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Old 03-05-2005, 10:36 PM
Graham Daniels
 
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Default OT Annoying squirrel

We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the litte
rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic and pays
a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching away in the
attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?

Thanks

Graham



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Old 03-05-2005, 11:00 PM
Mary Fisher
 
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"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the
litte rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic
and pays a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching
away in the attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?

Thanks

Graham


Either sleeping pills or get up and enjoy the morning.

Mary





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Old 03-05-2005, 11:08 PM
Boseley
 
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Simple solution, Pepper, lots of it the little rascals do not like it.
Bob
"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the
litte rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic
and pays a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching
away in the attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?

Thanks

Graham





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Old 03-05-2005, 11:46 PM
Jim
 
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On Tue, 3 May 2005 22:00:09 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the
litte rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic
and pays a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching
away in the attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?

Thanks

Graham


Either sleeping pills or get up and enjoy the morning.


Not forgetting to plug the hole pretty quick before he gets too cozy.


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Old 04-05-2005, 10:18 AM
BAC
 
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Default


"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the

litte
rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic and

pays
a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching away in

the
attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?


I suggest you try and discover his means of access to your roof space, and
then have it blocked off. Further, you might consider stopping putting out
food they like to eat, which, obviously, attracts them to your property.


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Old 04-05-2005, 10:46 AM
Jim
 
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Default

On Wed, 4 May 2005 09:18:44 +0100, "BAC"
wrote:


"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the

litte
rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic and

pays
a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching away in

the
attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?


I suggest you try and discover his means of access to your roof space, and
then have it blocked off. Further, you might consider stopping putting out
food they like to eat, which, obviously, attracts them to your property.


How does he know its Squirrels? we have scratching and very loud at
times but this is from the nesting starlings.
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Old 04-05-2005, 11:51 AM
John Edgar
 
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You do not need to be humane, but maleficent in the extreme. They are
vermin and will do untold damage in your roof. They may look like
charming rascals, but they are more like monsters.

Put some poison in your roof space. That gets rid of them. You do not
ned the female giving birth up there, because the whole family will
keep coming back and they are extremely persistent. You need to kill
them all quickly. If you do not get rid of them, they will eat through
electric wiring. It all gets very expensive.

John

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Old 04-05-2005, 11:53 AM
Jim
 
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Default

On 4 May 2005 02:51:41 -0700, "John Edgar"
wrote:

You do not need to be humane, but maleficent in the extreme. They are
vermin and will do untold damage in your roof. They may look like
charming rascals, but they are more like monsters.


Brain dead tosser.


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Old 04-05-2005, 12:43 PM
Jaques d'Alltrades
 
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Default

The message .com
from "John Edgar" contains these words:

Put some poison in your roof space. That gets rid of them. You do not
ned the female giving birth up there, because the whole family will
keep coming back and they are extremely persistent. You need to kill
them all quickly. If you do not get rid of them, they will eat through
electric wiring. It all gets very expensive.


Squirrels in the roofspace are a well-known fire hazard for this reason.
In the event of a fire, and your insurance company finds out you haven't
made efforts to bar entry, you might find yourself in financial
difficulties to say the least.

My solution would be a marksman with a decent air rifle.

I can provide an excellent squirrel pie recipe...

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/


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Old 04-05-2005, 01:00 PM
BAC
 
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Default


"Jim" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 4 May 2005 09:18:44 +0100, "BAC"
wrote:


"Graham Daniels" wrote in message
...
We have a grey squirrel which regulalrly comes to the bird table trying

to
get at the fat balls and peanuts, usually unsuccessfully. However, the

litte
rascal has now found it's way under our roof tiles in to the attic and

pays
a visit at about 4 am every morning. It can be heard scratching away in

the
attic - waking us up in the process.

Any suggestions for a (humane) solution?


I suggest you try and discover his means of access to your roof space,

and
then have it blocked off. Further, you might consider stopping putting

out
food they like to eat, which, obviously, attracts them to your property.


How does he know its Squirrels? we have scratching and very loud at
times but this is from the nesting starlings.


I don't know how he knows it's squirrels. Perhaps he's been up there and had
a look? If in doubt, he could rig up a surveillance camera and IR activated
light to see what is moving about - and how/where it gets in.


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Old 04-05-2005, 01:06 PM
BAC
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"John Edgar" wrote in message
oups.com...
You do not need to be humane, but maleficent in the extreme. They are
vermin and will do untold damage in your roof. They may look like
charming rascals, but they are more like monsters.

