How to get animals out of the attic without sealing them inside
Animals nesting in attics or soffits chew electrical wires and create severe fire hazards. Attempting to seal up entry points without fully removing the wildlife risks trapping them inside the walls, leading to dead animals and severe odors throughout the home.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 12.8× more often in r/homeowners than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Hiring a professional wildlife trapper2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Hire professional pest control to install one-way doors and seal entrancesDid this help you?
- 3Set traps or use a pellet gunDid this help you?
- 4Toss bug bombs into the space to run them out before fixing holesDid this help you?
- 5Use DIY deterrents like mothballsDid this help you?
- 6Leaving the doors wide openDid this help you?
- 7Playing talk radio in the shed to disturb themDid this help you?
- 8Using cotton balls soaked in coyote urineDid this help you?
- 9Building a one-way mesh cone over the entry holeDid this help you?
- 10Looking for a new place to stayDid this help you?
- 11Shining lights and checking rooms constantlyDid this help you?
- 12Purchasing a pop-up mosquito tent for sleepingDid this help you?
- 13Installing a one-way exclusion door after sealing other gapsDid this help you?
- 14Using a boombox to play loud music to scare them out before sealing entry pointsDid this help you?
- 15Catching them with live traps baited with peanutsDid this help you?
- 16Using DIY exclusion doors and hardware cloth meshDid this help you?
- 17Setting baited trapsDid this help you?
- 18Sealing roof returns, vents, and gaps with hardware cloth and steel woolDid this help you?
- 19Hiring a professional trapperDid this help you?
- 20Using live traps baited with peanut butter and nutsDid this help you?
- 21Soaking a rag or tennis ball in predator urine and throwing it in the atticDid this help you?
- 22Scatter coyote urine granules around the porch and burrow openings to deter them without needing active trap monitoring.Did this help you?
- 23Setting trapsDid this help you?
- 24Planning to use poisonDid this help you?
- 25Attempting makeshift patches with spray foam or steel meshDid this help you?
- 26Trying to motivate family members to complete repairsDid this help you?
- 27Calling around to local, family-owned pest control companies for lower quotesDid this help you?
- 28Using live traps in the attic and sealing holes with metal flashingDid this help you?
- 29Throwing fox urine throughout the attic to deter them before sealing entry pointsDid this help you?
- 30Hiring professional wildlife removal servicesDid this help you?
- 31Installing a one-way door on the access hole so animals can leave but not returnDid this help you?
- 32Throwing a blanket over a live trap to calm the animal and block its visionDid this help you?
- 33Using heavy welding or work gloves to handle the cageDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Does anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this? Because I'd hate to repair it and then animals die up there and smell up the upstairs home for a month.”source ↗
“Had them in both the attic of my house & shop, they chewed up electrical wires & created a fire hazard, they also disconnected my internet lol.”source ↗
“Dealt with this last year and the exclusion door is the move.”source ↗
“Does anyone have any experience with getting squirrels out of an attic/soffits?”source ↗
“We got a quote from a trapper but it was very expensive and I was hoping to try to do the work myself to save some money.”source ↗
“i did the diy route last year after a quote that made my eyes water.”source ↗
“Today opened it up and discovered at least 50 walnuts in there. Found a tiny hole in the back corner that they must be using to get in and store them. I have to assume there is a nest in there.”source ↗
“Should I just leave the doors wide open in hopes that it no longer provides a comfortable spot and they move on and then clean/seal up? Just not sure best way to approach this.”source ↗
“Now that he’s inside my house, he has gotten significantly more defensive and growls / lunges / hisses any time I try to pick up the cage.”source ↗
“This is illegal in most states ( I found out the hard way) transporting a wild animal is illegal due to preventing spread of disease.. if you live trap which you can do, you are expected to either kill the animal or let him go where you trapped him.”source ↗
“I'm really getting desperate cus I'm disabled so I live at home and unable to do too much for the home (outside on the roof area anyways), but my dad refuses to do anything about the rodent problems in the home.”source ↗
“Alright, I'll be on top of it. I'm so scared of a fire or something bad.”source ↗
“I tried calling the game commission and they just shrugged their shoulders, tried calling so called “24/7” wildlife experts and just hit directed to voicemail.”source ↗
“I had this problem and looked and looked and could never find out how they were getting in, the guy I hired found it in a couple minutes because he knew what to look for.”source ↗
“Whatever it is, I need to know what to do. My dad has been doing repairs on the house but missed one of the most important bits (facia board) that's coming up. Could something get in there? What do I do?”source ↗
“My dad just wanted to poison them, but I know it is NOT the right thing to do. They'd just die and we would have to find them while dealing with the smell of rot. I'm not really sure he cares, but I do. He refuses to pay a professional.”source ↗
“Does anyone have any experience with getting squirrels out of an attic/soffits? We got a quote from a trapper but it was very expensive and I was hoping to try to do the work myself to save some money.”source ↗
“I actually saw one enter here the other day. I can hear them both from my room and while I’m standing outside looking at this.”source ↗
“They quoted us $2000 to take care of it. Any advice on how we get them out and keep them out?”source ↗
“I need basic anxiety mitigiation right now. I'm afraid to walk around this house past a certain time of day. I shine a light everywhere I go, I peek into rooms. I'm scared to go to sleep. I have nightmares of being bitten or attacked by a rat.”source ↗
“My goal is to see make it through the month physically unscathed.”source ↗
“I can hear noises in my ceiling cavity and of course want to get rid of anything living there if it will cause damage but I don't want them to be harmed or killed.”source ↗
“Is it possible to find pest control businesses which don't kill or harm the animals?”source ↗
“This morning, I saw a groundhog run under my front porch at our lake house. We are getting to the time of year where we won’t be here much. What’s a practical way to get rid of him? I’m concerned about foundation issues but also won’t be here enough to actively monitor the situation.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7How do you finally get rid of bird mites after removing a nest?
- 3How to catch a rat in a small room yourself
- 3Keeping squirrels from breaking back into the roof
- 7How to get rid of ants safely with pets and kids around
- 8How to clean mouse nests out of appliance burners
- 3Do I need to remove window screens before power washing a house?