Atlanta Athens Macon North GA Birmingham AL

Light Theme · Dark Theme


We are hiring! Please click here for details.

Flying Squirrel Control - Greater Birmingham, Alabama

Flying squirrels are small, furry squirrels with membranous "wings" between their legs and bodies, which enable them to glide through the air. The technical name for their "wing" is the patagium, and by controlling its tautness, they're able to steer. They control their descent and landing using their tails in a similar way to how the elevator of an airplane works.

These abilities give flying squirrels considerable control over their flight and the ability to land with impressive accuracy, which is why they're called flying squirrels. The one thing they can't do, however, is increase their altitude, including taking off from the ground. They can only glide from a higher area to a lower one.

Nonetheless, even being able to glide is enough to make flying squirrels quite a nuisance. They can get into any place a gray squirrel can, plus quite a few places where they can't. Unlike gray squirrels, flying squirrels leap from nearby trees and gently glide to your home, so simply trimming the tree branches back so they don't overhang your home isn't enough to keep these critters out.

Once they get into your home, they create the same sort of problems that gray squirrels do, including:

• Health hazards from their urine, droppings, and shed parasites.
• Damage to your home itself, along with any personal property stored in the attic, from gnawing, scratching, and nesting behavior.
• Increased fire risk due to gnawing on electrical wiring.
• Problems with odors and allergens getting into the living area of the home (especially if you have central heating or air-conditioning).

Flying Squirrel Biology and Behavior

The most common of the flying squirrel species we get in Alabama is known as the Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomy volans). Occasionally we also get the Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomy sabrinus), which is a bit larger, as well. Both species have similar biology and habits.

Flying squirrels are the smallest of all members of the squirrel family, and they are the only nocturnal tree squirrels. The are usually grayish in color, but there's quite a bit of variation possible, ranging from tan, to reddish-brown, to almost black. They prefer living in established forests with dense tree cover, although they have adapted to living in human-occupied buildings.

Most flying squirrel young are born in the spring or summer, and although they are weaned at about eight weeks, most flying squirrels stay with their mothers until her next litter is born.

Flying squirrels are omnivorous, but most of their diet is plant based. They eat fruits, nuts, mushrooms, lichens, and tree sap; but they've also been known to feast on small mice, birds' eggs and nestlings, slugs, snails, carrion, insects, and other animal foods. One way to tell if a flying squirrel has been eating a nut is that rather than crushing the whole nut, they make a hole in one end and eat the insides out through the hole.

Transmission of disease directly from flying squirrels to humans is rare. However, they do have fleas, ticks, and other parasites that can be involved in disease transmission, and their droppings can serve as breeding media for a variety of insects and fungi.

Flying Squirrel Control

Flying squirrels are not considered "pests," and therefore there is no such thing as a "flying squirrel exterminator." They're nuisance wildlife, and they must be humanely trapped and removed. Exterminators who leave poison bait for flying squirrels are breaking both state of Alabama and federal laws. They're also setting their customers up for serious problems with odors and insects if the animals die inside the home, especially inside a wall or ceiling void where their carcasses are difficult to find and retrieve.

At Rid-A-Critter, we have performed thousands of flying squirrel removal jobs, and we do them the right way. We humanely trap and relocate the animals, preserving family groups whenever possible. In the case of orphaned or injured animals, all of our technicians have a list of certified wildlife rehabilitators whom we work with and who will accept our animals.

After the flying squirrels are trapped, we also seal up your home so that "new" flying squirrels can't get into the attic. This exclusion work will also animal-proof your home to keep other nuisance animals out of your house.

Like all animal control work, flying squirrel control and exclusion is potentially hazardous work that requires special training, equipment, and safety precautions. This is not a do-it-yourself kind of job. Save yourself the trouble and call us instead.

Flying Squirrel Control Gallery

Here are some pictures of flying squirrel-removal and squirrel-proofing jobs we've done in Birmingham and throughout the Metro area.

If you need help keeping flying squirrels out of your home's attic, please call us today for an on-site inspection and consultation.

 

