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In true Clark Griswald fashion I seem to have picked a fight with a fluffy rodent that has taken up partial residence in my loft.
Couple weeks of weeks ago I heard the scratching/scurrying sounds.
On investigation I was met with the wee bugger. Thing is, they seem much bigger and more fierce face to face to I backed away in defeat wanting to keep my digits in tact.
So I’ve set up a motion sensitive camera and it (only ever one AFAIA) seems to visit between the hours of 0400 and 1000, especially when it’s cold. I’ll post some images when I can.
So far I’ve tried a big humane rat trap..they’re just toying with that.
Plenty of apple cider vinegar dotted around but they don’t care about that either.
And now the bugger is toying with me. It’s using the loft hatch as a squirrel toilet, so every time I open the hatch, rodent piss & shit comes flying at me. I guess they like going in the warmest place as there’s no insulation above the hatch. So I’ve loaded the polystyrene hatch insert with a minefield of cocktail sticks so it better watch out or it’ll get a spike up it’s jacksy.
😂😂😂
There is no war treaty if your an animal in my loft.
Last few weeks I've taken down a large rat and about 15 mice.
Something had gnawed through the asbestos soffit !
A timely post, we (rural SW France) have either squirrel or more likely a stone marten (slightly smaller relative of the pine marten) in ours, large area. We have started with a couple of ultrasonic devices ( https://www.gardigo.com/marten/car/ ) and will escalate from that to a trap. Be interested in anyone elses ideas.
They love wires.
Put a badger in the loft to frighten it.
All squirrels are bastards... just a rat with kerb appeal.
Loving the dirty warfare.
Sorry but i think the squirrel is going to win
I think we all know there's only one way to be sure.
A Radio playing and a dish of bleach always used to discourage them while you sealed up all the holes once you're certain they'd left the loft
You will need to drive it out, find and seal the entrance point, and then catch and kill the squirrel(s).
To drive them out, use ultrasonic deterrents, and a strobe lighting if you can source something suitable. They hate strobes apparently and a strobing red/blue police style strobe saw them out of my attic.
Identify all possible access points and seal them. I used chicken wire. Roll it up into a sausage. Twist each ensure in opposite directions to reduce the diameter. Ram it in the hole and then twist the opposite direction to re-expand the centre and fully block the hole. Once it is blocked, fill it with expanding foam.
Use live capture traps baited with bread and Nutella. If it is a Grey, you will need to kill it humanely.
WCA to the forum!
These work a treat.
https://goodnaturetraps.co.uk/humane-squirrel-traps/
If it is in your attic you will need to remove the corpses rather than leaving them to the foxes - unless you also have foxes in the attic. Quite expensive for just the 1 squirrel but as the breed like rats, I doubt it will be just the one up there.
BTW Prepare to get flamed if you post about it on here, I was.
They are OK if you are certain it's not a Red. We had both in the garden. 7 dead greys later, we only have reds.
Blimey, speak and he shall appear
I spent a Saturday afternoon in the loft of the current house with a .22 and a steady hand. Got 6 of the friggers. Only took 2 more days to remove all piss riddled loft insulation, repair the roof membrane and redo the soffit when it had gnawed it’s way in. You have my sympathy.
Mine were living in the soffit and using the loft as a toilet/running track.
Google says get a red fox. Then you’ll need several angry toffs dressed like ****s, at least eight horses and a whole pack of dogs to deal with your fox problem. That loft is going to get messy!
[i]Blimey, speak and he shall appear[/i]
I was watching you type from inside your mind 🙂
Yes, avoid the traps if you have red squirrels or pine martins you don't want to kill. We have neither and have found no evidence of anything other than grey squirrels getting got. Even the woodpecker that kept pecking around the trap was fine all summer.
I was watching you type from inside your mind
Thank god it's you in there! The last guy was a right weirdo
Do you have a down stairs toilet? We went from squirrels in the loft to finding one tail up in the pan must have leant too far in for a drink slipped in on the spotless glaze and finito so lay a trail of nuts down the stairs problem solved👍
[i]I was watching you type from inside your mind
Thank god it’s you in there! The last guy was a right weirdo[/i]
He is still here but is sulking about how you treated him. He is fine when you get to know him, just don't ask about his mother
A regular supply of peanuts provided in the garden, against a solid backstop. And an air rifle.
If it's red, be humane.
If grey - catch, kill, eviscerate, cook, eat, enjoy.
