The grey squirrel population in North West England has boomed over the last twenty years to the degee that they are now a major pest species dealt with by Squirrels in Attic Pest Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grey squirrels which we see in our parks and gardens (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to the U.K., having been imported here less than 200 years ago from America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like many members of the family Sciuridae, the Grey Squirrel is a hoarder; it hides food in many small caches for later recovery. Some hoards are temporary, particularly those made near the source of a sudden surfeit of food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other hoards are more permanent and are not retrieved until months later. It has been seen that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use far and near landmarks to relocate them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a short distance of the hoard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nest of the squirrel is called a dray (or drey) and it is usual for the female to have two litters per year, each of two to four young..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are often minor pests in the garden, digging bulbs and eating food intended for birds but can become major pests when they enter our houses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to attend houses where a dray has been placed in a loft or attic space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squirrels are rodents and as such have teeth which never stop growing; the very word rodent comes from the Latin word rodere which means to gnaw and this they do very successfully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is rare to enter an attic space where a dray has been found and find that they have not chewed cables, indeed it is estimated that up to 40 percent of fires without an obvious cause may have been started by rodents chewing on the wiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the modern movement towards plastic push-fit piping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if that was not enough, many household insurance policies do not cover damage caused by rodents so if a squirrel floods your home by going through a water pipe in the roof void you may find yourself without insurance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dealing with Squirrels in Loft needs a professional, often because the law regarding squirrels restricts your options. You cannot simply buy a packet of rodent poison from your hardware store and deal with them that way as you would be committing a criminal offence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore you cannot trap them and relocate them some distance from your home, quite apart from the fact that removing a squirrel from the area of its food stores probably condemn it to death by starvation, it is also a criminal offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 under which it is illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That applies also to rescuing and/or rehabilitating and releasing injured squirrels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In most cases trapping is the option of choice and this must be done in a specified manner with routine, timed inspections of the traps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trapped squirrels should be then despatched humanely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a squirrel infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester contact us on 01925 670375