Squirrels in the Attic in Stockport, Cheadle and Gatley.
The grey squirrel population in the North West U.K. has rocketed over the last twenty years to the extent 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 and parks (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to Britain, having been brought here here less than 200 years Canada and America.
Like many members of the family Sciuridae, 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 site of a sudden surplus of food.
Other hoards are more permanent and are not used until many months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each season. Squirrels have very good spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use distant and nearby landmarks to locate them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimetres of the cache.
The nest of the grey 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, rooting bulbs and stealing food intended for birds but can be major pests when they enter our homes.
It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to attend properties where a dray has been built in a loft or attic space.
Squirrels are true rodents and as such have teeth which never stop growing; the actual word rodent comes from the Latin word rodere meaning to gnaw and this they do very successfully.
It is rare to enter a loft space where a dray has been made and find that they have not chewed cables or water pipes, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obvious cause may have been started by rodents chewing on the wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the modern trend towards plastic piping.
As if that was not enough, most household insurance policies exclude damage by rodents so if a squirrel floods your home by gnawing through a water pipe in the loft you may find yourself without insurance cover.
Removing Squirrels in Loft needs a professional, often because the law regarding squirrels needs to be obeyed. You cannot simply obtain a packet of poison from your local hardware and deal with them that way as you would be committing an offence.
Furthermore you cannot catch them and relocate them some distance away, quite apart from the fact that removing a squirrel from the area of its food caches 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 rehabilitating and releasing injured squirrels.
In most cases trapping is the most realistic option and this must be done in a specific manner with routine, regular inspections of the traps.
Trapped squirrels are then humanely dispatched.
If you have a squirrel infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester telephone us on 01925 670375
