The Big Secret about Squirrels in Soffits (Hint: Your Carpenter Let Them in) and How We Evict Them

Soffits are definitely on the top ten list of spots where squirrels like to enter attics.  Soffits are the long linear box-like structures that runs along the edge of your roof. The timbers that support the soffit cross over the exterior wall and leave plenty of space between them to allow squirrels to hop right on into the attic from the soffit.   This means that if you hear a squirrel in the soffit, then the squirrels will almost undoubtedly be in the attic too.  So, if you are going to have to remove the squirrels from the soffit, you will have to remove the squirrels from the attic.  Fortunately, whether or not the squirrels have made it into the attic has little to do with the pricing of your squirrel removal work or how the squirrels are removed. 

How Did This Happen? Your Contractor Did It!

By the time I arrive, most of my customers have already walked around their house asking themselves how the squirrels got into the soffit in the first place.  Most of them only truly understand what they are dealing with after I am gone. You can’t find the entrance, but they are getting in somehow.  So, how did this happen?  Simple - your contractor let them in.  Sounds strange, doesn’t it?   But, the mistake was probably made years ago.  Contractors most always leave weak spots and that is what lets them in.   As I tell my customers, contractors have a mental checklist that covers a variety of possible issues.  The checklist of questions that a contractor asks himself as he works looks a little like this:

1.       Will it fall down?

2.       Will it fall off?

3.       Will it look good?

4.       Will it leak?

5.       Will the customer be happy?

6.       How soon will I be able to get paid and get out of here?

Except for number six, the list follows pretty closely to the order of priorities of most carpenters. Where number six lies on the priority list depends a lot on the quality of your carpenter.  I think that you can see how that last question might cause problems and conflict with other goals.   “Will a squirrel chew through this sometime in the next few years” or “can a squirrel crawl through here and get into the atttic” is nowhere on the list.   Because these issues are nowhere on the list, most carpenter’s work is vulnerable to wildlife invasions.

Where is the Contractor Now?

This is an industry wide problem, and it probably persists because the contractor is nowhere in sight when the customer learns that they have issues.   The original contractor or contractors are rarely called back to deal with the problem because they have ridden off into the sunset with your money.  It takes a while before the squirrels find the entrances.   It may not even be “squirrel babies in the attic season” when the work is completed and it could take a couple of months before the squirrels find the entrance.  Once the squirrels are in, It can take years before the owners realize what is going on.  By the time the problem is discovered, most homeowners don’t even remember who did the faulty work.   Unfortunately, this is just how it is done, and most carpenters would look at this type of thing and call it a job well done.  It looked good from the ground and the customer was happy, right?  I don’t agree, but then I see things through a different set of lenses. 

One Major Soft Spot - Faulty Fascia Board

There are three primary types of weak spots that get squirrels into the soffit and from there into the attic. This is poor joint between the fascia board and roof decking. This is one of the most common sources of squirrels in the soffit and attic.   A fascia board is the plank right behind the gutter and is what the gutter is nailed onto.   Above the fascia board is the decking that the shingles are nailed to. In modern homes, decking is usually some type of plywood, but it can also be in the form of planks that run parallel to the guttering.  

The problem comes when the contractor installs the fascia board with a gap between the decking and the fascia board.   This doesn’t usually cause a noticeable problem. Even if a homeowner climbs a ladder and sees the bad joint with their own eyes they don’t understand the significance of what they are looking at, but a squirrel will. A squirrel looks at that gap, peeps inside, and says to herself “hmmm, this might be a good spot to raise a litter. I think that I am going to chew through here and check it out.”

An Invisible Flaw

If there are gaps between the decking and soffit, the homeowner won’t see the hole unless they use a ladder to climb up and have a look at the gutter line.  This is because the issue is hidden from the ground, and you can’t even see the squirrel running to jump into your soffit/attic because it is hidden in the gutter.    The squirrel has its own secret approach to its front door.  Very stealthy!   If the gutter is clean, you may hear toenails against the guttering.  If there are a few leaves in the gutter, you won’t even hear that much. 

Soffits – A Squirrel Race Track That Runs Around Your House

Once the squirrel gets through the fascia board it can run freely through the soffit.  The soffit acts like a track or sidewalk that gives the squirrel access to the entire attic.  Theoretically, once the squirrels make it inside the soffit, they can run all the way around your house..  (I don’t find evidence of self-initiated squirrel races much unless you count some chasing that happens during breeding season.  That doesn’t count though, they don’t have an official start and finish line.   Ha ha - it is never a bad time for some squirrel humor.)

