Dealing with Mice, Bats, and Other Pests

Uninvited Guest: Squirrel

Habitat: Got trees? Actually, any pasture, park, or yard will do.

Annoying habits: Embarks on unnecessarily raucous tree chases during mating season. May see your garden as a good place to dig and your house as a superdeluxe tree with nesting possibilities. Astute at finding holes and cracks in roofing and eaves.

What you need to know: Creative thinkers; attic lovers. Highly territorial; potentially destructive.

What you need to do: Trim tree limbs growing close to the house, secure loose shingles, and seal holes with heavy wire mesh. Have a contractor install a mesh chimney cap (look up Chimney Builders and Repairs in the Yellow Pages). Deploy dogs as patrolling agents.

If that doesn't work: If they're nesting in your attic, turn up the volume on an obnoxious radio or TV talk show―squirrels hate shouting matches. Scrub down surfaces with ammonia and scatter mothballs. Seal all holes. Hire a contractor to install metal flashing around eaves. For pros who capture culprits and keep them out, go to icwdm.org.