Squirrels in the Attic in Whitefield, Prestwich and Swinton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The squirrel population in the North West U.K. has boomed over the last 20 years to the degee that they have now become a major pest 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 Britain, having been introduced here less than 200 years ago from America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other hoards are more permanent and are not collected until weeks later. It has been seen that each squirrel makes several thousand of these caches each season. Squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the positions of these hoards, and use distant and nearby landmarks to locate them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a short distance of the hoard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to be called out to homes where a nest has been placed in a loft or attic space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is rare to visit a roof void where a dray has been made and find that they have not chewed electric cables, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obvious cause may be started by rodents chewing on the wiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if that is not enough, many household insurance policies exclude damage done by vermin so if a squirrel floods your house by gnawing through a water pipe in the roof void you may find yourself without insurance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eradicating Squirrels in Loft needs professional help, not least in as much as the law regarding squirrels is complicated and ever changing. You cannot simply buy a packet of rodent poison from your local hardware and deal with them that way as you would be committing a criminal offence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore you cannot trap them and relocate them some distance away, not only would removing a squirrel from the area of its food caches probably condemn it to death by starvation, it is also commintting an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which makes it illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trapped squirrels are then humanely dispatched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a squirrel infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester phone us on 01257 230637

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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