Evidence check: squirrel encounters, DIY attempts and professional help in Corona
There is no Corona-specific squirrel infestation rate published by any agency, and this page does not invent one; what exists for Corona readers is national and regional survey data plus published pricing benchmarks, summarized below with their limits stated plainly. Nearly two-thirds, 63.5%, of residents who reported squirrels or chipmunks nearby wanted their population left unchanged, in Puri and colleagues' 2022 survey of 1,006 people in a southeastern U.S. metro area (published 2024), a neighborhood-attitude figure rather than a measure of squirrels in homes. For a homeowner, it helps to know that a few neighbors actively want more squirrels: 8.4% of metro-area residents reporting squirrels or chipmunks nearby said so in Puri and colleagues' 2022 survey (published 2024), which measured neighborhood attitudes, not infestations. The national picture, which Corona has no reason to escape: A homeowner at war with squirrels is in a small camp: 9.3% of metro-area residents reporting squirrels or chipmunks nearby wanted far fewer, in Puri and colleagues' 2022 survey (1,006 respondents, published 2024), which measured neighborhood attitudes rather than infested homes. For Corona, California the relevant figure is this: in the 2022 wildlife-perceptions survey by Puri and colleagues (1,006 residents of a southeastern U.S. metro area, published in People and Nature in 2024), 15.2% of respondents with squirrels or chipmunks nearby preferred a small decrease, an attitude measure and not an infestation finding. Corona is not an outlier on this point: some 30% of respondents who had paid to address an infestation in the previous year spent $1,001 to $5,000, per ConsumerAffairs' February 2024 survey of 2,000 U.S. respondents, a self-reported poll covering pests and mold that reflects stated spending, not observed bills. Because every figure above has a stated population and date, you can cite it when comparing Corona providers; what none of them can tell you is what your specific Corona property needs, and that still takes an on-site inspection.