The squirrel population in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire has grown over the last twenty years to the extent that they are now 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 brought here less than two-hundred years America and Canada
Like the other members of the family Sciuridae, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it staches food away in many small caches for subsequent recovery. Some caches are temporary, particularly those made near the site of a sudden surplus 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 season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use far and near landmarks to relocate them. Smell is used when the squirrel is within a few centimetres of the target.
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 pests in the garden, rooting bulbs and stealing food intended for birds but become major pests when they come into our properties.
It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to call out to homes where a nest has been constructed in a loft or attic space.
Squirrels are rodents and as such have teeth which never stop growing; the very word rodent derives from the Latin word rodere meaning to gnaw or eat away and this they do extremely well.
It is rare to enter a roof void where a dray has been found and find that they have not chewed wires or water pipes, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obvious 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 do not cover damage caused by rodents so if a squirrel floods your house by going through a water pipe in the attic you may find yourself without any insurance cover.
Eradicating Squirrels in Loft requires a professional, often because the law regarding squirrels restricts your options. 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 caches probably condemn it to death by starvation, it is also breaking the law 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 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 should be then despatched humanely.
If you have a squirrel infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester phone us on 0800 019 8382