Nobody loves squirrels more than I do, but....

Last winter a squirrel (maybe even a whole darn squirrel family) chewed a hole in the soffit on the kitchen addition of my house (built in 1900) and made a nest in the space between the roof and ceiling. I had insulation blown in last summer and the workers actually used the hole to blow the insulation in and then patched it when they were finished. Darn squirrel(s) didn't let that stop them! They chewed through again and took up housekeeping again through the winter. I am going to have metal flashing placed over the hole soon. Problem is... I haven't heard any little squirrel noises since a week or two ago when there was a whole bunch of squirrel screaming and scraping that was coming from a wall between my hallway and dining room. I think the poor creature fell down into the hollow of the wall and could not get out.

And now the smell...

There's nothing I can do unless I want to cut a hole in the drywall, which I am not willing to do 'cause I don't have the means or money or whatever to do that...

Any suggestions anyone?

p.s..... Please send candles....lol!!!

Well, not much you can do aside from cut the hole. It will go away EVENTUALLY but will get worse before it gets better. Smell should keep others away- if not, Chilli peppper blown into the crawl space will help. keep new critters out of there.

I've been fighting with squirrels since we moved 3 years ago. They chewed holes in every trash can we have and have a buffet on my yard, grrrrr. All our friends know not to mention them around me since I'll break into a 10 minute rant and darn near start frothing at the mouth. I hate the buggers, lol!

Oh, but they are so stinkin' cute and fun to watch....

And honestly, in my life, I've had men and/or kids cause more structural damage than the squirrels....

Well, you can do drywall. I do it all the time but do you know exactly where the critter is? You'll probably want to get to him before bugs find him. I wonder if a critter specialist would have a long arm contraption to remove him...I'd call them first and ask. If you do need to do drywall, I'll give you some tips:

I would probably start by carefully removing the trim on that wall if it's not too long of a wall. Run a blade along the top of the trim between the trim and the wall so that you don't ruin your paint when you remove the trim then you'll just have to caulk.

This will also make it easier to find the squirrel because there will be a little gap now between the drywall and the floor so you might be able to find him easier. (Did he make it all the way to the bottom?) Studs are 16" on center so find the cavity he's in and cut to the middle of the studs on either side and just high enough to get him out (6"?) Use a straight edge to cut the opening, it will make it easier later.

Home improvement stores usually have smaller pieces for repairs that are 2x2 instead of a huge sheet. This will save you a lot of heartache and tie downs on your car. Cut a 6" wide piece of drywall off the end (or whatever the height of your hole.) Don't try to do the 16" part yet. Score the drywall and then snap it. So now you have a 6" wide piece. Now, cut it the width of your hole which is about 16" (between the studs)

Use the box cutter or a drywall file to smooth out the cut edges. Bevel them in a bit so it's easier to fit in your hole. Because you've cut back to the studs, you don't need other support for the hole. You're just going to screw the drywall into the studs. Don't tighten too much or you will break off the ends of your patch and you'll scream. Try to get the drywall screws a little dimpled so they won't show but again...not so tight they break off the ends or go right through. I bet you can borrow about 6 drywall screws from someone so you don't have to buy a box.

Now you take sticky patch tape and go around the hole. I usually take the time to cut the corners at a 45 degree so there isn't a bump to deal with where they overlap. Now do a skim coat of patch (these usually come in small buckets too) feathering the edges out from the tape. Do this twice letting dry in between coats and sanding smooth. Don't sand so much that you get down to the tape or you'll have fuzzies to deal with.

Now the secret...get a small bottle of spray texture in an orange peel (unless your wall is super textured) this is what hides your patch. This isn't spray paint, you are not covering the patch...you are just disguising the patch and matching your existing texture.

Let that dry and then prime and paint. Let that dry and replace your trim and caulk it.

Anyway....you probably won't do it this way , but a handyman should. Ask them how they will do it before you hire them. If they just plan on using a metal patch (which you can if you want...but they are ugly) then you might want to use someone else or do it yourself. The metal mesh patches work but they bump out from the wall a lot so I only use them in apartments behind the door where I know I'll probably have to patch again.

Sorry...I'm weird. I'm just realizing this is really dumb to try and write it out. I wish I was there to help you out. I bet you have a neighbor or relative that is good at drywall...you should ask on Facebook.

I wish you luck and now I'm glad we don't have squirrels here.

D.

Denise, I think it would be easier if just sent you a plane ticket.....

LOL! Deal!

D.

LOL! I like the plane ticket idea, drywall & face paint jam all in one.

We used to have a lot of squirrels in our neighborhood, but my crazy cat lady across the street has downed to squirrel population considerably... Now we have a cat problem.

Ah, yes. The pesky squirrel. We have a lovely squirrel family that has set up housekeeping in the corner of our attic. They are really inconsiderate houseguests. They like to play all hours of the night. Right above my head, no less.

I didn't mind the scurrying and the all-night squirrel disco that was apparently going on above until the wee hours of the morning....

It's the inconsiderate way it has chosen my wall as it's final resting place...

Smell getting worse.... Send bigger candles!!!!!

Call around to exterminators and trade them a birthday party or company picnic.

D.

Yikes - dead things in the wall are gross. I'm so sorry. Short of excavating the drywall like others said, there's not a heck of a lot you can do. If you have any access into the wall, you can get dry enzyme powders and or wet enzymes sprays which will accelerate the breakdown of the organic compounds which smell.

The really thick hardware cloth is some of the only stuff squirrels cant chew through!

Check out this site I refer people to when I'm working at Audubon. It has some good tips for ongoing squirrel exclusion:
http://audubonportland.org/backyardwildlife/brochures/squirrels

The problem you'll have is that the smell will permeate the wall and it'll smell even when the animal's all rotted away...
I think the only thing you can do is to cut the hole and get it out... :/

My cat's like to bring half dead mice into my room and let them find somewhere to die, one found it's way into an old box or barbies and died but once we found it we had to throw the barbies out because there was no getting rid of that smell! That's not something you want to live with!

Thanks for the link, Julie!

So far the smell is only noticeable when you pass by that particular wall.... and for now it is manageable as long as I keep fragrant candles burning...

My pastor has a story about how he woke to a full on, blood curdling scream. His wife was pointing at a squirrel w/ a nut that had come in from the attic. Turned out there was a rat vs squirrel battle going on in their attic.

Oh, my.... that's sounds like a good premise for a children's Disney movie....hmmmmm ... I have written several screenplay in the past; maybe I need to think about this... (I am actually being totally serious!)

p.s. The smell seems to have dissipated already.

That's funny Miss Ronnie, I have too. I have one with a really good premise actually and I went to a writing conference in LA but you have to be a different breed of human being to get a movie made...I've decided.

D.

Squirrel smell all gone. Yay!!! However, a new fluffernut has already taken up residence in the crawlspace... I have a guy coming to cover the opening with metal flashing.

If that doesn't work, perhaps I should hire THESE guys!

LOL! Thank you for the gut busting laugh

Hole getting fixed today! Yay!!!

Too bad, I was kind of hoping to hire the G.I. Joe Team...

Ruh-roh.... I woke up this morning to the sound of a squirrel in the crawlspace above me... Either they have another way in or... gulp... one has beed trapped alive. Oh dear me, I can't stand the thought of that!!!! Or the squirrel screams!!!