It varies, depending on the amount of squirrel activity in your yard. Early winter and late spring are the best times to catch squirrels. This is also the time of year when you’re less likely to catch a squirrel mother, separating her from her dependent young. Dickens says that different types of squirrels may take different amounts of time to catch. “In most cases, gray squirrels can be captured in 1 to 2 days,” he says. “Red squirrels and flying squirrels may take longer, because there might be more than one or two individuals.” He goes on to say that it may take a week or two to fully remove these types of squirrels from a home or building.