Get Rid of Grey Squirrels - PEST UK

Providing pest control services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Midlands, West Sussex, Wiltshire. Est. 1985.

Getting Rid of Grey Squirrels

Prices from £165 +VAT

To get rid of grey squirrels from your home or business premises call 0800 026 0308

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Guarantee

We only guarantee to eliminate the current infestation of squirrels inside your property, not those that access your property after the treatment.
  • The access points to your property must be sealed as soon as the current infestation is eliminated.

Grey squirrels can cause considerable damage to a property. They are considered an alien species and classed as vermin which means we can eliminate them.

Poisons are not available for amateur or professional use for grey squirrels. The only options are to shoot or trap them. It’s illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild if you catch one. All dead squirrels should be deeply buried or incinerated.

Grey squirrels become aggressive if they feel threatened, so if you catch a squirrel, or think you have a squirrel infestation, contact a professional pest control company rather than trying to deal with the problem yourself.

Preparation you must undertake prior to treatment

  • Leave any droppings or damage for the technician to look at.
  • Don’t attempt to block any entry holes.
  • Keep a record of where you see squirrels
  • Check if your neighbours have seen squirrels.
  • Don’t feed wild birds.
  • Don’t put food on your compost heap.

Aftercare

To prevent future squirrel infestations, you must identify and deal with the reasons you had an infestation in the first place. The following measures should be implemented.

  • Don’t feed wild birds.
  • Store animal food in squirrel proof containers.
  • Don’t put food on your compost heap.
  • Locate and fill all access points into buildings, e.g. gaps around pipes, air bricks etc.
  • Remove vegetation growing on or near to the house.

How our treatment works

Our technician will use Fenn traps however these can only be used if you are able to check them daily which is a legal requirement. It may take several visits to eradicate the current infestation.

Please note

If you see or hear an animal caught in one of the traps that’s in distress you must phone our office. There’s no need to call the office if the animal is dead. All dead squirrels must be deeply buried or incinerated.

It’s illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild.

Products we use

We use Fenn traps

Biocidal spray

What are the signs of a squirrel infestation in a loft?

When the weather gets colder, squirrels find their way into buildings for shelter and to breed. They usually invade loft spaces, often through a hole the size of a tennis ball they have made in the fascia boards. They are extremely noisy, continuously running around the loft looking for nesting materials. Grey squirrels are very strong with sharp teeth and claws. They cause structural damage to joists, roof tiles, insulation materials by chewing timbers, pipework, tearing up loft insulation and stripping insulation from electrical wiring or chewing through cabling which creates a fire hazard. Squirrels can also get trapped in uncovered water storage tanks and drown which then contaminates the water supply.

Signs of a squirrel infestation

  • Droppings.
  • The smell of urine or areas which are stained and could be attributed to urine.
  • Evidence of gnawing or nesting.
  • Scratching noises – squirrels will mostly nest in a loft space and use wall cavities for movement in and around the house.
  • Increased number of squirrels in your garden.

How do we get rid of grey squirrels in a garden?

Squirrels eat bulbs, plants and cause damage to trees by stripping their bark. They also eat birds’ eggs and young birds. It is impossible to stop squirrels from using an outside area. We can lay traps to eradicated the current incumbents but the territory will be re-occupied sooner or later.

Additional services we offer

Loft insulation removal & installation

Squirrels contaminate loft insulation with their droppings and urine.

For a low-level infestation, we recommend spraying the affected area and loft insulation with a biocidal spray.

Price for a biocidal spray treatment from £90 +VAT

Squirrels can cause major damage to loft insulation by tearing it up for bedding and pilling it into large balls for their nests which makes it necessary to replace it.

Our loft insulation replacement service includes:

  • Safe removal and disposal of the contaminated loft insulation.
  • Vacuuming of the loft space to remove any droppings and other debris.
  • Application of a biocidal spray to the whole area.
  • Installation of fresh, new loft insulation.

