Identify the squirrel before anyone sets a trap
In the West, the species question is not trivia, it is the legal frame for everything that follows. Introduced eastern gray and fox squirrels are handled as unclassified pests, while several native squirrels carry protection. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lists the western gray as threatened and prohibits hunting, trapping, or killing it, and that kind of listing changes what a company is allowed to do on your roof. Size and color give you a start. Douglas squirrels are small, dark on top with a warm belly, and extremely vocal. Eastern grays are the medium sized, uniformly gray animals most people picture. Fox squirrels are heavier with rusty tones. Flying squirrels are the strictly nocturnal group nesters. A Portland company that begins with photographs and a species name is doing this correctly. One that shows up with traps before answering that question is not, and you should ask what happens if the animal turns out to be protected before you sign anything.
How to compare two quotes that look nothing alike
Squirrel bids vary wildly, and the difference is almost never the trapping. Line them up on four questions and the picture clears fast. First, how many openings did each company find, and did they photograph them? A bid citing one hole against another citing five is not a cheaper price for the same work, it is a different job. Second, what material goes over each opening, and does rotted wood get replaced before it is covered? In a climate this wet, screwing metal to soft fascia is a repair with a short life. Third, is attic cleanup inside the quote or a later change order? Removing soiled insulation, sanitizing, and blowing new material back in is separate trade work with real cost. Fourth, how many return visits are included, and what triggers a charge? Ask for all four answers in writing, itemized as removal, exclusion, and cleanup, and the Portland bid that looked expensive often turns out to be the complete one.
Prevention that actually works in a rainy climate
Everything in a wet climate comes back to keeping wood hard. Paint that has cracked at a board end lets water into the grain, the grain softens over a winter, and a softened edge is where teeth get purchase. Walking the perimeter each fall with a screwdriver and probing trim takes twenty minutes and finds problems while they are still paint problems. Gutters matter more than people think. A gutter holding water and debris keeps the fascia behind it permanently damp, which is exactly where entry holes appear. Outside the building, cut branches back so nothing overhangs the roof, and be honest about fruit and nut trees. Hazelnuts, walnuts, and fallen plums feed a local population that then goes looking for shelter nearby. Inside, back every vent with quarter inch hardware cloth rather than the flimsy screen that came from the factory, and close the open ends of soffit runs where a porch or garage roof ties in.
What actually determines the bill
Two houses on the same street can get very different prices for the same noise, and both numbers can be fair. Scope is what varies. The count of openings that need permanent closure leads everything. Each one takes its own material, its own fit, and its own ladder position, so five weak spots is a full day where one is an hour. Repair is the factor that surprises people here. If the board behind an opening has gone soft from years of damp, it has to come out and be replaced before metal goes on, and that is carpentry time on top of wildlife time. A litter in the nest adds hand removal and another trip. Cleanup, meaning pulling contaminated insulation and replacing it, is its own trade and its own line. Roof pitch and access add hours. Ask how many follow-up visits are covered, then request the written quote after an inspection with removal, exclusion, and cleanup priced separately.
The squirrel year in a mild, wet climate
Nothing here shuts down for winter, and that changes the rhythm. With lows around 36 degrees, animals stay active through the dark months, so a chewed opening in November is a nest by February rather than a problem that pauses until spring. Breeding runs in mid-December or early January, which means late winter noise from growing young. That is the loudest stretch and the worst time to close a hole without checking. Early spring, once the first litter disperses, opens the best working window for permanent repairs, and it lines up nicely with drier weather for painting and carpentry. June starts the second breeding period, so midsummer brings young again, though mild 81 degree highs mean an attic is livable rather than lethal for them here. Late summer through fall is testing season, when animals probe every soft edge before the rains return. Getting exclusion finished before October means the repair cures dry and the wet season finds nothing open.