AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 5's 'FILTHY BRITAIN S.O.S'
Squirrel Infestation Control
LOOKING TO GET RID OF SQUIRRELS? - CALL US
YOU HAVE A SQUIRREL INFESTATION IN YOUR LOFT, WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL OPTIONS? WHAT CAN WE DO?
We feel your pain, and we also understand you may be torn on what to do about your squirrel infestation.
There are only two options when it comes to removing a squirrel infestation from your loft/attic.
The two options are simply these. You can leave the squirrels to it, let them live in your loft, or, the squirrels need to be euthanized in a quick and humane way.
These are the only legal options there are.
The Pest Interceptors don't make the laws, but we do have to abide by them, and so do you.
Although this law on euthanizing squirrels seems quite harsh for such a cute looking animal, the laws are in place for many reasons.
Here are just 4 of many, many reasons:
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Grey Squirrels are foreign invaders and are not part of the British ecology.
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Their presence in the U.K. has decimated the native Red Squirrel population, so much so that the Red Squirrel is now an endangered species!
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Grey Squirrels kill millions of song birds every year by stealing eggs and eating young birds!
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Grey Squirrels kill young trees by stripping the bark from them.
I hear you say, "Why can't we just catch the squirrels and release them somewhere else?"
This is why:
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The Animal Welfare Act 2006 states that live capture traps must be checked every 6 hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, on a practical, and, financial front this is not really an option unless in extreme circumstances.
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It is an offence to release a grey squirrels onto someone else's land. This land includes public land.
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If you released them onto your land they will just go straight back into your loft. (And this would still be breaking the law by releasing an invasive species.)
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On the UK government website it states in big bold letters - It's an offence to keep or release some wild animals, for example grey squirrels - you must kill them humanely if you catch them alive. Click this link for the government website.
FIND MORE INFORMATION ON LEGISLATION ON THIS BLOG
Take a look here at the damage squirrels do and how we stop them -
LOOKING TO GET RID OF SQUIRRELS? - CALL US
WHAT IF WE DECIDE TO JUST LEAVE THE SQUIRRELS TO THEIR OWN DEVICES, WHAT HARM CAN THEY DO?
The damage a scurry of squirrels (yes, that’s what they are called) can do in your loft space is truly amazing! Here are a few of the problems they will cause:
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They will urinate and defecate all over your loft, this will include in water tanks!
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They will chew through wooden joists causing structural damage! We have seen 12 inch joists chewed through as if a Beaver had been in the loft!
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Where they enter the loft space they will always keep making the hole bigger and bigger, letting rain and wind into your home that will lead to other problems like damp and fungal problems.
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They will happily chew through plastic pipework leading to floods and other problems.
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Alarm wiring is a favourite of theirs to chew through, setting off house burglar alarms in the middle of the night!
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By far the most terrifying thing that squirrels do is that they love to chew on electrical cables!!! The chance of a house fire or you getting electrocuted by accidentally touching a bare wire is a very real issue! (See below video)
If you have had an infestation of squirrels you may want/need your loft sanitised like this -
HOW WILL THE PEST INTECEPTORS GET RID OF MY SQUIRREL INFESTATION?
We use specialist traps that euthanize the squirrel on the spot. No suffering. No distress. Just an efficient trap that is designed to do what is required.
The traps used are always traps that are designed for the job and that the government and animal welfare societies say must be used.
We are expert squirrel trappers and know exactly where to set the traps. The traps are also put into special tunnels to stop any 'non target' animals from going into the traps.
There must always be a minimum of 3 visits over a set period of time (this is for legal reasons as well as animal welfare reasons). More than 3 visits can be required on rare occasions, but please bear in mind that the longer that the squirrel infestation is left with no action taken, the more squirrels there will be for us to trap. You must also bear in mind that we are dealing with nature and that nature doesn't always play by the rule book, and some squirrels can be hard to catch, even though we are experts at squirrel trapping. We must keep trapping until two things are achieved. Firstly there are no more squirrels in the traps, secondly you haven't heard or seen any squirrels.
When these two things are satisfied, we can safely say that you are now squirrel free. At this point we will offer advice on how to proof your loft/attic against other squirrel families moving in.
The sooner we start the process of getting rid of the squirrels, the faster the problem will be solved and the faster you can sleep soundly at night knowing you are squirrel free.
WHAT IF SQUIRRELS ARE DESTROYING MY GARDEN?
As you well know, squirrels love to dig up your favourite plants and bulbs, and as previously mentioned they like to kill trees by stripping the bark from the tree, killing the tree.
In a first instance, we would always advise that you try proofing your pots and sensitive plants against squirrel problems using chicken wire, but if all else fails, then trapping may be the solution. Trapping squirrels in a garden can be difficult as there are many natural food sources for them, as well as that well stocked bird feeding station! The other problem with trapping outside squirrels is the problem of non-target animals being trapped.
We use a state of the art trapping system that keeps the risk to non-target animals, like birds, to a minimum. There is still a small risk to non-target animals, but these traps are designed to keep in to an absolute minimum.
Here is a video to explain the process