If you are finding critters in your attic (or anywhere else) call in a professional to see how they are getting in and have them seal it up. We had flying squirrels that were dropping nuts down into the walls. It sounded like a Plinko machine.
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I agree but we figured it out and saw where they were coming in. No longer an issue….this was 12 years ago and have not had them sense. BTW, in Georgia you have to call the Dept of Wildlife Svcs to get a permit to remove flying squirrels from your attic - they are protected in Georgia! Really, even though we were not killing them, we were removing them to a new liveable (well, except for 1) location - I thought they were trespassers, I mean what they allow you to do to people but not flying squirrels!
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One thing I learned years ago….It is illegal to let wild animals go in our park. I was reprimanded for letting a squirrel go, with the police officer asking me, “What if everyone did this?”
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Wow, I did get the permit to capture but it didn’t say where I couldn’t let it go - it was a different county anyway and I don’t feel bad about letting it go in a park. I guess I should have asked about that? Yeah, if everyone did that the hawks would be having a field day!!
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If everyone did this then the squirrels would fight. Actually, they already occasionally fight.
Years ago I called the state’s wildlife program and asked them what to do if I caught a nuisance animal. They suggested that I drown it, then bury it. I think they might have also mentioned that it is illegal to capture a wild animal, move it off your own property, and they release it.
I would make an exception with raccoons because they can hold their breath for a long time. Beavers would be the same. I just let them live. Raccoons are big enough that it is not that difficult to exclude them from fruit trees and berries with netting. They are quite rare around here anyway. Beavers are more common but seem to stick to themselves, except when they are trying to block the culvert under our driveway.
Years ago someone I knew had a raccoon in their chimney. They had to get a professional to remove it. I am pretty sure that they never asked the professional what happened to the raccoon (other than “it was gone”).
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Wow—these are sticky dilemmas about removing unwanted wildlife. In our case, we’d take it to zoo or animal quarantine to figure out what to do.
I don’t understand this. You didn’t create a squirrel in your house. So the squirrel came there from some outdoor location where squirrels live. If everyone did this there would be the exact same number of squirrels as if nobody did this. Maybe an initial increase in the park but squirrels do not stay inside park boundaries.
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i learned that Gemini AI can be your IT team. I had an open port on my network for an app i have on my phone that accesses a program running on my PC. The program talking to the port was secured with a long password but I’ve never felt that comfortable having an open port since every hacker in the world can see that port is open. I asked Gemini what to do and it told me about Tailscale which is a VPN, helped me configure it so that the only thing accessible from the external world thru Tailscale is the one program, and helped me adjust a few settings on my router for added security including closing the port. I was pretty impressed!
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I have an even funnier raccoon story. After trying to deal with the squirrel on my own, I hired a pest control guy to trap raccoons that kept getting into our garbage. He charged $100 per raccoon. I was worried that he may be releasing them nearby, so I started marking them with paint when they were in the cage. I have no idea what he did with them, but I paid for several.
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AI Overview
Releasing a squirrel in a park is
often illegal and detrimental to the animal
, with studies showing up to 97% of relocated squirrels die or disappear shortly after release. For better chances of survival, squirrels should be released at least 5-10 miles away from their original territory to prevent return, but only if they have undergone a “soft release” to acclimate to the wild.
Key Considerations for Squirrel Release:
-
Survival Rate: Relocated squirrels face high risks, including fighting for territory, finding food/shelter, and higher mortality rates.
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Legal Restrictions: In many jurisdictions, it is illegal to trap and relocate wildlife, including squirrels.
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Proper Release Method: A “soft release” (using an outdoor enclosure to acclimate them to weather and surroundings for 2-3 weeks) is highly recommended over a “hard release” (immediate release).
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That’s pretty interesting that the police don’t want you to release wild animals (that are NOT pets) back into a park. Next time, maybe you should ask them where they SHOULD be put. It does seem logical to put squirrels back into a park, since that’s where I find a ton of them whenever I’m in an area where squirrels live.
It should not be this hard. I thought I was on the right side of the law getting the permit because I bet you most people do not do this.
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My air rifle has a 100% mortality rate. I feel like the squirrels would appreciate that 3% chance of survival. 
You shoot squirrels?
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I learned how to use the ignore feature on CC 
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“ignore” can be a sanity saver!
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I leant how to use this a few months ago and it has indeed been a sanity saver
Bonus: I now know at least the two of you don’t have me on ignore 
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Spoiler, I only have one person on that list. Lol