Put some poison in your roof space. That gets rid of them. You do not
ned the female giving birth up there, because the whole family will
keep coming back and they are extremely persistent. You need to kill
them all quickly. If you do not get rid of them, they will eat through
electric wiring. It all gets very expensive.


Killing them off without blocking up the access still leaves the access
available for any squirrel size or smaller visitors. Blocking the access, if
feasible, probably renders killing them off superfluous.


  #14   Report Post  
Old 04-05-2005, 01:30 PM
BAC
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message .com
from "John Edgar" contains these words:

Put some poison in your roof space. That gets rid of them. You do not
ned the female giving birth up there, because the whole family will
keep coming back and they are extremely persistent. You need to kill
them all quickly. If you do not get rid of them, they will eat through
electric wiring. It all gets very expensive.


Squirrels in the roofspace are a well-known fire hazard for this reason.
In the event of a fire, and your insurance company finds out you haven't
made efforts to bar entry, you might find yourself in financial
difficulties to say the least.

My solution would be a marksman with a decent air rifle.

I can provide an excellent squirrel pie recipe...

The official advice for dealing with squirrels in the roof space is at
www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ rds/publications/technical/TAN_09.pdf , if it
has wrapped.

Basically, it's to live trap them and then kill by bashing them over the
head in a sack or shooting them in the trap (since it's illegal to release a
squirrel once trapped, if you care about such things) and then to secure the
space by blocking off the access routes.

Another interesting source is
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wildbuildings/ html/documents/pdf/wabman.pdf which
is Wildlife and Buildings - Technical guidance for Architects. That covers
nearly all types of wildlife likely to be encountered here.


I've often seen it mooted that squirrels in the roof space are a fire risk,
since they might gnaw through electrical insulation or plastic pipes, and I
guess the possibility cannot be ruled out, but I don't recall seeing that
many accounts of fires occurring where it was proved that actually was the
cause.


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Old 04-05-2005, 03:24 PM
Chris Bacon
 
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Default

John Edgar wrote:
You do not need to be humane, but maleficent in the extreme. They are
vermin and will do untold damage in your roof. They may look like
charming rascals, but they are more like monsters.

Put some poison in your roof space. That gets rid of them. You do not
ned the female giving birth up there, because the whole family will
keep coming back and they are extremely persistent. You need to kill
them all quickly. If you do not get rid of them, they will eat through
electric wiring. It all gets very expensive.


It does get expensive. I have recently replaced all the wiring in
a loft in a semi-detached house. It was nibbled bare in many places,
and a flex to a loft light had been gnawed through. The loft
insulation had been tunnelled into, raked about, and was covered in
squirrel excrement and urine. Some joists (2"x4") had been chewed
badly, about 30% of their cross-sectional area having been removed.
The loft hatch had apparently been a favoured spot for urination,
and the white gloss paint had bubbled off along one side. The owner
had previously re-wired and installed new loft insulation after the
same problem.

I've never heard a way to deter them that works. If you can find
out how they're getting in, stop up the way, but you may well find
that disposing of the individual that's found its way in is best
as they are persistent little osds and will try to re-open their
route in.

Try a Fenn trap (Mk IV). Follow the instructions. They're about a
tenner each to buy. You can get them at good fishing/sports shops,
or on the 'Net, eg: http://www.vespestcontrol.co.uk/fenn.html
http://www.euroguns.co.uk/acatalog/Fenn_traps.html Bacon rind tied
around the plate is good bait. Mind your fingers when you set them,
they are a bit vicious (don't put your fingers near a live squirrel,
either!). Make sure you inspect the trap at least twice a day for
humanitarian reasons. Also, make sure you fasten the chain on the
trap down so it can't be dragged away into the eaves. Otherwise, a
"live trap" is useful (use maize for bait) - when you've caught a
squirrel, dunk the trap and contents into a water butt. It's illegal
to release a caught squirrel elsewhere.

You can use poison bait, but you'll only be able to buy rat bait,
and there's so much else for a squirrel to eat in an urban
environment that it's hard to get them to eat it (although they
will eat PVC cable insulation - "go figure").

You could also use an air rifle, and as it's one of the breeding
times for squirrels at the moment, if you see a drey being built,
knock it down with a long pole.

The next-door neighbour in the semi. above bought a "live" trap,
and disposed of one. He also got two with an air rifle, although
they were outside, and may not have been the culprits. I got one
in the loft I re-wired, and the resident there is now much happier
and safer (fire/shock hazard from wires). They were getting in
through a gap in the soffit, climbing straight up the external
corner of the house!
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