Poxy squirrels

[90mile]

Help! Has anyone got any sensible suggestions on how to evict them from my loft? These furry non rent paying varmints are starting to get on my nerves and they're not looking inclined to leave. I discovered them 3 weeks ago and the Mum had just given birth to 4 babies... yes v cute - so we decided to give them 10 days or so to grow before we evict them. Trouble is they dont seem to be impressed with that plan. Any suggestions?

Ps - I dont have a gun!

Cheers Marc

[ChrisD]

Beg, borrow or steal a Jack Russel and turn it loose

[graham]

I have a jack russel he keeps the tree rats out of our house and garden.

You have two options trap or shoot them.:dunno1:

[HCR]

Before you take any drastic action - I take they are not red squirrels! These are afforded protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and cannot be harmed or interfered with in any way.

Assuming that they are greys, poison (warfarin) can be used. Your district/borough council will be able to advise.

H

[Hubber]

ahhhhhhh poor wee things, tis a poor shame.
shame on you big bullies.

[Duiker]

Contact the local council pest control. They may charge but at least it will get the dirty deed over and done with.
They should also know if they are grey or red too but I doubt they will be red to be honest.

[graham]

Sorry dont shoot them if there RED I assumed they were grey
we call them tree rats.:p

They are a problem around here to many of em.

[90mile]

Thanks guys - yes they are grey.

I had read on one of the local council websites - that once caught, it was actually illegal to release them back into the wild...
Really only gives you one choice doesnt it!

So I would prefer to encourage them to move on rather than terminate them. (so would the wife actually) So - given the impracticality of getting one of the local foxes to pee in a bottle and sprinkling it up there, any other suggestions? (rent a jack russell from local petshop???)

Maybe spray vinegar all over the area?? Now thats a thought - I'd move if someone sprayed vinegar all over my house!!!!

[Ferryman]

getting one of the local foxes to pee in a bottle and sprinkling it up there

See if that works, if yes you're in business!

Start keeping foxes, catch their urine and bottle it!
Sell the bottles for a profitable price and get loaded!:yay: :yay: :yay:

Tony

[90mile]

You may laugh - but theres some bloke in the states selling bottles of 'guaranteed 100% fox urine' for this very purpose....... makes you kind of wonder how he harvests it...... mmm

[Hubber]

i'm with your wife here, dont kill the poor wee souls :(
why dont you just agree to share with them ?
i have them oot the back and i think they are so cute.

[HCR]

You could try blocking off their access, but again if there are bats present it is an offence to do this. Squirrels do need bigger holes than bats though, so there is no need to totally rule it out.

H

[graham]

Come on squirrel Make My Day:toting:

[BiggarBen]

The only good way to have an American Tree Rat is dead. Ring the local council and get the job done properly. If there is going to be any chance of getting Red squirrels back as many greys as possible require to be exterminated. :outlaw:

It's a shame, some of the more impressive rat killing devices have been banned

Ben

[timbott]

Bloody grey squirrels, destroyed a young apple tree I was trying to look after that planted itself off the mature Bramley tree we have in the garden.

We have 2 cats here and they are welcome to the mice:yay:

Racks me off when they get birds:Cross:

But, despite trying, they always miss the ba**ard tree rats:Cross:

cheers, Tim

[90mile]

Hubber my man - you are welcome to fly down here from the wilds of Scotland and relocate them to your back yard. Just think of me and the wee missus lying in bed of a night listening to the 'cute weee things' sharpening their fangs on my rafters. Every morning we listen to them practising the 100m dash and jump on the boards above our heads.


Cheers and beers

Marc

ps - I have fed the local fox a large helping of leftovers tonight to ingratiate myself.

[NewBloke]

Get rid, they can cause fires by chewing through your cables, and the beastly things are decimating the population of the native Red squirrel. :Cross:

Top tip. Accuracy permitting, load the airgun pellet in backwards. Sounds daft but gives a lot more expansion and a lot less penetration which is good news if you're shooting inside your house!

:yay:

PS No I didn't shoot it, though it was HUGELY tempting hehehe


Sorry about the size of the picture! Can anyone more clever than me give me some idiot proof step by step instructions on how to make it smaller?

