Get Rid of Squirrel Problems | Squirrel Removal Specialists
Prices from £165/£200 +VAT
To get rid of squirrels from your home or business premises call 0800 026 0308
Although squirrels may look cute and seem harmless, they can cause considerable damage to your home. In fact they are much more destructive than rats or mice.
Treatment of a squirrel infestation is much more difficult and time consuming than of other rodent pests. Grey squirrels are considered an alien species and classed as vermin which means we can eliminate them.
What problems do squirrels cause?
In the garden, squirrels eat bulbs, plants and cause damage to trees by stripping their bark. They also eat birds’ eggs and young birds.
Squirrels find their way into buildings when the weather gets colder for shelter or to breed and they are very noisy. They usually invade loft spaces where they cause structural damage by chewing timbers, pipework and tearing up loft insulation for bedding. They pose a fire hazard by stripping insulation from electrical wiring or chewing through cabling. Squirrels can also get trapped in uncovered water storage tanks and drown which then contaminates your water supply..
Why use a professional company to remove squirrels?
There are no poisons available for amateur or professional use for grey squirrels. The only options are to shoot or trap them.
Squirrels can 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.
It’s illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild if you catch one. All dead squirrels should be deeply buried or incinerated.
How do we get rid of squirrels in a loft?
We lay traps to kill squirrels. Legally, these types of traps have to be checked daily so can only be used if you are able to do so. If you see or hear an animal caught in one the the traps that is in destress you must phone our office. There is no need to call the office if the animal is dead.
It can take several visits to eradicate the current infestation. It is important that the property is proofed by blocking any holes and points of access as soon as the treatment has been completed to prevent other squirrels from moving into the vacant territory. This can’t be done until the current infestation is eliminated as squirrels can cause further damage to the roof as they try to get in.
What preparation do you need to make 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 and ask your neighbours if they have any.
- If you are feeding wild birds in the garden then stop.
- If you have a compost heap then stop putting food on it.
Biocide treatment
Once the current squirrel infestation has been eradicated from your home or business premises and the access points have been removed, we can treat the areas which have been contaminated by squirrels using a biocidal spray.
Price for a biocidal spray treatment from £90/£100 +VAT
What do you need to do after treatment to protect a property from squirrels long term?
To effectively protect a property from squirrel infestations long term, proofing needs to be carried out by a professional pest control technician who understands the behaviour of squirrels. It’s time-consuming and may seem costly, but it prevents repeated visits to get rid of squirrels from your property. To find out more see our page on proofing.
- Remove bird feeders as bird food is a great source of high protein food for squirrels and encourages them into gardens.
- Keep gardens clean and tidy – this removes potential nesting sites.
- Keep pet food stored in air-tight containers.
Why is it necessary to remove loft insulation after a squirrel infestation?
Squirrels cause major damage to loft insulation by tearing it up for bedding and pilling it into large balls for their nests.
We offer a loft insulation replacement service. After getting rid of the squirrels we can remove and dispose of the loft insulation safely. We will then vacuum the loft space and apply a biocide spray before installing fresh, new insulation. To find out more see our page on loft insulation removal & installation.
The cost depends on the size of the loft space. Call 0800 026 0308 for a quote.
What are the signs of a squirrel infestation in a loft?
- 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 squirrels in a garden?
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.
PEST UK’s Guarantee
We only guarantee treatments to eliminate the current population of squirrels inside a property, not any squirrels that access the property after the treatment. The access points must be sealed as soon as the current infestation is eliminated.
How much does it cost to get rid of squirrels?
Prices from £165/£200 +VAT
Our price includes unlimited visits to deal with the current infestation inside a property.
For external trapping we charge per visit.
What products do we use?
We trap squirrels rather than poisoning them. The only chemical treatment we offer is a biocidal spray to treat contaminated areas.
The product below has a data sheet on our Data Sheets page
Biocidal Spray
PX Parvo
All insecticides are biodegradable, almost odourless, non-tainting and do not corrode or stain, as well as being completely harmless to mammals.
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 a 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.
Pest UK are a member of the BPCA (British Pest Control Association)
