Winter animals in the attic
The winters of New England and specifically western Massachusetts can be pretty tough. Wild animals are built to live here, so they have some pretty remarkable ways of surviving. We can most easily break down these animals into two groups. The hibernators and the non-hibernators. Some of the common hibernating species we deal with in this field are groundhog (also called woodchuck), snakes, and bats.
These animals enter a true state of dormancy, where they shut their body down to very low levels of function until spring once they enter their hibernating location. This is typically from mid november through mid march. On rare occasions, you may come across a snake or a bat in your home if it moved in before winter to use your place as a hibernation site(typically in either basements or attics). Because of the warmth in the building, they sometimes do not enter their true hibernation state, and do move around from time to time.
The animals we deal with that do not hibernate for the winter include squirrels (of which there are three species- gray squirrels, red squirrels, and flying squirrels), raccoons, birds, skunk, opossum, fox, and the occasional weasel. Animals thrive based on three key necessities - food, water, and shelter.
Your home, and your attic specifically, provide excellent shelter for the harsh winter. Most animals have spent the fall eating as much as possible to fatten up for the cold season, so their #1 priority is shelter. Attic spaces are meant to breath, which is why there are ridge vents, gable vents, mushroom vents, and soffit vents. All of these areas allow air to pass through, which animals are quick to pick up on and they can easily break into many of these to enter the structure. That is why these are some of the most common entry points.
Once they are in, some animals will bring hoards of food in (red squirrels usually bring in tons of nuts of any sort), tell their friends, and more will show up. That’s why this is a necessary line of work. Raccoons are common attic animals, they are excellent climbers and look to break in just like squirrels in to your attic space for a nice cozy spot to sleep the days away, and travel in and out throughout the night.
Some of the other animals such as skunks, possum, and fox, are burrowers and like to make a den or home under low lying structures such as decks, sunrooms, and areas of the home without deep foundations. These animals will be active all winter (occasionally slowing down during heavy storms and extreme cold stretches and living under your structure), and continue going in and out from where they are living. These are all issues we can resolve and prevent; and since most animals are still active in the winter time, so are we.
