Squirrels in the Attic in Trafford, Manchester and Cheshire.
The squirrel population in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire has rocketed 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 gardens and parks (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to the U.K., having been imported here less than 200 years ago from America
Like the other members of the family Sciuridae, the Grey Squirrel is a hoarder; it hoards food in numerous small caches for subsequent recovery. Some caches are temporary, especially those made near the source of a sudden surfeit of food.
Others are more permanent and are not eaten until many months later. It has been observed that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each year. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use distant and nearby landmarks to find them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within close range of the hoard.
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, each of two to four young..
They are often minor pests in the garden, uprooting bulbs and taking 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 continually growing teeth; the word rodent comes from the Latin word rodere which means to gnaw or eat away and this they do extremely well.
It is rare to enter a roof space where a dray has been built 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 chewing on the wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the modern trend towards plastic push-fit piping.
As if that is not enough, most household insurance policies do not cover damage by vermin so if a squirrel floods your house by chewing through a water pipe in the roof void you may find yourself without insurance.
Eradicating Squirrels in Loft requires professional help, often because the law regarding squirrels needs to be obeyed. You cannot simply buy a packet of rat poison from your local store and deal with them that way as you would be breaking the law.
Furthermore you cannot trap them and relocate them some distance from your home, not only would removing a squirrel from the area of its food hoards probably condemn it to death by starvation, it is also a criminal offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which makes it illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.
That pertains also to rescuing and/or releasing injured squirrels.
In the 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 infestation in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester contact us on 0161 930 8814
