The squirrel population in the North West U.K. has boomed over the last twenty years to the extent that they are now a major pest species dealt with by Squirrels in Attic Pest Control
The grey squirrels which we see in our gardens and parks (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to the U.K., having been brought here less than two-hundred years Canada and America.
Like the other members of the Sciuridae family, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it hoards food in numerous small caches for subsequent recovery. Some caches are temporary, particularly those made near the site of a sudden surplus of food.
Other caches are more permanent and are not used until many weeks later. It has been seen that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each year. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the positions of these caches, and use far and near landmarks to retrieve them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within close range of the target.
The nest of the grey 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 minor problems, digging bulbs and taking food intended for birds but can become major pests when they enter our properties.
It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to be called out to homes where a nest has been constructed in a loft or attic space.
Squirrels are true rodents and as such have continually growing teeth; the actual word rodent coming from the Latin word rodere which means to gnaw and this they do extremely well.
It is rare to visit a roof space where a dray has been built and find that they have not damaged electrical wiring, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obvious cause may be started by rodents damaging wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the modern trend towards plastic push-fit piping.
As if that was not enough, most household insurance policies exclude damage by rodents so if a squirrel floods your property by eating through a pipe in the attic you may find yourself without insurance cover.
Removing Squirrels in Loft requires a professional, often because the law regarding squirrels is complicated and ever changing. You cannot simply get a packet of rodent poison from your local hardware and deal with them that way as you would be committing an offence.
Furthermore you cannot catch them and release them some distance from your home, quite apart from the fact that removing a squirrel from the area of its food stores probably starve it to death, it is also breaking the law under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which makes it illegal to release a grey squirrel in in the British Isles.
That applies also to rescuing and/or rehabilitating and releasing injured squirrels.
In most cases trapping is the most realistic option and this must be done in a specific manner with routine, timed inspections of the traps.
Trapped squirrels are then humanely dispatched.
If you have a squirrel infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester contact us on 01925 670375