Squirrels
The facts
Grey squirrels are an alien species and were introduced to the UK from the USA in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. Their success has been to the detriment of our native red squirrels. Head and body length: 23-30 cm, Tail length: 19-25cm, Weight (adult): 400-600g. Grey squirrels are distinguished from red squirrels by their grey fur, smaller ear tufts and their larger, more robust build. Grey squirrels sit with their large bushy tail arched over the back. They are diurnal, active from before sunrise to after sunset. The peak of activity is in the autumn. Their range covers 2-10 hectares. Females produce a litter of usually three young in the spring or late summer (or occasionally both), after a gestation period of 42-45 days.
Where do Squirrels live?
Common in deciduous and mixed woodland, they are also found in hedgerows, trees, parks and gardens. Grey squirrels feed on acorns, tree shoots, flowers, nuts, fruits, roots and cereals. They bury surplus food 2-5cm below the soil or in tree hollows. They are widespread throughout England and Wales, south of Cumbria, and are common in local pockets in Scotland. Grey squirrels live in a compact, spherical nest (drey), 30-60cm in diameter, with an outer frame of twigs, and dry leaves and grass inside.
Why keep Squirrels under control?
Grey Squirrels are classed as vermin. When squirrels enter a loft space, they can cause structural damage by tearing up loft insulation for bedding, chewing timbers, pipe work and stored items, and posing a fire hazard by stripping insulation from electrical wiring. Insulation may be pilled into large balls for the nest or drey. They may also be very noisy, and if they drown in uncovered water storage tanks, may contaminate the water supply. For these reasons, it is important to keep squirrels out of lofts. Squirrels in gardens are also destructive pests, eating plants, bulbs, stripping bark and will eat bird’s eggs and chicks. The damage that grey squirrels can do to managed woodland is considerable due to their habit of excessive bark stripping. Beech, Oak and Sycamore woods of between 10 and 40 years growth are particularly at risk and sometimes whole plantations can be destroyed unless the squirrel numbers are carefully controlled. Squirrel control is best carried out during early spring (March/April) just before the period of maximum tree damage (May/June/July). Cage and spring traps are particularly effective for squirrel control. Large numbers can be removed from woodland situations by the careful setting of tunnel traps and cages. In situations where there are both grey and red squirrels present, only cage traps should be used - this allows any red squirrels to be released unharmed.
Prevention & Control
Making trees, attics and buildings squirrel-proof is a permanent solution to the problem. Squirrels usually gain entrance to attics and other structures from the roof, especially if tree limbs overlap the roof line. This can be solved by trimming tree limbs back at least 8 to 10 feet from the roof. Live traps can be used to reduce local squirrel populations or to remove individual squirrels from an attic. The treatment of a Squirrel infestation is much more difficult & time consuming than the other rodent pests. Control of Squirrels in outside areas can be carried out in some circumstances but needs to be carefully considered. Feeding squirrels in gardens will increase the density of the population possibly harming other wildlife. The Grey Squirrel infestation will be baited with bait (whole wheat) that has been soaked in an anticoagulant poison called WARFARIN @0.02%, M.A.F.F. no: 01009. This is the only poison bait allowed by law to be used on Grey Squirrels. The poison requires that the Squirrel(s) feed several times before dying. This ensures that they do not become suspicious and associate the bait with illness or death. If they have access to other types of food such as bird food they ignore the bait. Due to this difficulty traps will often be used along side the poisoned bait.
Treatment
Contact Paramite Pest Solutions if you suspect you may have a problem and we can advise you on the best course of action. A visit by our pest control officer can be arranged. He will carry out a survey and suggest which of the above methods will be used to eradicate the problem. You will be advised on the type and action to take in a case of an accident. Paramite Pest Solutions will take all possible precautions in the placing of traps and poisions. Revisits will be made until the problem is cleared. If the trapping method is used legally these types of traps have to be checked daily so can only be used if you are able to check the trap. If you see or hear an animal caught in one of the traps that is in distress you must phone our office. There are no guarantees for treatments ‘outside’ as squirrels killed are often quickly replaced but inside treatments are guaranteed to eliminate the current population but not any squirrels that arrive afterwards.