Squirrel

Some of you may recall - that I had had a week running and sliding noises in my roof space. Well it was a squirrel, a big male. Apparently had accessed the roof space by lifting a corner tile - after warmth, but more likely water. 2 Roof rafters round entry were damaged to a considerable extent but fortunately not major weight bearing ones, so no repair necassary (from builder check).

Nice man placed a live trap on Monday - at 4.40 am Wednesday it was very noisily filled (I didn't realise they were nocturnal), and at a more reasonable hour removed. All is now quiet - long may it last.

Be warned - get noises in your roof space checked fast - especially whilst this cold weather lasts.

 

Sorry I shouldn't be laughing but the thought of that squirrel racketing around ......I hope it was taken a long way away!

 

You are forgiven :D - I was warned that it would go beserk, and beserk it, went quite understandably - but settled after an hour, too late for me - but whats a little sleep :( .

Unfortunately it is illegal to relaese grey squirels into the wild - they are classed as vermin - so it is no more. Sadly no choice - there are some things you can live with, but destroyed roof rafters are not one of them :eek:

 

One of the gardening magazines reports that a majority of people are in favour of a cull for grey squirrels. They don't do a lot of harm in my garden although there are quite a few. But they do seem to find conditions in UK too much to their liking and too few predators.

 

I have quite a few squirrels in my garden as well, I love them. Ive not noticed any damage being done to the garden or the house. I feed them on monkey nuts and hazel nuts. I know that encouraging them will delay the return of our native red squirrels but I cant bring myself to ignore them in harsh winters.
I have starlings nesting in my - whats that bit of wood called that goes round your house under the roof near the guttering? - well they nest there, and at about 6 o'clock every night i can hear them all chirruping as they settle. Probably i'll regret them being there one day, when there is a whole flock!
Squirrels are really good fun to watch. I know they spoil plants and eat baby birds and raid nests for eggs, but the bigger birds, blackbirds (3 pairs nest in the garden) magpies (1 pair) about 3 pairs of robins, and all the tits,oh and Woodpeckers, gorgeous birds they are! they seem to manage! I try to justify it by acknowledging that there arent many cats around here coz of my dogs, and know that some birds feel more comfortable around houses where there are dogs (I have two big dogs.
I dont think i would be comfortable knowing that squirrels were making their homes in my loft though!!!

 

just to see if this works, here is one of the squirrels !

[ 18. March 2006, 11:06 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

 

Oh! Dont think it worked properly, you have to click on the web page link to see the picture! What did i do wrong?

 

What a lovely natural pic.Lynne
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Only a pawn in the game.

 

Nice photo - the squirrel posed beautifully! I just wish they didn't cause such havoc to the red ones. (And I wish I'd known about the Formby population when I lived near there! - I've never seen one in the wild - although I keep my eyes open up here!)

 

Ok thanks for that, Pic was a bit big though wasnt it, when i'm cleverer i'll try to do it smaller! Thanks for amending it for me Nathan.

Ive never seen a red squirrel in the wild either, hopefully one day they will come back, but not when people like me are keeping the grays well fed!

 

I'm not so sure the greys have forced out the reds, I'm no expert on the subject but I believe they like different habitats.
The greys are better at living along side humans and taking advantage of the situation, the poor old reds have been forced out by us as far as I'm concerned, not the greys. :(
I'm sure some one will correct me if I'm wrong. :(

 

From what I remember - your in part right - the greys are opportunistic risk takers and eclectic in the diet - but are also bigger and more numerous. If there is competition for the same food type - then the reds do not succeed. The reds are less eclectic and smaller/shyer. So a combination of reduction in environment, and not being able to compete with their american cousins - has seen them reduced to pockets in piney woods.

Sadly I don't think the reds will ever come back to the numbers they were, and I doubt if the greys will ever decrease.

 

Soffits?!

 

I used to live in Germany as a child, near Luneberg Heath, lots of pine forest at the back of our garden, red squirrels abounding, in and out of the garden all the time, even in our larder. One got stuck once, his tail was poking down from under a shelf and frightened my mum greatly! They are really pretty and delicate compared with greys.
Also remember picking bilberries in the woods, coming home with so many my mum despaired.