QUICK PEST MANAGEMENT
"Protecting you and your environment"
Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
The grey squirrel is not a native species to the UK it was introduced from North th
America during the 19 Century. It is a highly adaptable and intelligent creature and also extremely curious.
Size : 23 to 28 cms Weight 450g-650g
Grey squirrels have four fingers on their hands and five toes on their feet.
Habitat : Squirrels live in a nest built of twigs, leaves and moss called a drey. This drey can be in the branches of a tree, in a crack or hole in the trunk of a tree or in the roof of a building. They are usually built high up off the ground.
Food : Grey squirrels are mainly herbivorous eating a wide variety of seeds, nuts, flowers, buds, young shoots and fungi, However they will take birds eggs, young fledglings and insects. Squirrels will bury food items for leaner times ahead and will find this food by scent at a later date.
Breeding : Grey Squirrels usually have two litters of kit’s a year with between 3 to 7 young in a litter. The female is pregnant for approx 44 days and gives birth to young that have no hair, teeth and closed eyes but after only 7 weeks the kits are miniature versions of their parents and are ready to leave the drey.
Damage caused :The main reasons for the Grey Squirrel to be classed as a pest are, Firstly Grey Squirrels are known to carry the squirrel pox virus, they seem not to be affected by the virus but transmit it to our native red squirrel. This virus is usually fatal to our native red squirrel. A squirrel suffering from this virus can easily be recognized by the unsightly inflamed lumps on it.
Due to the grey squirrels feeding habits they are a major pest in our woods and forests. They feed on buds and new shoots of trees distorting the trees growth and they also strip the bark from trees, both damaging the tree and leaving the branch open to infection with the possibility of part or the whole tree dying. They will also chew through facia boards to enter lofts and once inside gnaw at the wooden joists and electric cabling prresenting a risk of failed electrical equipment or even worse a house fire.
Grey Squirrels can prove to be a serious threat to our native song bird species, some of which are declining at a serious rate. They will take the eggs of birds and even young fledgings. Their strong sharp teeth make it easy for them to gnaw into bird nest boxes and destroy even the most substantial bird feeders.
Control : There are various control approved methods of control for Grey Squirrels. The method to solve your Grey Squirrel issue will be discussed fully with and agreed at the time of your initial visit before any work is started. This gives complete satisfaction that you are fully aware of the processes involved and the timescale involved.
