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The squirrel population in North West England has rocketed over the last 20 years to the extent that they have now become a major 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 the U.K., having been brought here here less than two-hundred years America and Canada
Like other members of the Sciuridae family, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it staches food away in lots of small caches for later recovery. Some caches are temporary, especially those made near the source of a sudden glut of food.
Other caches are more permanent and are not collected until weeks later. It has been seen that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each year. Squirrels have very good spatial memory for the locations of these hoards, and use distant and nearby landmarks to retrieve 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 normal for the female to have two litters per year, with two to four babies each.
They are minor problems, digging bulbs and eating food intended for birds but can be major pests when they enter our homes.
It is increasingly common for Trafford Pest Control to be called out to houses 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 very word rodent comes from the Latin word rodere meaning to gnaw and this they do very well indeed.
It is rare to enter an attic space where a dray has been made and find that they have not damaged electric cables, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the recent movement towards plastic piping.
As if that is not enough, many household insurance policies exclude damage by rodents so if a squirrel floods your property by gnawing through a water pipe in the loft you may find yourself without insurance.
Removing Squirrels in Loft requires professional help, often because the law regarding squirrels is complicated and ever changing. You cannot simply buy 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 from your home, quite apart from the fact that removing a squirrel from the area of its food hoards probably starve it to death, it is also a criminal 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 most cases trapping is the option of choice and this must be done in a specified manner with routine, regular inspections of the traps.
Trapped squirrels are then humanely dispatched.
If you have a problem with squirrels in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester call us on 0161 930 8814
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