Grey squirrels in the UK are well adapted to living alongside humans, and if you have squirrels in your loft or attic it is advisable to have them removed. Squirrels will chew through wiring, wood, plastic and sometimes even metal. They also use insulation for bedding. In a line, once squirrels are living in your roof the damage they cause can be a major problem.
Noise in your roof is a sign of squirrel activity, and it is common to hear squirrels in your attic during dawn and dusk when they are most active. They are less active during the night so if you hear noises in your attic at nighttime it is more likely to be rats or mice. Often you may see squirrels going in and out of your roof space during the day, especially if there are trees nearby.
If you do find yourself with squirrels in the loft, then it is advisable not to approach them yourself and find a local pest controller that offers a squirrel pest control service. It is also important that you don’t attempt to seal any entrance holes the squirrels are using until they have been completely removed – a squirrel stuck in an attic will do a lot of damage trying to escape.
As an invasive species in the UK, by law squirrels must be caught and humanely dispatched. This means that any squirrel pest control program will involve trapping. Squirrel pest control often requires the residents of the affected house to check the traps regularly to ensure trapped squirrels can be dealt with quickly. Your squirrel pest control company or technician should be available to return as needed to dispatch any trapped squirrels.
Cameras are available to monitor squirrel traps 24/7 so if regularly checking your loft for squirrel activity is difficult for you, this is something to ask any squirrel pest control service you are thinking about hiring.
Once all the squirrels have been removed, it is well worth taking preventative measures to stop squirrels coming back. Talk to your squirrel pest controller to see if they offer a squirrel proofing service. This means that any entrance holes the squirrels have made in your roof can be ‘proofed’ or sealed using squirrel proof products, so that squirrels won’t be able to use the same access holes in the future. Prevention is definitely the best approach when it comes to getting rid of squirrels.
