—born blind and immobile—remain entirely dependent on their mother. Their young age and vulnerability make humane removal critically important, as they cannot survive relocation alone.

Failure to address the issue promptly can worsen the problem, as baby squirrels mature and venture around your attic, increasing damage. The chewing, nesting, and waste buildup continue, leading to more complex and costly repairs.

Professional squirrel removal goes beyond locating entry points. Humane removal ensures that baby squirrels and their mother are safely reunited outside your home, preventing stress to the animals and minimizing unnecessary harm. At Skedaddle, we specialize in such humane and systemic approaches, handling every stage of the removal with care.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels and Prevent Future Infestations

Once squirrels gain access to your home, effective removal requires thorough planning and specialized methods. Many Toronto homeowners often ask how to get rid of squirrels in a way that’s both effective and humane. At Skedaddle, our approach begins with a detailed inspection to assess all current and potential entry points, the extent of the damage, and where squirrels are nesting within your home.

Our reliable removal process starts with identifying den sites and removing both adult squirrels and their young with minimal stress to the animals. The babies are carefully placed in a secure, warm reunion box outside, encouraging the mother to relocate them to a safer, alternative den site away from your property. Once the removal is complete, every entry point is securely sealed using heavy-duty, weather-resistant materials. This ensures no other squirrels gain access in the future.

Prevention is always better than repair. To protect against re-entry, here’s what you can do as a Toronto homeowner:

• Trim overhanging tree branches to reduce roof access.
• Inspect and repair aging or damaged soffit vents and fascia boards.
• Install heavy-gauge screening on all potential entry points, including vents, chimneys, and rooflines.
• Regularly inspect your attic for signs of squirrel activity, such as droppings, shredded materials, or chewed wiring.

Acting quickly at the first sign of intrusion is crucial. During our service calls, we’ve seen firsthand how a delay in addressing squirrel infestations can lead to avoidable repair costs and frustration.

The Importance of Taking Action Now

While squirrels may seem harmless when scampering across Toronto’s parks and streets, their impact on homes is far more serious. From chewing through soffit vents to wreaking havoc in attics, these animals can cause significant damage and safety concerns when left unchecked. Squirrels are resourceful, persistent, and thrive in urban environments like Toronto, making homes with aging infrastructure particularly vulnerable.

Preventative measures, such as regular home maintenance and trimming tree branches, can help reduce risks. But once squirrels are inside, professional and humane squirrel removal is essential for safeguarding your home and restoring peace of mind. With over 30 years of expertise, Skedaddle is committed to helping homeowners protect their properties from wildlife intrusions in the most ethical and effective way possible.

Don’t wait for the damage to escalate. If you suspect squirrel activity in your attic, our team at Skedaddle is ready to help. Call us today to schedule an inspection, and let’s make your home squirrel-free for good.