A public elementary school located in the northern sector of Sainte-Madeleine, a village in the Montérégie region nestled in the Yamaska Valley near Saint-Hyacinthe, contacted our team in early fall after maintenance staff discovered traces of intrusion in the attic of the gymnasium as well as in the technical space above the cafeteria. The school building, built in the 1980s and surrounded by mature trees, was an ideal environment for squirrels looking for shelter before winter. The proximity of the surrounding farmland, which has also been affected by a high density of squirrels this season, made the intervention particularly urgent to avoid the situation worsening before the extreme cold.
Technical inspection of a large building
The inspection of a school building of this size required a methodical approach and coordination with the school administration and the school board’s maintenance department. Our technician inspected the entire roof, which was safely accessible, with particular attention to the junction points between the different bodies of the building, the ventilation ducts of the gymnasium and the kitchen, as well as the telephone and electrical cable passages on the façade. Six potential entry points have been identified, two of which have been confirmed to be active by the presence of fresh traces and nest fibres.
The attic of the gymnasium showed the most advanced colonization, with a main nest and several stores of walnuts and acorns. The spaces above the cafeteria showed signs of less intense activity, but the presence of feces and paw prints confirmed regular passages. The inspection report was presented to the management and the works department for approval of the intervention plan before the start of the work.
Implementing trapping in schools
Intervening in a school environment requires careful planning to ensure that the safety of students and staff is never compromised. Our squirrel capture service was deployed exclusively in technical spaces not accessible to students (attic, roof void and outside the building outside the play areas). The traps were installed and checked before the students’ entry times, and all the access hatches to the attic were secured after each technician’s visit. The management was informed daily of the progress of the work and the number of animals captured.
Over a one-week period, six squirrels were captured and relocated. Our extermination team in Sainte-Madeleine conducted a final attic inspection after two days without any new captures. The cleaning and disinfection of the contaminated spaces was carried out over a weekend so as not to disrupt school activities. Soiled insulation in the attic of the gymnasium was removed and replaced, in accordance with health recommendations for buildings serving children and young adults.
Closure work and annual prevention plan
The closure of the six identified entry points used resistant materials chosen for their durability: stainless steel grilles on the ventilation ducts, galvanized sheet metal plates screwed on the wall openings and the application of a hydraulic mortar coating on the masonry cracks. A detailed closure plan has been submitted to the maintenance department for integration into their preventive maintenance schedule. To learn more about these techniques, see our section dedicated to closing entry points for animals.
A complete report was submitted to the school principal and the school board, including photos of the inspection, the methods used and recommendations for the years to come. The management particularly appreciated the discretion and professionalism of our team during the intervention, which was carried out without disturbing a single day of school. Calling on our certified extermination company guarantees an intervention that complies with the standards in force in institutional environments. Also check out our achievements in capturing squirrels in institutional buildings and managing raccoons on the South Shore to discover other concrete examples of our know-how.