1 Way Door for Pests

This is a humane way of getting animal pests out of your garage, shed or attic, Install the 1Way Door, then find the pests entrances and seal them off. To help the pests find the new exit you could probably smear a little peanut butter on the out side frame of the 1 Way Door. Depending who and how many pests you want to be rid of, you may need to leave this set up for a couple of weeks but check daily, since every situation is different

Step 1: The Red Squirrel Family

I had originally planned to add this 1 Way Door to the eaves of my garage the previous year, so that the Red Squirrels that had moved in would stay out, but procrastination on my part gave them another year of cozy shelter. In the Spring of last year we were pleased to see 3 baby squirrels were there as well. I managed to get some pictures of them sunning themselves.

Step 2: Materials and Tools Needed

I had a spare piece of fascia board to mount the 1Way Door on.

A 10 inch square piece of 1/2" hole hardware cloth ( It's called hardware cloth in North America even though it is made of galvanized wire) I had purchased a roll of it as seen in the picture.

I used 1/2" long # 4 wood screws and some rubber washers to fasten it to the fascia board.

tape measure, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, leather gloves, black marker, drill and large spade (1/2") drill bit, key hole saw, screwdriver to fit the screws used.

Step 3: Constructon

I guessed the size of a hole needed for a Red Squirrel to get through.

I then cut a piece of hardware cloth to fit the fascia board.

I had previously had drawn the hole size needed on the fascia board.

I placed the hardware cloth on the fascia board and marked out the hole needed with a marker onto the hardware cloth.

The piece I cut out was smaller then the hole needed, this is because I wanted to fold over the sharp cut wires and have them protrude though the yet to be added door to give it some structure so that it would be harder to open the door from the outside.

Step 4: Construction Continued.

I then cut a larger piece of hardware cloth for the door, it was then trimmed at the top so that the wires could be folded around the fixed piece of the door frame this acts as a hinge.

I had misplaced my original piece of fascia board, but managed to find another piece.

I placed the 1 Way Door on the board and traced out the hole, then drilled and cut it out.

I then attached it to the fascia board with wood screws and washers, borrowed a cat toy from our cats that was about Red Squirrel size and took some pictures to show how it works.

Step 5: The Story So Far

I never did install it an and may never, the young squirrels were fun to watch and there isn't really much that they can damage in the garage. It's really fun to watch the Red Squirrels chase the Black and Gray Squirrels as well (which are 2 to 3 times as big as the Reds) around the yard.

As a side note this type of door can be scaled up for most smaller pesky animals, I originally got the idea for this after seeing one that was made out of much heavier hardware cloth for a raccoon problem.