Highlands East, Ontario – 2024
This article will analyze and recount a case of squirrel activity in a house in Highlands East, Ontario. The customer first contacted us about noises coming from the attic of the house. Upon initial inspection, we found that the main entry point was at an intersection of a soffit and a wall, which is a common entry point for wildlife. The technician then conducted a further inspection of the roof and discovered several other accessible areas. Based on this, they quoted a price for sealing those additional areas. If these areas were not sealed, the squirrels would still have access to the attic space.
The technicians, before the work is done, must first inspect and confer with the customer or customers on the issue and then must inspect for the source of the activity, this was made very clear when they found the entry point described above. The of sealing this area with a one way door is very important but without inspect the whole of the roof for other entry points that the squirrel could access the work would be redundant as the animal could easily get back into the attic space.
Highlands East, Ontario: Title of city
Located on the Eastern side of Haliburton County, the Municipality comprises the hamlets of Cardiff, Highland Grove, Wilberforce, Tory Hill, and Gooderham. Cardiff, a former mining community, was home to Bicroft and Dyno Mines, which opened in 1956 and closed a few years later. The primary mineral mined in Cardiff was uranium. Gooderham, situated on the southern edge of the municipality near the Irondale River and Pine Lake to the north, lies on a now-defunct railway line, the Irondale, Bancroft, and Ottawa (IB&O) Railway.
Exterior Inspection
When the technician arrived on-site, they conducted an exterior inspection of the property and discovered numerous entryways around the house. Initially, the primary entry was a soffit wall intersection on the roof. However, they also found twelve feet of soffit that needed to be sealed off to prevent the squirrel from re-entering the attic. Additionally, a roof jack was necessary to access some of the roof’s steep areas. A roof jack is a type of ladder or platform screwed into the roof, providing access to difficult-to-reach regions.
Initial Measures
The initial measures taken by the technician were to install a one-way door. However, the issue with the area was that it was too tight to install the one-way door directly onto the entryway. To address this, the technician installed a cage made of galvanized steel mesh that the squirrel could enter to vacate through the one-way door, which was installed to the left side of the cage. This arrangement limits the risk of the squirrel getting harmed during its evacuation, as squirrels, like all native wildlife in Canada, are protected under the Ministry of the Environment. It is illegal to hurt or kill squirrels, raccoons, bats, or skunks. Therefore, only human removal is permitted.
Proposed exclusion
The first step was to seal off the intersection of the soffit and wall with a galvanized steel mesh cage, providing the squirrel with enough space to exit through the one-way door that would be installed to the side of the cage. Once this was done, the technician installed the roof jack to access the twelve feet of soffit that needed to be excluded and sealed to prevent further squirrel entry into the attic space.
Conclusion
The technician closed off the open areas that restricted the squirrel’s access to re-enter the attic space and forced it to exit through the one-way door. Since it had no other options, the squirrel would have to find a new home to occupy. The customer was satisfied with the service and understood the significance of sealing off the other sensitive areas to prevent the animal from re-entering.
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Case Study: Squirrel Removal and Rat Extermination in East York