Despite being popular amongst many visitors in London’s Great Parks the Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are far more harmful in natural or human environment than many of us may think.
First of all they are non-native, have been imported to UK from North America by wealthy landowners in the 18th century as fashionable addition to their estates. Not soon enough it became apparent that the native Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are being decimated by the disease called Squirrel Pox carried by the and outnumbered by the fact that Grey Squirrels are larger, stronger, reproduce faster, and more aggressive than Red relatives. By nowadays only Scotland’s forests have the privilege of having established Red Squirrel population.
But not only the natural environment suffers from this agile, adaptive and persistent little mammal, in urban environment they not only cause nuisance and damage in gardens by digging vegetables, lawn and damage trees but they become dangerous if they find their way into lofts. Especially from autumn to early spring there is a considerable chance that one or two of them
find your loft dry, warm and cosy, perfect for braving the winter and raise little squirrels who next year will come back to do the same thing. If that alone does not sound like a nightmare the sound of constant squirrel activity at night right above your head will be. And if that still not enough to make you act the fact that they gnaw timber structure of the roof and often wires will because that means risk of damaging your property and even fire!.
Signs of infestation:
Loud noise and scratching in the ceiling and attic space
Dropping in attic which can easily be mistaken with rat droppings
Preparation and treatment:
If you suspect a squirrel infestation in your attic, please do not attempt to remove it yourself! If they are raising their young, they become aggressive to protect them and even if they are alone they can cause serious injuries if they feel threatened. If you have any noise coming from your attic, loft or roof space it still can be other species like mice or rats and only professionals can determine after thorough examination of all the evidence.
Pest Assassin is able to:
- determine if you have squirrels in your loft;
- find their potential entry points which can be any defect in your roof structure; - remove the squirrels by trapping them with live traps and
- repair all potential entry points can pose risk for re-infestation
Areas We Cover
North London
N2 East Finchley N3 Finchley Central , N5 Highbury N6 Highgate, N10 Muswell Hill N11 Friern Barnet, New Southgate N12 North Finchley, Woodside Park, N20 Whetstone, Totteridge EN5 New Barnet, HA7 Edgware
North West London
NW1 Regent’s Park, Camden Town NW2 Cricklewood, Neasden NW3 Hampstead, Swiss Cottage NW4 Hendon, Brent Cross NW5 Kentish Town NW6 West Hampstead, Kilburn NW7 Mill Hill NW8 St John’s Wood NW9 Kingsbury, Colindale NW10 Willesden, Harlesden, Kensal Green NW11 Golders Green
West London
W3 Acton, W5 Ealing W6 Hammersmith, W9 Maida Vale, W11 Notting Hill, W12 Shepherds Bush
What are they?
Despite being popular amongst many visitors in London’s Great Parks the Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are far more harmful in natural or human environment than many of us may think.
First of all they are non-native, have been imported to UK from North America by wealthy landowners in the 18th century as fashionable addition to their estates. Not soon enough it became apparent that the native Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are being decimated by the disease called Squirrel Pox carried by the and outnumbered by the fact that Grey Squirrels are larger, stronger, reproduce faster, and more aggressive than Red relatives. By nowadays only Scotland’s forests have the privilege of having established Red Squirrel population.
But not only the natural environment suffers from this agile, adaptive and persistent little mammal, in urban environment they not only cause nuisance and damage in gardens by digging vegetables, lawn and damage trees but they become dangerous if they find their way into lofts. Especially from autumn to early spring there is a considerable chance that one or two of them find your loft dry, warm and cosy, perfect for braving the winter and raise little squirrels who next year will come back to do the same thing. If that alone does not sound like a nightmare the sound of constant squirrel activity at night right above your head will be. And if that still not enough to make you act the fact that they gnaw timber structure of the roof and often wires will because that means risk of damaging your property and even fire!.
Signs of infestation:
Preparation and treatment:
If you suspect a squirrel infestation in your attic, please do not attempt to remove it yourself! If they are raising their young, they become aggressive to protect them and even if they are alone they can cause serious injuries if they feel threatened. If you have any noise coming from your attic, loft or roof space it still can be other species like mice or rats and only professionals can determine after thorough examination of all the evidence.
Pest Assassin is able to:
- determine if you have squirrels in your loft;
- find their potential entry points which can be any defect in your roof structure; - remove the squirrels by trapping them with live traps and
- repair all potential entry points can pose risk for re-infestation
Areas We Cover
North London
N2 East Finchley N3 Finchley Central , N5 Highbury N6 Highgate, N10 Muswell Hill N11 Friern Barnet, New Southgate N12 North Finchley, Woodside Park, N20 Whetstone, Totteridge EN5 New Barnet, HA7 Edgware
North West London
NW1 Regent’s Park, Camden Town NW2 Cricklewood, Neasden NW3 Hampstead, Swiss Cottage NW4 Hendon, Brent Cross NW5 Kentish Town NW6 West Hampstead, Kilburn NW7 Mill Hill NW8 St John’s Wood NW9 Kingsbury, Colindale NW10 Willesden, Harlesden, Kensal Green NW11 Golders Green
West London
W3 Acton, W5 Ealing W6 Hammersmith, W9 Maida Vale, W11 Notting Hill, W12 Shepherds Bush