[done! BH. In whatever photo / image software you have - MS Picture Editor, Paint, Photoshop, etc etc ... there should be a button for 'image' - click on that and go to image resize, around 600 x 450 is best - HTH !:)]

[Hubber]

Originally posted by 90mile
Hubber my man - you are welcome to fly down here from the wilds of Scotland and relocate them to your back yard. Just think of me and the wee missus lying in bed of a night listening to the 'cute weee things' sharpening their fangs on my rafters. Every morning we listen to them practising the 100m dash and jump on the boards above our heads.


Cheers and beers

Marc

ps - I have fed the local fox a large helping of leftovers tonight to ingratiate myself.

Now that sounds a wonderful idea, only we must think of the extended family and how they would miss each other. now if you could gather up all the family including gran and granpa and all the brothers and sisters, then maybe we can do a wee deal :) must know that they are all together now :)
as to the 100 m dash, what you moaning about, you have your own private race which mujst give lots of fun :)
they sound a wonderful happy family :)

[GreyBack]

Just before you get too carried away with their sweetness and general cuteness....

We had them in our roof and eventually had them destroyed by a pest control firm. The noise of a family of squirrels doing somersaults in the roof got too much.

After they had been destroyed, and when trying to clear up the enormous quantity of filth and mess, not only was there considerable damage to the loft insulation, there was also damage to electrical wiring.

If you want your house to burn down, leave them where they are.

Otherwise, kill the vermin

[Miserableolgit]

If you are not competent in pest control skills then do as the others have suggested and give your local council a call. Just like any other rodents squirrels habitually gnaw in order to check continual tooth growth, one particular favourite is the plastic insulation around wires etc so you ignore them at your peril.

If you want to diy then there are live catch traps available but remember that Greys are an introduced species and considered vermin and should be treated accordingly. In the end all they are just rats with fluffy tails.

[Hubber]

http://www.greysquirrel.net/pics/plagueboyapril2.jpg

[Hubber]

long live the cute we greys

http://members.tripod.com/srl2/

[Andy MacBog]

Hi Hubber,

Your second link is relevant only to America where the grey squirrel is native! Over here they are wiping out the reds quickly and while it was thought that they would not oust the reds from the Caledonian pine forest ... sadly they are starting to.

I like seeing change in the countryside, it has been ongoing since year dot but it would be such a shame if we lost more of our wildlife diversity as it is that diversity that allows nature to respond to change. A lot of invaders are generalists and can invade a wide range of habitats, like the grey squirrel and it is unfortunate that their diseases etc. are not imported too so there is no natural check on their populations.

Things are even worse in the plant kingdom - on one guided walk that I took along an apparently wild and natural but urban river I created a bit of a stir by pointing out how few of the plants were natives although some, like the Sycamore, could probably have made it across under their own steam anyway. In as much as we need to defend diversity I would moderate what I say above by affirming that we need to accept change and population movements amongst our fauna and flora with some degree of intervention to maintain diversity.

Andy

[Hubber]

I take your point Andy however maybe the greys survive cos they are the stronger and thats life.

[HCR]

Originally posted by Hubber
I take your point Andy however maybe the greys survive cos they are the stronger and thats life.

That is exactly the point. Maintaining biodiversity (horrid word I know) requires belief that it is important to do so. The grey squirrel is an invasive alien and due to several ecological advantages is able to out-compete our (probably) native red.

If we are to accept that this is alright in the case of the squirrles then we have to accept that it is also alright in the case of Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, giant hogweed and the various aquatic plants that pose a very real risk to some of our most fragile habitats.

If we are to conserve (note conserve rather than preserve) our natural heritage then we must start off with a baseline for what is native and what is not, and where native is threatened by non-native, intervene as appropriate.

Henry

[Hubber]

I suppose we could argue theswe points all night long as to what is ok and what is not and how far to we go back before something is actually native to these lands. as to weeds i have little problem with killing and stopping the spreading however like most i'm sure its not to allow our own plants but to just stop more weeds.
animals are to me different and sometimes i think we need to let nature take its course, thats in part why we dont have any dodo's left and T-Rex :) somethings just change.
I have just read our councils biodiversity report which is large and quite nice and most i feel allows for comfortable living with nature, maybe we can find a better way within that for the animals.

