05/22/2026
We’ve seen some unusual situations with wild animals over the years so have learned to never say never. However, when a caller reported that a marmot was living in her attic, we were a little skeptical. But here’s the evidence- this marmot had the audacity to not only chew a hole in the roof and stick her head out like she pays the mortgage, but also chew through wildlife screen placed over the hole, then chewed a second hole in the roof when the first was covered with metal!
While this is extreme, it isn’t out of the ordinary for small mammals this time of year to find their way under your deck, into crawlspaces, or garages and sheds to make nests and have babies. If you find yourself with a wildlife roommate, check out WDFW’s web page on Evicting animals from buildings at https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/nuisance-wildlife/evicting. Or you can hire a wildlife control operator (WCO) to do the work for you. We have a list of WCOs at https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/nuisance-wildlife/wildlife-control-operators.
It was a WCO that finally evicted the stubborn marmot roommate. It managed to avoid three traps in the attic but eventually wandered out and into a trap with a one-way door that had been secured to the roof. End of story? No. Apparently this marmot didn’t know the meaning of “one way” because it somehow got out of the trap. The homeowner and WCO were equally stubborn though and the marmot was finally confined to a trap it couldn’t get out of. The attic was checked to make sure the marmot hadn’t left any babies behind and nothing was found.
Photo: A marmot sticks its' head out the hole in the roof of a Spokane-area home. Photo courtesy Trevor Smith.
