Saw a squirrel in the loft last night.

Didn’t see any evidence of a nest, but if it is making a home [do they hibernate?] then how to I go about getting rid of it before it does?

Cheers!

Squirrels do not hibernate.

They cause no end of damage. Shoot be bugger ASAP

It wasn’t me

are you a Red Quirrel or a Grey Quirrel?

I had this problem. They’re right destructive little buggers. And generally sound like a herd of elephants.

If you phone the local council, they’ll send the pest control guys out for what was a nominal fee *

They only come for a brief stay though apparently. They seek a bit of warmth for to basically spawn ickle squirrels, stick around for a week or so, then they scarper, new offspring in tow. But they can do quite a bit of damage in that time

*NB: Call-Me-Dave has probably abolished or privatised this department now, so costs will have probably risen

Squirrels in the loft.

I thought this might be a quaint euphemism used in the polite discussion of insanity.

I had “squirrels in the loft” too – I went up to see what was thundering around and the little blighter went for me. I threw the wallpaper stripper I was holding and legged it (nice girl). The pest control chappie said that was the right thing to do as they carry some particuarly vile diseases if they do bite, plus they can do no end of structural damage (squirrels, not strippers). Anyway, it ended up with him and gun and pretty soon afterwards a rather dead squirrel.

+1 for the nuissance comments. Had them in our loft but got a man with a trap to come round and sort them. He feeds the bodies to his pet ferrets 😆

Apart from the fact that they will home back to you anyway, once trapped they can’t be released (assuming they’re grey squirrels) as apparently they’re classed as vermin and should be killed.

Apparently they taste ok for hoomans to eat also.

My dad had a lot of trouble with the pesky little vermin

he bought an air rifle

My dad no longer has a lot of trouble with the pesky little vermin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/americana

“Squirrel hunter Hovey Smith steps into his backyard in rural Georgia to share some hunting tips and a family recipe for squirrel stew.”
GreytreeratsSquirrels are vermin but can be eaten if thoroughly cooked.

If you do buy/borrow an air rifle I recommend some hollow point pellets. The problem I found was that the normal domed or pointed hunting pellets used for rabbits went straight through the squirrel!

Please also make sure you get a good head or chest shot. For your’s and the squirrels sake don’t shoot and injure it or he’ll just limp off and die some where in agony you can’t reach.

You can borrow my bedlington terrier…he’d clear the lot!

best bet is a cage trap or fenn trap in the loft, if you use a fenn trap remember to fix it down bait with peanut butter or bounty bar
both work well

are you a
Red

Quirrel or a Grey Quirrel?

I used to me mrsquirrel, but people on forums thought my name was Mrs Quirrel, and eventually Quirrel stuck.

I’m pretty common, so I suppose I’m grey

If you have more than one, a cage trap might be a better bet, where are you based teacake?

As BigEaredBiker said, you will need to be a top class shot too to put one down & if they are caught up in a small area like a loft, they will go crazy once you start shooting…

[edit] remember to find out where they are getting in and block it, otherwise another family will just move in 😉

If you do trap a grey squirrel; you will still need to kill it since it is illegal to release grey squirrels into the wild in the UK.

If you do trap a grey squirrel; you will still need to kill it since it is illegal to release grey squirrels into the wild in the UK.

They are easier to shoot once inside a cage, but only just 😉

They are vermin (would you handle a rat with your bare hands?) so wear gloves when handling the carcase.

don’t shoot and injure it or he’ll just limp off and die some where in agony you can’t reach.

And that would be a problem because….?

And that would be a problem because….?

It’s in his loft.

they taste like chicken…… with a hint of nuttiness 😀

And that would be a problem because….?

It’s in his loft. [/quote]

… and it will rot

Damn and arse.

And I thought I was being a troll! 😆

I’ll fax you a New Mexico coyote to turn loose in the attic–should sort it all out

What you really need is a python. Silent and deadly.

We had a problem with possums in our roof space in Oz, but a python moved in and the problem went away.

Only found out about the python when the plumber went into the roof space to fix our solar hot water…

He didn’t have a little bespectacled mole friend with him did he?

EDIT: The squirrel that is, not the python.

