You are hearing scampering over the bedroom ceiling in the morning, your house in Milton is only a few years old, and your first thought is: a new house should be sealed tight — nothing should be able to get in. That is exactly the assumption a squirrel counts on. New does not mean gap-free, and an attic is warm, dry and quiet in exactly the way a squirrel is looking for as the cold sets in.
Why a new build still has doors in
A squirrel does not need a hole. It needs a starting point — a small gap it can chew into a door. On newer Milton homes, those starting points are built in at the roofline:
Soffit returns and roof intersections. Where two roof planes meet, or where the soffit turns a corner, small construction gaps are common. From the ground they look finished. From a squirrel's side of the fascia, they are an opening with soft edges it can chew wider.
Roof vents. Plastic vent covers are no match for a squirrel's teeth. Squirrels chew straight through them, and a vent leads directly into the attic.
Fascia and eaves edges. A loose or thin edge at the eaves gives a squirrel purchase. Once it can get its teeth on an edge, it makes its own entry.
Overhanging trees and fences. Squirrels are climbers and jumpers. A branch, fence or neighbouring roof close to your roofline is a bridge — the gap only has to be reachable, not at ground level.
This is the pattern we see on squirrel removal calls across wildlife removal in Milton: the home is not old or neglected, the roofline simply has more joints, vents and intersections than an older, simpler roof — and every joint is a place a gap can be left. Ontario's own guidance on preventing conflicts with small animals starts from the same principle: check and secure the openings, because that is where almost every wildlife problem begins.
The daytime test: is it a squirrel, or something else?
Timing is the best first clue you have, because these animals keep different hours:
Morning and daytime scampering — think squirrels. Squirrels are daytime animals. They leave in the morning to forage and return before dark, so fast, light scampering and scratching overhead during the day, especially early morning and late afternoon, points to a squirrel in the attic.
Heavy thumping at night — think raccoon. Raccoons are nocturnal and much heavier. Slow, deliberate movement and thumping after dark is a different animal and a different job.
Faint scratching in the walls at night — think mice. Mice are nocturnal too, and much lighter. A faint, intermittent scratching inside a wall at night is rarely a squirrel.
Sounds alone do not confirm it, so look for the rest of the evidence: a squirrel running the same stretch of roofline every morning and disappearing at the same spot, chewed or widened edges at the soffits or vents, and — inside the attic — droppings, and nests built from leaves, twigs and shredded insulation. A squirrel also stores food for winter, so cached material in the attic is another sign it has settled in, not just passed through.
What a squirrel does in there all winter
A squirrel that moves in during fall is usually there for the season, and it is busy the whole time:
It chews — constantly. A squirrel's front teeth never stop growing, so it chews to wear them down. In an attic, what is in front of it is wood, vent plastic and sometimes wiring. Chewed wiring is the serious one: that is a genuine fire risk, not just a repair bill.
It tears up insulation. Nesting means digging, tunnelling and packing insulation down, which leaves cold spots and raises heating costs through the winter.
It keeps using the same entry. One squirrel using one gap all winter widens it, marks it and makes it more attractive to the next animal in spring.
Waiting until spring does not make any of that cheaper. It just gives one squirrel a full winter of chewing.
Squirrel in attic Milton: how the job is actually done
The fix is not a trap in the attic and it is never sealing the hole while the squirrel is still inside — a trapped squirrel will chew its way out through something you would rather it didn't. Done properly, the order is:
Inspect first. We check the whole roofline — soffits, returns, intersections, vents, fascia — and the attic itself, to find the entry the squirrel is using, any backup gaps it could switch to, and whether there is nesting or damage already.
Get the squirrel out humanely. A one-way door is fitted at the main entry. The squirrel leaves on its own to forage and cannot get back in. It is not trapped, not poisoned and not sealed inside.
Seal every gap, not just the used one. Close one door and a squirrel will test the next one, so every roofline gap found on the inspection gets sealed in the same job — including the chewed vent, which is where proper covers matter. Vent Defender Pro covers are Canadian-made from 16-gauge galvanized steel and fit over the roof vent, so squirrels and raccoons cannot chew or tear through them, without restricting airflow. They are available at Vent-Defender.com and on Amazon.ca, or we can fit them as part of the job.
Clean up the attic. Nesting material, droppings and stored food come out, and damaged insulation is flagged, so the attic stops smelling like a den to the next animal that tests the roof.
Done in that order, the squirrel moves back to a tree — which is where it was equipped to spend the winter in the first place.
How Regional Wildlife Services handles it
Regional Wildlife Services is owner-operated: Sean Thornton, 20+ years removing wildlife humanely, does the inspection and the work himself. On a Milton new-build that matters, because the difference between a finished-looking roofline and a sealed one is exactly what the inspection is for — and the person who finds the gaps is the person who seals them.
Frequently asked questions
My house is only a few years old. How did a squirrel get in?
Through a gap that was there from construction — at a soffit return, a roof intersection or a vent — that the squirrel chewed wider until it fit. New homes have complex rooflines with more joints and vents, and a squirrel only needs one reachable gap. An inspection finds it, and usually finds the backup gaps at the same time.
I only hear noises in the morning. Is that still worth a call?
Yes — morning noise is the classic squirrel pattern, because squirrels are daytime animals. If the scampering repeats in the same area, something is using your attic as a den and leaving and returning on a schedule. The sooner it is moved out, the less chewing, nesting and insulation damage there is to repair.
Can I just seal the gap myself on the weekend?
Not safely, unless you are certain the attic is empty — and from the ground you usually cannot be. Sealing a squirrel inside traps it, and it will chew a new way out, often doing worse damage. The humane order is one-way door first, confirm it has left, then seal.
Will the squirrel come back next fall?
A squirrel will test a roofline it remembers. If every gap found on the inspection is sealed — not just the one it was using — and chewed vents are protected with steel covers, there is no door left to come back through. That full-roofline sealing is the difference between a removal and a repeat call.
Which towns do you serve?
Milton and across the region — Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Niagara and Georgetown.
Hearing scampering over the ceiling in the morning?
Call Regional Wildlife Services at 905-320-8984. We take phone calls and bookings 7 days a week; service appointments run Monday to Friday typically, and weekend calls book jobs in for the following week. We serve Milton, Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Niagara and Georgetown. A new roofline is not a sealed roofline until someone has checked every gap: contact us.