Squirrels Nest in the Soffits - Sometimes

Sometimes squirrels don’t even bother to go into the attic to nest.  I have pulled out a couple of trash bags full of nesting material from a short section of soffit.   Nesting material may be natural materials like leaves bought in from the outside or it might be insulation gathered from inside the attic.  Why bother running back to the tree to get leaves when there is an entire attic full of fluffy warm insulation to put your babies in?  I can’t imagine putting this stuff in your mouth though.    This may be a way to stay cooler in a hot attic because a draft will pull through the perforations in the soffit. 

“Like having Small Beavers Climbing Your House”

Gaps between the decking and fascia don’t have to be squirrel-sized to give you squirrel issues.   Squirrels have the perfect tool for making “home improvements” and creating entrances where there weren’t any before.  They have an ever-growing set of incisors (front teeth) that they use to gnaw through anything that is “softer than tooth”.   Consider squirrels to be like beavers, only smaller, and able to climb the sides of your house like an acrobat.   Beavers and squirrels are in the same family and have similar characteristics (tools and an inclination to chew through things).   All you have to have is an opening big enough for the squirrel to stick its nose into and get a start for it to cut its way inside.    The only way to permanently solve this problem is to armor the fascia/decking joint.

The Faulty Fascia Fix

How are you going to fix this problem?  Simple, you have to retrofit with what should have been installed to start with… drip edge.   Drip edge is a metal strip that bridges the gap between the decking and the back of the gutter.  I think that it was originally designed to keep the woodwork at the back of the gutter from getting wet and decaying.   This is a good thing since rotted wood work can play a part in this problem.  Wood that rots and falls out doesn’t do much to keep squirrels out.  However, the big benefit to drip edge is that it armors the joint between the decking and the gutter.   Even if there is just a small gap (it is hard not to have one) squirrels just can’t get a tooth on it in such a way that they can chew things back open. 

Loose Vinyl Soffit Panel - The Squirrel Door Built into Your Roof

More faulty construction techniques... (Thanks again Mr. Carpenter.) The most common entrance that allows squirrel in your attic is the loose vinyl soffit panel.    The bottom side of the eaves of most modern homes now have vinyl soffit.  The soffit comes in long strips and is cut to length and snapped into two vinyl channels.  Usually the panel is tacked with a couple of nails to the woodwork.   One edge of the panel is not tacked and snaps onto the adjoining panel.   The problem comes when the last panel is snapped into place where the eaves meet the roof.  It is impossible for the contractor to reach back into the tight space between the roof and the soffit and drive a nail.   So, the last panel is usually just snapped into place and not nailed.   This leaves the last panel just floating in place and very loose.  It takes very little for an animal to push the panel up and enter the attic.   Once the animal is inside, the panel will usually plop back down and the entrance is hidden.  Sometimes the squirrels will decide to chew on the panel and an entrance can be seen from the ground giving their secret away. 

Locking the Soffit Squirrel Door

If you have a “squirrel door” built into your roof, how do you lock it?  In short, with great difficulty.   Getting tools into that tight little gap between the soffit and the roof is hard.  If it were easy, I wouldn’t stay so busy.  You can’t swing a hammer to drive a nail and you can hardly get a screw gun in the right location to put in a screw without specialty accessories.  

Aside from these problems, the roof may be steep.  You can be trying to put screws into a piece of wood or metal while sliding down the roof.   A steep roof is like a giant piece of extremely abrasive sandpaper.  As you slide downhill, it is sanding out the seat of your pants.  Most pairs of my old work pants have the back pockets gone.  This is an occupational hazard I guess.   To get past this, I use a rope and harness system that keeps me in place while I work.  I don’t know what I would do without my harness.  Some days it is my best friend.

My Technique

I used to pull out several vinyl soffit panels and install wooden framing and plywood so that there would be something stiff behind the “squirrel door” so that it couldn’t swing.  This worked OK, but it was a lot of work which made things more expensive.   Since then I developed a faster cheaper technique that uses a metal plate that is attached over the loose soffit.  I put screws in around the edges so that it cannot move.  This has given me excellent results.