Unless you have dealt with the horror of a squirrel infestation you have no idea of the damage, devastation & mayhem that these creatures can wreak.

Cute and entertaining to watch in the garden, they can become creatures from hell when they move into your loft or attic,

Early last year I was called out to a local home, a pleasant modern detached house on a popular local development.

The owners had been away for a week’s holiday and whilst they were away little Mrs Nutkin had decided to build her nest (a squirrel’s nest is called a dray) in the loft of the property. Being a squirrel she was awfully good at chewing things and one of the things she decided to chew was the water supply pipe to the header tank in the loft.

The young couple returned home to find the ceiling brought down, the house flooded and carpets and furniture ruined.

A nasty shock but at least they had insurance cover, they were always careful to ensure their cover was adequate……or so they thought!

Bad news was in store!

The vast majority of household insurance policies have a clause excluding damage by vermin, and as soon as they mentioned ’squirrel’ to their insurance company they immediately invalidated their claim leaving them pick up the cost of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

I wish I could say that this was a rare, isolated case but it isn’t.

As a point of interest here in the U.K. The law regarding squirrels is a little complicated.

Although the grey squirrel  (Sciurus carolinensis) is now endemic throughout virtually the whole U.K., it is still regarded in law as an illegal immigrant. It was imported from the United States and Canada in the 19^th century and has gradually established itself throughout Britain.

However, despite the fact that they are common, it is still a criminal offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1984 to release a grey squirrel in the British Isles, so pest controllers trapping squirrels are not allowed in law to relocate them.

Unfortunately the grey squirrel is a carrier of Squirrelpox virus to which they themselves appear to be immune but the effect has been to devastate our native population of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), the ‘Squirrel Nutkin’ of fame, whose numbers are now down to a few isolated populations.

Squirrels are rodents, the word itself comes from the Latin “rodere "to , gnaw, eat away” and this they do very well indeed, especially electrical wiring and water pipes when they enter your home.

If you have squirrels in the garden be afraid, be very afraid!

Caution: If a squirrel chews your wiring or your water pipes the resultant damage is unlikely to be covered by your household insurance as most policies exclude vermin damage.

Typical costs  on request, site survey will be needed.