Squirrels in the Attic in Stockport, Cheadle and Gatley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The squirrel population in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire has grown over the last twenty years to the degee that they have grown to be a major pest species dealt with by Squirrels in Attic Pest Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grey squirrels which we see in our own gardens (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to the British isles, having been imported here less than two-hundred years America and Canada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others are more permanent and are not collected until months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each year. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the positions of these hoards, and use far and near landmarks to find them. Smell is used when the squirrel is within close range of the hoard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They can be minor problems, uprooting bulbs and stealing food intended for birds but can become major pests when they come into 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 teeth which never stop growing; the very word rodent derives from the Latin word rodere which means to gnaw and this they do very successfully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is rare to enter a roof void where a dray has been constructed and find that they have not chewed cables, indeed it is estimated that up to 40 percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing wiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Removing Squirrels in Loft requires a professional, often because the law regarding squirrels needs to be obeyed. You cannot simply get a packet of rodent poison from your hardware store and deal with them that way as you would be breaking the law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That pertains 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 specified manner with routine, regular inspections of the traps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trapped squirrels are then humanely dispatched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a squirrel problem in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester telephone us on 01925 670375