Squirrels

 

How to spot them

Squirrels are active during the day and regularly visit gardens looking for food. Signs of their presence include stripped pine cones, nuts that have been chewed, bark stripped from trees and their droppings which may be round or elongated. Often squirrels will take their food to a particular place to eat it and the remains will be scattered on the ground below.

Damage

Squirrels can cause significant damage both indoors and out. In gardens they take fruit and bulbs, raid the nests of small birds, raid bird tables and nut feeders and dig holes in the lawn to bury their food. They can get into roof spaces of houses by climbing the walls or jumping from nearby trees. Once inside they can chew woodwork and ceilings, tear up loft insulation for nest building and strip insulation from electrical wiring which could lead to fires.

Control

Poisoned bait is put out for squirrels in special containers that prevent other animals eating the bait. Special traps can also be used. If you have trouble with squirrels in the garden there are specialist pest control companies who will put out the bait containers and traps. The Council does not provide a treatment service for squirrels.

We do not advise blocking squirrels out after they have invaded your loft. If there are young hidden in the nest the female will cause considerable damage trying to get back in.

Life Cycle

Grey squirrels build nests in the forks of trees or in tree hollows called dreys. They breed twice a year, the first litter being born in February or March, the second in August or September. There are normally three or four in each litter.

Diet

Squirrels eat a wide range of foods including nuts, fruit buds, fungi, birds' eggs and young birds. They will often bury surplus food for later collection.