We can only carry out this service after the squirrel infestation has been eradicated.

For more information see www.pestuk.com/additional-products-services/loft-insulation-removal-installation-contaminated-insulation/

The cost depends on the size of the loft space. Call 0800 026 0308 for a quote.

Squirrel proofing

Squirrels are territorial so proofing can’t be done until the current infestation is eliminated as any surviving squirrels can cause further damage by trying to access the area where they’ve been living and breeding.

To effectively protect a property from further infestations, proofing must be carried out externally by blocking any holes and points of access to prevent other squirrels from moving into the vacant territory. Our technicians are trained to identify and deal with access points used by squirrels.

To do this properly is time-consuming and may seem costly, but it’s ultimately more cost-effective as it prevents repeated visits by a pest control company to get rid of squirrel from your property.

For more information see www.pestuk.com/pest/proofing-for-rats-mice-squirrels-glis-glis/

Facts about grey squirrels

Originally from North America, grey squirrels were introduced into parks in a number of locations during Victorian times. They have spread and bred rapidly, and have displaced the red squirrel through England and Wales and in central and southeast Scotland.

In the wild the grey squirrel is diurnal and most active at dawn and dusk, searching for available food. It spends more time foraging and feeding on the ground than in the trees. It is, however, very agile in the trees and can run along slender twigs, leaping from tree to tree. The long, muscular hind legs and short front legs help it to leap. The hind feet, longer than the front, are double-jointed to help the squirrel scramble head first up and down the tree trunk. Sharp claws are useful for gripping bark and the tail helps the squirrel to balance. If a squirrel should fall, it can land safely from heights of about 9m (30 ft). They grey squirrel can leap more than 6m.

Squirrels have good eyesight and often sit upright on a vantage point to look around them. They have a keen sense of smell too. They are clever and adaptable which make a squirrel infestation hard to treat.

Although grey squirrels have a wide range of calls, they communicate mainly through their tails, using them as a signalling device; they twitch their tails if they are uneasy or suspicious. Regular routes are scent-marked with urine and glandular secretions. Squirrels identify each other, and food, by smell.

Nests

The grey squirrel builds itself a nest, or drey, about the size of a football, made of twigs, often with the leaves still attached. It is built fairly high in a tree and lined with dry grass, shredded bark, moss and feathers. A summer drey is usually quite flimsy and lodged among small branches. Sometimes the squirrel may make its nest in a hollow trunk or take over a rook’s nest, constructing a roof for it. A squirrel often builds several dreys.

The grey squirrel does not hibernate and it cannot store enough energy to survive for long periods without food. A larger, thicker winter drey is built, usually on a strong branch close to the trunk, and a squirrel will lie up in this in very cold weather, coming out now and then to search out hidden stores of food. These stores of single nuts and other items are buried in the ground in autumn, well spread out. They are found by smell, rather than memory. As well as nuts they will eat young birds and eggs. Winter dreys are often shared for warmth. As it sleeps, the squirrel curls its tail around its body to act as a blanket.

Breeding

In late winter, squirrels may be seen courting with one or more chattering males chasing a female. Females only mate twice a year, but males may mate at any time. After mating, the male plays no part in the rearing of his young. Squirrels breed for the first time at one year old.

The female uses a winter drey as a maternity nest and gives birth after a six week gestation period (time between mating and birth), in March/April and perhaps again in June/July. An average litter has 3 babies but as many as 9 may be born. The mother suckles the naked, blind young every three or four hours for several weeks. They gradually grow fur, their eyes open and at about seven weeks old they follow their mother out on to the branches. Gradually they start to eat solid food and when their teeth are fully grown, at 10 weeks, they give up suckling. A month or so later they move away from the nest to build dreys of their own. If there are not too many squirrels in the area, the young stay nearby; if it is crowded they will be chased away to look for less crowded feeding areas.