I had a battle with squirrels that would rival Murray's Carl Spackler vs. the gophers in Caddyshack. Had a piece of soffit missing after Katrina, and that open invitation allowed them to set up shop, with the fruitful bounty of their new love nest producing a budding new family in my attic. Baited traps yielded no results on these crafty mystical creatures, so I resorted to hunting them one by one. They are smart little frickers. I'm in a subdivision, so I could only resort to a pellet gun and had to be careful with my shots. When I replaced the missing soffit temporarily (all part of the strategy), the squirrel that was roaming free started chewing up my soffit to try to help the trapped ones escape. Phase 2 of the plan involved opening a very small gap in the soffit so they'd only have one small calculated escape route, which gave me a singular primary target area. This was right outside my front door, so I could sit poised on the floor with the door cracked, having a clean shot at the open soffit area, or I could set up a blind on the front porch for sightline access. The free roamer knew what was up, and he'd come from behind on the roof and just hang his head over the edge and peek at me. Being retired and bored, at times I played this game of cat and tree-mouse for hours. Eventually I wore them down. Once the babies became active, they were like sitting ducks - which surprised me since the adults were so cunning. If one was out front, I would just come out the side door and creep around the corner, and when I popped out with my scoped Daisy they would just freeze and give me a wide-eyed, surprised stare like a deer in the headlights. My Daisy was too weak even for the babies, so on one occasion my first shot only resulted in partial paralysis - the wounded baby squirrel started dragging himself towards me with his little front paws with a plea of mercy in his paraplegic eyes. Not risking a ricochet off the concrete, I callously kicked him back into the grass for the torturous finishing shots. My kid still recounts that tragic, merciless story with tears in his eyes. With their babies eradicated and the unknowing parents foraging for food, I was finally able to close up the soffit for good. Bushy-tailed tenants evicted.
They still roam the grounds and taunt my Yorkie, who has made it his life mission to catch a squirrel - though, at present, to no avail.