The management, staff, and logo animals of Rid-A-Critter wish all of our customers, suppliers, and Web site visitors a Happy and Save Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from Rid-A-Critter
Cold day yesterday, started in Cedartown ga, squirrels in the soffits, had them last year, he tried to fix it himself last year, didn’t work. Headed to Mableton ga, squirrels again, then 2 stops in Marietta ga
Rainy day, started off in Cleveland ga, bats in the ridge vents, then headed down to Atlanta ga, rats in the basement, then off to Douglasville ga, squirrels chewing holes threw customers shingles
It’s a cold Monday, was out in Monroe ga this morning, customer has had a constant issue with squirrels, then out 3 jobs in Atlanta ga, rats rats rats.
Busy day yesterday, started off in Hoschton ga, rats, then out to a rental property in Atlanta, rats, then to Jonesboro ga, rats, then up to Athens ga, squirrels, good times.
Was out in ellijay ga today, rats in crawl space, then headed to Hiawasse ga, flyers in attic, in Athens ga now, raccoons in a house
Did a quote yesterday in Watkinsville, ga bats, and a quote for snakes, different houses, then off the Athens, ga snakes in a crawl space, has mice too. Then over to Covington, squirrels in the attic
Was in Sharpsburg ga, squirrels are chewing threw the shingles to get into the attic, then off to Fayetteville ga, bats in the attic. Headed to Duluth ga, squirrels chewing threw the roof junctions and now in Atlanta ga, for rats
Went to Rome ga, squirrels for years, then off to Stone Mountain ga, previous customer new house, squirrels again. Headed to Bishop ga, guess for what, squirrels. Seems like theme
Back at in, was in McDonough ga for squirrels and presences of bats, off the Athens ga for squirrels in a metal roof, over to Gainesville ga, previous customer, we sealed his other house, has flyers in his new house, now headed to Atlanta
Another busy day, Conyers ga for birds, then to peachtree city ga, bats/rats , headed to Atlanta ga and then to Decatur. Good times
Beautiful day today, was in Bremen ga for bats, then off to Fairburn ga for squirrels, up to Atlanta ga for rats, headed to Brookhaven ga for another quote, not sure the animal just yet
Busy day, quoted rats in doraville, then Cummings, rats and squirrels, then headed to Covington, he has had issues for some time, squirrels with several chewed wires
A sloppy job of flashing where two sections of roof meet at a junction point is the reason we're removing flying squirrels from the attic of a Birmingham, Alabama home today. Our wildlife-management specialists are re-flashing the roof to animal-proof the house, as well as relocating the furry flyers to a new hangar in the forest.
A handyman tried to use insulating foam to seal a two-inch gap between the roof sheathing and fascia and keep squirrels out of the attic of a Birmingham, Alabama home. It didn't work, of course. It never does. We have a crew of squirrel-removal professionals properly animal-proofing the house, as well as trapping and relocating the existing squirrels.
I was in Big Canoe this morning, rats in the crawl space, then out to Douglasville for flyers in the attic, headed to Forest park for rats in a rental property
Was in hiawassee for Bats, then Suches for rats, Suwannee for squirrels, and then Atlanta for rats again
Was in winterville this morning for mice, then to blairsvile for flyers, then Cummings ga for rats. Headed to Marietta for some bats, busy day
Flying squirrels enlarged a hole in the siding where a condensate drain passed through to about the size and shape of an egg to get into a house in Hoover, Alabama. As with all rodents, flying squirrels need an edge they can wrap their jaws around to gnaw their way into a house.
Atlanta job this morning, flyers in the attic, then headed to Decatur, rats in the crawl space
Bats have been pretty busy this week, Atlanta to dunwoody, over to sandy springs, did a quote this morning for snakes in commerce ga, good times
Was in Duluth this morning for bats, then off to watkinsville and Royston for u know, bats, now to Covington for rats
Yesterday, I was In peachtree city and then ellenwoood, for bats, then I drove lakemont and Cummings, snakes in the house.
Snakes in the crawl space in carnesville ga, then off to Athens and conyers ga, bats are the attic. Now headed to villa rica for another wildlife quote
A gap about the size of a golf ball between a bend in some sort of plastic fascia material and the wooden soffit at a corner allowed flying squirrels into the attic of a house in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We have a wildlife-removal crew relocating the flying squirrels and animal-proofing the house.
Busy day yesterday, was out in snellville for rats, then out to Bethlehem, Watkinsville and Athens all for bats
Bats are flying high, was in Monroe twice for bats in the gables/house, then off to Kennesaw where the bats where in the freeze boards.
A gap between the roof flashing and the rain gutter where an extension was added to a house allowed flying squirrels to get into the attic of a Hoover, Alabama home. Animal-removal specialists from our Birmingham office are at the house setting traps to catch and relocate the flying squirrels, and are animal-proofing the roof to keep wildlife out of the attic.
In Bishop ga, rats in a older home, next stop Athens ga, bats in the gables/ridge vents
Busy day, bats in Hampton, then off to Greensboro ga, bats again, bats in loganville, and now off to squirrels in Buford
An animal-control crew from our Birmingham office is doing flying squirrel removal in Trussville, Alabama. There's a section of roof where the sheathing is entirely missing from under the shingles that we'll have to repair to keep flying squirrels and other wildlife out of the attic.
Animal-control specialists from our Birmingham office are doing flying squirrel removal and exclusion in Hoover, Alabama today. Flying squirrels are able to glide from nearby trees onto homes, which helps them to avoid ground-dwelling predators. It also makes them a real challenge to seal out of a house.

Site and Photos © 2005 - 2022 Rid-A-Critter^®, a licensed and insured wildlife and pest control company. All rights reserved. Legal, Privacy and Warranty Information. This Web site designed, hosted, and maintained by RJM Web Design.