AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 5's 'FILTHY BRITAIN S.O.S' 

LOOKING TO GET RID OF SQUIRRELS?  -  CALL US

SO, YOU HAVE A SQUIRREL INFESTATION IN YOUR LOFT, WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL OPTIONS? WHAT CAN YOU DO? 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.

We are afraid to inform you that 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.

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Here are just 4 of many, many reasons:

1. Grey Squirrels are foreign invaders and are not part of the British ecology.

2. 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!

3. Grey Squirrels kill millions of song birds every year by stealing eggs and eating young birds!

4. 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:

1. 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.

2. It is an offence to release a pest species (Grey Squirrels are a pest species) onto someone else's land. This land includes public land.

3. 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 a pest species.)

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:

1. They will urinate and defecate all over your loft, this will include in water tanks!

2. 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!

3. 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.

4. They will happily chew through plastic pipework leading to floods and other problems.

5. Alarm wiring is a favourite of theirs to chew through, setting off house burglar alarms in the middle of the night!

6. 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 video on this page)

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 satisfied. 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.

And, lastly, let me say, if there was a way to get rid of your squirrels in the loft that didn’t involve killing them, we would do it, but there isn't, so we have to do what we have to do sometimes, like it or not. Killing is something we will always avoid if we can, but with squirrels it’s the only option other than letting them destroy your house.