Set fire to the house. That’ll deal with the vermin.

Had one of the little beggars in the loft a few years back – a whole lot of noise above the bedroom, on Christmas eve for good measure !

Out predecessor’s builders had extended the bays at the back of the house so they met the eves – so the eves formed a nice (tree) rat-run from one side of the house (where the eves were open) into a space above a second bathroom on the other. I’d found evidence of a nest there before, but didn’t think too much of it.

All I needed to do was make sure there was bird food outside, then nip up the ladder and cover everything in with chicken wire while I thought it was out foraging.

We had a recurrence later ‘cos I’d tried to be tidy with the chickenwire – where it/another squirrel could reach an adjoining timber batten, it munched through to push the wire out of the way/squeeze through.

Just had to repeat the above and lob up *way* more chicken wire so there was nothing it could reach to chew.

The RSCPA hate people killing squirrels and have taken someone to court for drowning one – he got something like a £1500 fine. Theoretically they’ll do the same to anyone who is found to kill a squirrel inhumanely. My plan for catching and killing them involves a trap and then putting squirrel into a hessian sack and then hitting v hard with a brick whilst wearing gloves – don’t attempt anything without the gloves.

BTW, it is legal to release grey squirrels – but you need a license to do so. The RSPCA can do this so givem their willingness to punish anyone who hurts the little furry things I suggest any that are caught are given to them to look after. Or smash it’s head in and have it for your tea.

Had 3 of the buggers now all at different times, every Spring seems to be favourite. Apparently they can do a lot of damage but they weren’t given the opportunity as I’ve a hotlines to the pest control people as we’ve had wasps up there as well.

Noisy bastards tend to stomp around at about 4AM.

I’ve since strengthened the roof with chicken wire and cut down a near by tree they were using as a launchpad to get to the roof.

BTW, it is legal to release grey squirrels

But they have a habbit of finding their way home, big users of public transport 😉

You want one of these:

Article in todays Southern Reporter
“”Making a concerted effort to control grey squirrels prior to their breeding season next year will also greatly benefit our native reds during this critical time.”
Red Squirrels in South Scotland (RSSS) operate a trap loan scheme offering traps and training to anyone wishing to help protect red squirrels. Anyone interested in joining the scheme can contact Miss Ramoo on 01750 23446 or 07733 121838.
She urged the public to report sightings of both red and grey squirrels using the online form at http://www.redsquirrels.org.uk or by email to:info@redsquirrels.org.uk.”

(on same page as article “Glentress to lose Hub”)

These squirrels… you sure they’ve got ‘bushy’ tails?

My dad had a lot of trouble with the pesky little vermin

he bought a 12 bore shotgun

My dad no longer has a lot of trouble with the pesky little vermin but has various leaks from the roof.

We’ve had them in the roof twice – best to get the professionals in to deal with them, they don’t charge much and it avoids the messy business of killing them yourself. First time they put traps out for them but had some difficulty because he reckoned some misguided person was releasing the poor dear things while we were out. Second time they were in the roof above the porch – he thwacked the timber holding up the roof with a stick and they shot out. Didn’t charge us for that one.

You need to deal with it because apart from the noise they can apparently gnaw through your wiring and have been known to start fires that way. Round here the bigger problem is if you get a glis glis in the roof – they’re protected and can do all sorts of damage including a tendency to drown in your water tank. They’re also good to eat, I’m told.

These squirrels… you sure they’ve got ‘bushy’ tails

Aye. Agree. From the front they all look ‘similar’ I bet.

We had rats break in and run rampant in the loft of our old house. My blood ran cold. Especially when I could hear their eyes flapping (as they shook their head(s) etc.

Seriously creeped me out.

Phone your council- they are CHEAPER.

We had rats break in and run rampant in the loft of our old house. My blood ran cold. Especially when I could hear their eyes flapping (as they shook their head(s) etc.

Their eyes flapping? How very odd.

Had squirrels in the loft of a previous house, after some careful planning and a fishing keep net I caught the whole family and promptly introduced them to Mr 3×2. 😉

Didn’t half make a racket running about on the boards in the loft and it drove the dog mental, he used to sit there staring at the ceiling, eyes and head following the noise and barking for Britian