Brad,
 
There are two kinds of squirrels and they both do significant, but  different 
types of damage. You daytime red and gray squirrels chew on wood to  wear 
down their teeth. It's a natural process and you can discourage them by  applying 
paint with a high concentration of "hot pepper sauce" to the new wood  when 
you replace it. It worked for me. 
The other squirrels are the nocturnal flying squirrels and they are the  
really bad ones that nest inside you walls and attics and keep you awake at  
night. I've tried several methods to remove or kill them and finally gave up  about 
three years ago and made an easy access to our roof for the cats. We have  
two cats that now patrol the roof at night and the flying squirrels have either  
been eaten or have departed on their own. Multiple layers of screening didn't 
 keep them out. Good luck. If you need a squirrel eating cat, I have one you 
may  adopt.
 
Rummy



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