Squirrels in the Attic in Bramhall, Handforth and Stockport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The squirrel population in North West England has grown over the last twenty years to the degee that they have grown to be a major household pest dealt with by Squirrels in Attic Pest Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grey squirrels which we see in our own gardens (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to Britain, having been introduced here less than two-hundred years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other stores are more permanent and are not eaten until months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each year. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the positions of these hoards, and use distant and nearby landmarks to find them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimetres of the cache.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nest of the 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 are often minor problems, digging bulbs and eating food intended for birds but become major pests when they enter our properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to call out to houses 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 meaning to gnaw or eat away 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 damaged electrical wires, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obvious cause may have been started by rodents damaging wiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if that is not enough, many household insurance policies do not cover damage done by vermin so if a squirrel floods your property by chewing through a water pipe in the loft you may find yourself without any cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore you cannot trap them and move them some distance away, 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 which makes it 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, timed inspections of the traps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trapped squirrels are then despatched humanely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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