There’s one topic seriously dominating the headlines at the moment and that is, of course, the World Cup. Now, you might well think that domestic pest control and football couldn’t possibly have any common ground whatsoever… but it seems that they’ve been brought together with aplomb by one particularly avid footy fan.

According to the BBC, Steve Barley from Hitchin in Hertfordshire has been putting the squirrels in his back garden to the test by building them a football-themed obstacle course to mark the start of the World Cup.

Mr Barley has even gone so far as to install the likes of a referee and a huge red card along the course, which is certainly admirable attention to detail! The squirrels then have to take these two on in order to access the nuts at the end of the course.

“It’s hilarious to look at, I really enjoy watching them. They’re very smart, agile creatures,” Mr Barley explained.

It seems that this isn’t the first time that he’s been busy in the back garden, building courses for squirrels, having put previous circuits together… an NHS-themed one during the pandemic and a second to celebrate the Olympics. 

Of course, we love a bit of ingenuity and squirrels are certainly entertaining to watch but from a pest control perspective, encouraging them in this way could cause problems later down the line – and Mr Barley may well find that he has an infestation on his hands at some point in the future!

Providing food sources for squirrels and other pests is a surefire way to encourage them to set up home on your premises and they can cause lots of damage, so it’s best to keep them at bay if possible.

If you do need help with squirrel pest control in the UK, now or in the future, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.