[manthing]

grey squirrel's should be treated with the same contempt as dandelion in you front lawn and treated accordingly,
I used to help a farmer out with his tree and ground rat problem, I found that a dose of lead between .177c and .22c would do the trick in both cases. You would not believe the cost 's that can add up to a hard working farmer, damage to and loss of stock via contamination plus other probs,
get rid any way you can.:bigun2:

[jen.s.f]

Down with the greys. Illegal imigrants invading our country!!! What with them and those pesky rabbits!!!

[Hubber]

Originally posted by jen.s.f
Down with the greys. Illegal imigrants invading our country!!! What with them and those pesky rabbits!!!

goodness me, you will be a supporter of the NF then, i suppose :)

[graham]

Yep I'm against cruel sports I'm the chairman of the national liberation front for the save the clay pigeion, on a Sunday morning have you seen how many of those poor defencless wee things are blown apart.:p

[BiggarBen]

Originally posted by graham
Yep I'm against cruel sports I'm the chairman of the national liberation front for the save the clay pigeion, on a Sunday morning have you seen how many of those poor defencless wee things are blown apart.:p

Their feathered namesakes are far more fun and whats more edible :)

Ben

[Hubber]

Originally posted by BiggarBen


Their feathered namesakes are far more fun and whats more edible :)

Ben

Oh how sick you lot are :)

[RPGreg2600]

Originally posted by andy mcm
Things are even worse in the plant kingdom - on one guided walk that I took along an apparently wild and natural but urban river I created a bit of a stir by pointing out how few of the plants were natives although some, like the Sycamore, could probably have made it across under their own steam anyway. In as much as we need to defend diversity I would moderate what I say above by affirming that we need to accept change and population movements amongst our fauna and flora with some degree of intervention to maintain diversity.

Andy

Same thing here in the US, most of the native grasses in my area have been wiped out by some horrible thistle from Europe, and there're Eucaliptus trees everywhere.



Btw, I'd just stick a couple rat traps up in the attick and put nuts on 'em. If ya don't want to kill 'em, just get a couple of those rat traps that don't kill and put nuts in them! or you could chase them out with a broom and then board up their entrance.

[jimbogriff]

ive got a shotgun ,


try a rat trap baited with peanut butter

jimbo

[ChrisD]

Well, there's one less

It made the mistake of trying to cross the road in front of me this morning and didn't make it!


ChrisD

[90mile]

Hmm - maybe there could be some sort of sideline here ...

anyone fancy a nice pair of furlined mittens??

[Hubber]

god you guys are so so cruel :(

[ChrisD]

Hubber

Not cruel at all, It was a quick death. Too flat for mittens though!

ChrisD

[90mile]

Pesky things are still there. Sound like they are training for Squirrel Olympics. However their days are numbered - I have ordered a trap........


(Maybe I can freeze them and post them off to Hugh Fearnly whittingstall - I'm sure he'd turn them into burgers or something tasty.....)


:behead:

[cheesyweasel]

You really need to get shot of them quick. I've seen squirrels destroying all sorts of stuff in attics. The best way is to get up there and give them the good news with an air rifle - that way if you miss you don't blow holes in your roof or ceilings.
Humane traps are ok but not much more than 50% successful. Try baiting with jam - I've had more success with that than anything. You can also try mixing anticoagulant rodenticide with melted chocolate, letting it harden then sticking that in the loft.
If you do catch them alive it is illegal to release them as they are not an indiginous species.
If you do use a poison check with the local council that it's ok in your area to bait for squirrels, probably not many reds left in surrey.
If you were closer I'd be happy to come and sort them for you, professional pest controller and that.
If you need any advice drop me a line

Pestfree@fsmail.net

[cheesyweasel]

oh nearly forgot..
If its geographically ok to use rodenticide get hold of some contact dust. Apply this around the hole where they're coming in so it gets on their paws and fur, thlittle ******s then lick it off and are usually feet up in about 24/36 hours. If you're struggling to get hold of some give me a line.
Once you do get shot of them find the access point to the loft and block it off. Easiest way is to stuff the hole with chicken wire then fill it all up with expanding foam.

[Hubber]

i hope you lot come back as a wee furry thing and come into my garden :)

[graham]

Why did the squirrel cross the road?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. cos he wanted to see his flat mate:p

[HCR]

oh nearly forgot..
Once you do get shot of them find the access point to the loft and block it off. Easiest way is to stuff the hole with chicken wire then fill it all up with expanding foam.

If there are bats in your attic this would be illegal.

H