The squirrel population in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire has boomed over the last 20 years to the extent that they have grown to be a major pest 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 two-hundred years America and Canada
Like the other members of the Sciuridae family, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it hides food in numerous small caches for later recovery. Some caches are temporary, especially those made near the source of a sudden glut of food.
Others are more permanent and are not used until many weeks later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand of these caches each year. The squirrels have very good spatial memory for the positions of these caches, and use far and near landmarks to locate them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimetres 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, with two to four babies each.
They are often minor problems, uprooting bulbs and taking food intended for birds but can be major pests when they come into our houses.
It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to call out to properties where a dray has been made in a loft or attic space.
Squirrels are rodents and as such have teeth which never stop growing; the word rodent coming from the Latin word rodere which means to gnaw and this they do very successfully.
It is rare to enter a roof space where a dray has been found and find that they have not chewed wires or water pipes, indeed it is estimated that up to 40 percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may have been started by rodents damaging wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the recent movement towards plastic piping.
As if that is not enough, many household insurance policies specifically exclude damage caused by vermin so if a squirrel floods your home by chewing through a water pipe in the attic you may find yourself without any cover.
Dealing with Squirrels in Loft needs a professional, not least in as much as the law regarding squirrels is ever changing. You cannot simply obtain 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 catch them and move them some distance from your home, not only would removing a squirrel from the area of its food hoards probably cause it do die of starvation, 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 applies also to rescuing and/or releasing injured squirrels.
In the vast majority of 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 should be then despatched humanely.
If you have a problem with squirrels in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester phone us on 0800 019 8382