They're not out to get you
Squirrels don't wake up in the morning plotting to chew your wiring. They're looking for shelter, food, nesting space, and things to gnaw — and sometimes the place you live happens to offer all four. Nearly every "squirrel problem" is really a squirrel solving a squirrel problem in a spot that happens to be yours.
That's good news, because it means most of the fixes that work are the ones that work with squirrel nature rather than against it. Throughout this page you'll find little notes on what the squirrel thinks is happening — once that clicks, the right response usually follows.
Common run-ins
Attics, walls, and rooflines. To a squirrel, an attic can look surprisingly attractive: warm, dry, sheltered from predators, and conveniently located above a landscape full of food. A female looking for somewhere safe to raise a litter is especially hard to argue with.
Gnawing — wires, wood, vents. This is the one worth taking seriously, because chewed wiring is a genuine fire risk. But the squirrel isn't being destructive on purpose.
Bird feeders. A feeder is, from a squirrel's point of view, a vending machine that someone keeps refilling. Expecting a squirrel to ignore it is optimistic.
Gardens and pots — the digging. Those little excavations in the planter aren't vandalism. They're a squirrel either burying a snack for later or checking whether it left one there last spring.
Decks, planters, and patios. Mostly the same story: a sheltered ledge, a chewable rail, or a pot that smells like buried treasure. Annoying, rarely serious.
Pets, and the question of bites. Most cats, dogs, and squirrels settle into a wary truce; trouble usually comes from a cornered animal, so give wildlife a way out. Bites are genuinely rare, and they almost always trace back to one thing: a squirrel that learned to expect food from a hand.
Keeping them out — humanely, and for good
Seal first; everything else second. Here's the hardest truth of squirrel control: trapping without sealing is bailing a boat without plugging the hole. Remove one squirrel from an open attic and the neighborhood simply sends another. Find and close the entry points, and the problem ends; skip that step, and it never does.
Use materials that actually hold. Squirrels chew straight through foam, window screen, and most plastic. What stops them is quarter-inch galvanized hardware cloth or sheet-metal flashing, fitted snugly over gaps, vents, and gnawed openings.
Cut the bridges. A squirrel can clear eight to ten feet in a single jump, so a branch that overhangs the roof is really a doorway. Trimming limbs back about ten feet — plus a chimney cap and covered vents — removes most of the invitations at once.
The step almost everyone skips: check for babies first. Close up an attic during nesting season and you can trap a litter inside — which means orphaned young and a frantic mother doing far more damage trying to get back to them. The safest windows are fall and a short lull in mid-summer, between litters. If you can't tell whether there's a litter up there, assume there is, and wait or get help.
When to bring in a professional. If the space is occupied, hard to reach, or you simply can't find where they're getting in, a licensed wildlife professional who does humane exclusion (one-way doors and sealing, not just trapping) is worth the call.
Bird feeders: placement beats gadgetry
The feeder aisle is full of "squirrel-proof" promises, and the honest answer is that placement does more than any product. Put the feeder on a smooth pole with a baffle at about chest height, and at least ten feet from any fence, branch, railing, or roofline a squirrel could launch from. Get that right and even an ordinary feeder holds up well.
Weight-activated cage feeders (the kind that close under a squirrel's heft) genuinely help — but none of it matters if the feeder sits within jumping range of a good launch pad. A determined squirrel reads the word "squirrel-proof" as a personal dare.
What California law actually says
The thing almost no Californian knows
California law does not treat all introduced squirrels the same. Gray squirrels and Fox Squirrels fall into different management categories — and the dividing line is not simply native vs. introduced.
The native Western Gray Squirrel is a protected game mammal. Lethal control requires a depredation permit from the state, and there is a closed season across much of California.
The introduced Eastern Gray Squirrel is not native — but for permit and management purposes it falls under the same gray-squirrel category as the Western Gray, not alongside the Fox Squirrel.
The introduced Fox Squirrel carries fewer protections when causing damage. In that situation it can be dealt with year-round without the same permit process that applies to gray squirrels.
Which is exactly why it pays to know whether you're looking at a gray squirrel or a Fox Squirrel. Tell them apart →
For most situations, the kindest and most effective options are also the simplest, and they're legal for any squirrel: sealing animals out and removing what attracts them. The rules get stricter the moment you consider trapping, moving, or killing one.
| What you're considering | Gray squirrels (Western & Eastern) | Fox Squirrel |
|---|---|---|
| Seal them out / humane exclusion | Fine — always the best first step, regardless of species. | |
| Feeding | Discouraged everywhere; restricted or banned in some places — see the FAQ on feeding. | |
| Live-trap and relocate elsewhere | Not legal without a CDFW permit — and rarely survivable for the squirrel. | |
| Lethal control | Permit required | Allowed when causing damage |
| Poison bait | Not legal for any tree squirrel. | |
Douglas Squirrels are native forest squirrels and are not part of this urban and agricultural conflict comparison. As with any native wildlife, check current CDFW guidance before taking action involving a Douglas Squirrel.
And whatever you do, skip the poison. Beyond being illegal for tree squirrels, rodent poisons travel up the food chain into the hawks, owls, and even the neighborhood cats that would otherwise help keep rodents in check. (Wildlife rules also change, and the fine print is genuinely fine — when in doubt, a quick check of current CDFW regulations or a word with a licensed professional saves trouble.)
The short version
Worth doing
- Find and seal the entry points — quarter-inch hardware cloth is the real fix.
- Trim branches back about ten feet from the roof.
- Check for babies before you close anything up.
- Move bird feeders ten feet from any launch pad and add a baffle.
- Figure out whether it's a gray squirrel or a Fox Squirrel — that's the distinction that changes what's legal. (Eastern Gray falls in the same gray-squirrel category as Western Gray, not with Fox Squirrel.)
Skip it
- Poison — illegal for tree squirrels, and it kills the predators on your side.
- Trap-and-relocate — illegal without a permit, and usually a death sentence.
- Mothballs and ultrasonic gadgets — no real evidence they work.
- Hand-feeding — it's how a charming neighbor becomes a demanding one.
- Worrying about rabies — see the myths below.
Myths worth retiring
"Squirrels carry rabies."
Not in any way that should worry you. There's no documented case of a squirrel passing rabies to a person in the U.S., and a squirrel bite doesn't call for rabies treatment. Clean any bite and see a doctor if it's deep — but the rabies fear is misplaced.
"Just relocate it to a park."
In California that's illegal without a permit, and a squirrel dropped into strange territory usually doesn't last long. Sealing the gap solves the problem for good; relocation just opens a vacancy for the next one.
"Mothballs and ultrasonic devices keep them away."
There's little to no evidence either works, and mothballs used indoors are a real toxicity risk to people and pets. Exclusion is the only thing that reliably keeps squirrels out.
"Squirrel-proof feeders are squirrel-proof."
With the right placement — ten feet of clear air and a good baffle — they work well. Without it, the label is just a suggestion the squirrel is happy to ignore.
"If I stop feeding them, they'll starve."
A healthy wild squirrel doesn't depend on your handouts. The real risk of feeding isn't nutrition — it's that a squirrel who learns people offer snacks may decide every person owes it one.
When to get help
For a squirrel in the structure — especially if the space is occupied or out of reach — a licensed wildlife control operator who practices humane exclusion can seal things up properly and check for young.
For an injured or orphaned animal, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator is the right call (and please don't try to raise a wild squirrel yourself — it's both unsafe and, without a permit, not legal). If you've just found a baby, see our Found a Baby Squirrel guide.
For permit questions — trapping, relocation, or lethal control of a native squirrel — the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is the authority worth checking before you act.