On Tue, 2 May 2017 07:45:13 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


The squirrels that set up residence in the attic of our house were red,
but they were smaller than the ordinary grey squirrels. I'd say they
were slightly larger than a fat chipmunk. They were also a pain in the
ass to get rid of. I bought a trap and at one point was catching 6 or 7
a day in it or so I thought I was. My mistake was in taking them
outside and releasing them, first out in the woods near the house, then
a mile away, then a couple of miles away. I found out that they are
notorious for returning to the the nice, warm house they had discovered.
I also found out that catching them and releasing them somewhere else
is illegal. I finally talked to an exterminator who we used annually
to spray for bugs and who also got rid of some bats that set up
residence at one time. He told me that what I was doing (trapping them)
was the right way to catch them versus setting poison traps but
unfortunately the only way to prevent them from returning was to kill
them. He recommended a large bucket of water that the whole trap could
be submerged in as the means of execution. It was disturbing at first
but they would drown in about 10 seconds. Only took two or three days
and no more little red squirrels in the house. I thought it was
infested with them but in reality there were only about 4-5. They just
had been returning faster than I could catch and release them.

Until you find and plug the holes, trapping only makes you feel like
you are doing something. Squirrels and roof rats will leave a scent
trail and they will attract more through whatever hole they have
chewed or simply found.
Usually rats (bushy tail or otherwise) chew the hole out and they
originally got in another way. Once they establish a hole, it attracts
more.