Squirrels in the Attic in Chorley, Preston and Leyland.

July 16, 2012 sarah Uncategorized

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grey squirrel population in the North West U.K. has grown over the last 20 years to the degee that they have now become a major household pest dealt with by Squirrels in Attic Pest Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are minor problems, digging bulbs and stealing food intended for birds but become major pests when they enter our homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to be called out to properties where a dray has been constructed in a loft or attic space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is rare to visit a loft space where a dray has been constructed and find that they have not chewed electrical wires, indeed it is estimated that up to 40 percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing on the wiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eradicating Squirrels in Loft requires professional help, not least in as much as the law regarding squirrels needs to be obeyed. You cannot simply buy a packet of rodent poison from your local 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 stores probably starve it to death, it is also breaking the law under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which makes it illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the vast majority of cases trapping is the option of choice and this must be done in a specific manner with routine, timed inspections of the traps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trapped squirrels are then despatched humanely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a squirrel problem in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester telephone us on 0800 019 8382

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

grey squirrel,