| 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 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.
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