Squirrel Removal And Control

There are 65 species of squirrels in the United States and 200 worldwide. In Missouri, we deal mostly with three different tree squirrels: the fox, the gray, and the southern flying.

These creatures are technically omnivores, though they eat mostly nuts, seeds, and vegetables. They’ve been known to tear up gardens eating flower bulbs that have just been planted and regular garden crops like corn and tomatoes. They can also wreak havoc on nut trees, showing a preference for walnuts and pecans.

Part of the reason they like nuts so much is that, like other rodents, their incisors are constantly growing, and they have to gnaw on different materials to whittle them down. If they aren’t chewing nuts, they’ve shown an affinity to chomping on wooden decks, siding, and fencing. If they make their way into your home, your insulation and wiring are at risk too. It can be dangerous trying to trap them if they’ve made their way into your property because they are carriers of different parasites and bacteria, spreading diseases like rabies, tularemia, and even plague.

Squirrels have plenty of other annoying habits too. One common one is causing a stir by running around trees, screeching, knocking down leaves, small branches, and decorations you may have hung from the foliage. It may just be play-fighting in younger animals, but in adult ones, it’s sometimes part of a mating ritual. Researchers say they also race one another up and down trees to maintain dominance, often chasing off others who they’ve determined are feeding on their territory or who they want to establish as lower in the hierarchical totem pole.

What squirrels don’t realize is that humans fall at the top of that totem pole, and once we deem their presence a nuisance, we want them out. The problem of their overpopulation is so bad Missouri has a squirrel hunting season and state laws allowing people to shoot them with BB or pellet guns on top of regular firearms. A group of sixteen hunters went overboard in 2021 and was cited for over-hunting when that group showed up with a kill list of 471 in two days, well above the ten-squirrel daily limit during hunting season.

There’s a better way to handle squirrels on your property: call a licensed nuisance animal control professional like those at SEMO Wildlife Control. Although small, they are still wild animals and pose a threat to those who approach them. We are dedicated to humane removal methods to protect the home or business owner, our technicians, and the animals. At our locally owned and operated company, we also examine the property to find out what attracted them and determine how they got inside. Then, we can seal up those entryways and help you work on changes to your property to make it less likely that the pests return. For squirrels or other nuisance animals, contact us today for an estimate or to learn more about our services. We are the #1 wildlife removal service in Cape Girardeau, Perry, and Scott counties.