Contract Lifecycle Management

The squirrel population in the North West U.K. has rocketed over the last 20 years to the degee that they have now become 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 here less than two-hundred years ago.

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

Other caches are more permanent and are not retrieved until weeks later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each year. Squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations 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 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 can be minor pests in the garden, uprooting bulbs and eating food intended for birds but can be major pests when they enter our homes.

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

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

It is rare to visit an attic space 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 obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing 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, many household insurance policies specifically exclude damage done by rodents so if a squirrel floods your house by eating through a pipe in the loft you may find yourself without any cover.

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

Furthermore you cannot catch them and move them some distance from your home, not only would removing a squirrel from the area of its food hoards probably starve it to death, it is also commintting an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 under which it is illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.

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

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

Trapped squirrels are then despatched humanely.

If you have a problem with squirrels in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester telephone us on 01257 230637