Grey Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis)

The Grey Squirrel began appearing began appearing in the countryside during the 19th Century. They have invaded preactically every county in England, and have survived repeated Government-sanctioned attempts at extermination.

Squirrels are not thought to carry diseases, however they have attributed to the drastic decline in numbers of our native red squirrel.
Squirrels are only a problem when they gain access to your roof space.

 Once inside, they will tear up insulating material to build their nests. They will also gnaw woodwork, plastic piping and electric wiring, which could lead to floods or fires.

Squirrels are rodents.  Same as rats.  They can carry the SAME diseases (plus a few) and they are not afraid of people (wild rats are).  At certain times of the year, you can train a wild (suburban) squirrel to take a peanut from your hand in less than three days.

Just remember, however,  that the cute fuzzy tail is the only difference.  The teeth of all rodents are like our fingernails - they are always growing.  So they must chew on something all the time.  And for some reason, gravid female squirrels favor chewing on metal.  Pipes, wires, nails, anything they find.  If they do this inside your house, this will cause you huge problems later on.

Squirrels can climb a vertical brick face.  They can also scale a vertical aluminum-sided house just as easily.  They can scuttle over or underhanded, on wires, as easily as you can walk, and they can float, over ninety feet to the ground, absolutely unhurt.  Squirrels are clever, persistent animals, and one of the very few animals that have increased their populations in the presence of man.

Squirrels are omnivores and will eat any kind of food you can think of, and some that you can't.  That means they will scavenge from your open garage, from your trash, fruit and nut trees, and your garden.

Reproduction.

Gray squirrels mate twice a year, typically from December to February and /or June through August. They nest in tree hollows or in a tree-top den, which is a 12- to 19-inch ball-shaped nest made of leaves, twigs and bark. Mother squirrels have 2 to 4 babies, which are born hairless and weigh 1/2 ounce. By the time they are 12 weeks old, young squirrels are completely independent.

Squirrels are clever scavengers.  Some can tell the difference between red oak acorns and white oak acorns, even though they look exactly alike.  Red oak acorns they will bury and store, as these acorns normally germinate the next year.  White oak acorns, however, they eat immediately.  The white oak acorns germinate right away, so these are an immediate food source.  In the years when red oak acorns are scarce, and there's an overabundance of white oak acorns, squirrels have learned to disable the white oak acorn by nibbling the end off, thereby preventing the seed from germinating.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY GET IN

Not much, for awhile.  But as soon as they find out that there isn't anything you are doing about it, this is HOME!  Then comes the hard part.  Getting them out and keeping them out.  At times, this can be a very difficult job.  The longer they are in there, the harder it is to evict them.  If they remain undisturbed for a season or two, it will be especially difficult.  Not only that, but such a structure, over a period of time, tends to acquire an odour that attracts squirrels.  Houses such as these will often have intermittent and sporadic squirrel problems for years.

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