That dawn scramble is often a squirrel

Day shift, and a night shift

Most of the squirrels people see in the yard are gray squirrels or the larger fox squirrel. They are up with the sun. If the ceiling is busy at dawn and quiet after bedtime, start here.

Nighttime scurrying is a different guess. Southern flying squirrels live in Indiana too, and they work after dark. They are smaller than they sound. Mice are smaller still. You do not have to sort that out before you call. The time of day is the useful clue.

How they get from the maple to the bedroom

A branch that hangs over the roof is a sidewalk. From there they test vents, the seam where the roof meets the siding, and any gap a previous squirrel already started. Teeth are very good at making a suggestion into a door.

Fort Wayne streets with older trees see this every fall, when squirrels are settling in for cold weather, and again in late winter when babies show up. A nest full of young means we do not just plug the hole and leave.

Chewing is the real mess

Squirrels chew wood, plastic, and sometimes wiring. That is a plain reason to deal with it, not a scare tactic. While we are up there we look at what they have been working on, and we tell you what we see.

The repair has to be metal where they chew. A new screen that is only a little stronger than the old one becomes the same hole next month. Exclusion is the part that keeps the morning quiet.

What to do tonight

• Skip the attic tour. Startled squirrels bounce off rafters, and that helps no one.
• Note the time of day. Dawn points one way. The middle of the night points another.
• Look from the ground, in daylight, for a bent vent or a branch touching the roof. A photo from the yard is plenty.
• Do not poison anything in the attic. A dead animal in a wall is a worse week than a noisy one.