As cute and fluffy as they may very well appear to be, with their graceful arching tails and curious little features, squirrels aren’t quite such adorable little creatures after all and they can, in fact, do quite a lot of damage at home, both inside and outside the property.
On their quest to find somewhere warm and safe to build their nests, squirrels can cause lots of problems by chewing through parts of the house, leaving lots of draughty openings so they can get in and out. They also often chew their way through wires and insulation, which can create an additional fire risk.
Outside, they can cause huge issues with your landscaping and plants, digging up your lawns to look for food and stripping your trees and shrubs of bark and twigs. They also love to dig up the bulbs you took so much time and effort over planting!
And, if you’ve got a vegetable garden or fruit trees onsite, you’re sure to see bite marks appearing in your produce… or no produce whatsoever!
Apparently, estimates suggest that grey squirrels stripping bark from trees costs the UK timber industry an impressive £14 million per year! Squirrels also eat bird eggs and little chicks, with figures suggesting that they reduce fledging rates by an average of 15 per cent.
And, of course, they’ve driven the native red squirrel almost to extinction by outcompeting them for food and habitat, as well as carrying the squirrel pox virus that has proven to be so deadly to red squirrel populations.
If you do have an infestation and don’t know what to do about it, get in touch with us today to discuss UK squirrel pest control. Don’t try to tackle the problem yourself and don’t block any entry holes, as this could see the squirrels cause even more damage as they try to escape. Just give us a call and we’ll be able to come out and help resolve your squirrel issues!