You may not know this, but your home is way warmer than a rotting log, hole in the ground, or tree notch. For wildlife, living in your attic for the winter is a 5 star experience. That is why you need to stay on top of your home maintenance. Now, I'm not talking about getting a handyman to come over and reinforce your porch, or rebuild your deck. I'm talking about the kind of maintenance a pest control company does. What? You didn't know pest companies do home maintenance? Sure they do. They just call it: exclusion.
Here is the skinny on Winter Pest Exclusion
There is a big difference between home improvement and pest exclusion. Let's consider both, as we think about squirrels infesting your attic.
If you have noticed a rotted area on your roofline where squirrels could get in, you could call a handyman to come fix that area, but it would cost you quite a bit to get the job done right, and your handyman would not be thinking about squirrel exclusion while he's up there reconstructing things. When he's done, you may still have gaps around your eaves, or rotted patches at the peak of your roof, that squirrels can easily chew through to get inside your wall voids or attic spaces.
A pest controller will inspect your roofline, eaves, chimney, windows, and siding for vulnerabilities, and seal those areas. Using a caulking gun or wire mesh to fill holes is a lot cheaper than reconstructing your roofline, and it will keep those squirrels from chewing through. Squirrels, like any rodent, can do a lot of damage to wood--even if it is new wood. It is never good to have a squirrel on your roof. While your pest technician is sealing holes, the technician will also be looking for ways to prevent access to your roof. Overhanging trees and wires that attach to poles, make for easy access. They will suggest cutting back tree limbs and putting barbed deterrents on your lines, to prevent rodents from crawling across. They will also protect your downspouts from being used as an elevator shaft to your roof. The list of exclusion methods are many, and pest controllers are trained to make structural modifications that keep all wildlife away from your home.
If you're looking to keep pests away, and you don't want to spend a ton of money, call a pest control company, not a carpenter. Wildlife does not prefer to be out in the cold. Winter is the time to assess your vulnerabilities, and have those entry points sealed off. Pests inside an attic or wall space can bring with them disease and parasites, like lice, mites, ticks, fleas, and worms. Have your walls inspected and sealed, and keep the wildlife outside in nature, where they belong.