So I’ve loaded the polystyrene hatch insert with a minefield of cocktail sticks so it better watch out or it’ll get a spike up it’s jacksy.
Did you remember to take the cheese and pineapple pieces off first?
As above, force the little ****er out then fill the gaps with wire wool.
It’s a grey. We back on to a small wooded area so where’s there’s one, many more will follow. So far they seem to be destroying the OSB sarking board where the roof vents come in.
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Was up there in full battle fatigues yesterday-ski goggles, safety gloves, fishing net, hammer, I was prepared. But sadly no battle ensued.
The air gun idea is out. I’d need a license and my other half works in forensic firearms…so she’s very anti-weapons (although supply would be plentiful!)
Think I’ve located where they are getting in-there’s no end caps on the soffit vents where they meet the adjoining sloped roof. There’s about an inch gap they can get-then free rein all around the vent and into the loft. Problem is they are difficult to get to without roof ladders. I’ll bodge a cap out of something and if that fails it’s go full WCA.
Was up there in full battle fatigues yesterday-ski goggles, safety gloves, fishing net, hammer, I was prepared. But sadly no battle ensued.
I see your problem. No emergency Union Jack.
It's the size of a cat!
Are you sure you want to take him on? Might be easier to sell the house.
It’s the size of a cat!
Are you sure you want to take him on? Might be easier to sell the house.
Our cat refuses to go up there, and I can’t blame her. Pound for pound a fair contest though.
Pretty sure you can’t sell a house with squatters.
Need to go full Notre Dame on a squirrel that big 😉
Years ago a colleague didn't turn up for work. Phoned in sick from A&E with a noticeable PTSD tremor in his voice.
That morning He'd entered the shower cubicle, closed firm the door and turned on the water. It was at this moment the squirrel dropped from its perch on the showerhead.
Naked wet close combat with a lightning fast greased ball of claws and teeth had been a very one sided affair.
This was Hounslow though, you can't turn your back on anything in Hounslow.
We had a squirrel in our loft, tried everything, no luck.
Spoke to a neighbour who is a pest controller for a living and he made a pitying face at me told me there were a few options, none good.
Most memorable one was "I'll bring you a few rats, they hate rats, they'll chase it out of the loft. Leave those there for a few weeks so it (to the squirrel) it smells like rats. Then I'll come trap the rats. Even if you don't get rid of the rats in a hurry they're better than a squirrel. "
The other options were worse.
The other options were worse
Sudocrem trap?
Sudocrem trap?
A Picolax peanut butter baited one at that.
The others basically involved increasingly complicated methods of catching the thing. Or setting fire to the house. Or moving.
The problem is that unlike mice and rats they don't eat near where they sleep generally so they're very hard to bait if they're settled in.
As it was he turned up with a large [flat pack] cage put four "pet" rats in it and they lived in the loft for a month or so.
The squirrel left.
It's very odd going into the loft to clean and feed rats.
As it was he turned up with a large [flat pack] cage put four “pet” rats in it and they lived in the loft for a month or so.
The squirrel left.
This thread is getting more bizarre by the hour.
I like it.
My wife's best mates dad had a Squirrel issue in a house they were not living in for a while. Every time he visited he would find Squirrel party evidence everywhere.
So he set up a trap in the kitchen (food) and got his HP air riffle and led out prone in the hallway/front porch ready to get the ****er. What I havnt mentioned is he sufferers with sleep apnea, so he would wait, fall asleep, wake up 10 mins later to find the food gone. Bugger...
The best bit was a neighbour could see someone with a gun in the neighbours house so they called the Police and an armed squad turned up to check everything out. He gave up in the end and a few weeks later the squirrel climbed into their bed and died...
He gave up in the end and a few weeks later the squirrel climbed into their bed and died…
Dutch ovened to death?
What is going on in this thread. Has to be a good contender for thread of the week
What evidence do you have of squirrels outside the house? Do you see them in the immediate vicinity. Greys like to travel along easy linear features like along the top of a fence. This is where to place the trap. Make sure you check it twice a day. Get a live trap like this . Keep at it until you go 2 weeks without catching/seeing a squirrel.
If you do catch a squirrel in a live trap it's illegal to release it into the wild and must be humanely destroyed
https://rsne.org/squirrels-and-the-law/
Easiest option would be to install a sonic pest deterrent, the one I had in my loft worked a treat (until the batteries ran out).
What is going on in this thread. Has to be a good contender for thread of the year
FTFY