Cheeky
little chap isn't he, but if he gets into your roof space he will cause
mayhem. The grey squirrel is larger than the red, usually about 10 inches
long with a large bushy tail 8 inches long. In winter the coat is pale
grey with longer fur than in summer. Occasionally black individuals
turn up. Greys began appearing in the countryside between 1876 and 1929,
having been released deliberately or accidentally from a number of centres,
especially London Zoo and Woburn Park in Bedfordshire. They have now
invaded every county of England, except for much of East Anglia and
Cornwall, and are established in central Scotland and central Ireland.
So far the greys have not reached the Isle of Wight.
Biology
and Habits:
- Size:
Body 260mm Tail 215mm
- Weight:
550-750g
- Habitat:
Mixed broadleaf/conifer woodland usually containing beech and
oak.
- Autumn-hedgrows,
gardens, fields away from woods, also mature conifers.
- Active
early morning and late afternoon all year.
- Not
territorial up to 5-7 per hectare.
-
Food: Buds,shoots,ripe and unripe fruits,nuts,bulbs,seeds,(peas,beans,maize,wheat),eggs
and young of both songbirds and gamebirds.
- Bark
damage is greatest during the months of May to July, particular
damage to sycamore and beech which are about 10-40 years old.
Less than 5% killed.
Reproduction:
- December
to January and then again May to June.
- The
litter size can be 1-5
- She
can have 1-2 litters per year.
- The
life span of the female is between 4-6 years.
- The
life span of the male is between 2-3 years.
- Mortality
rate is about 75% per annum.
Grey
squirrels have survived repeated Government-sanctioned attempts at extermination
by shooting, trapping and poisoning. Greys do considerable damage to
trees when present in large numbers. They attack trees in early summer
gnawing at the main stem, seeking the sweet, sappy layers immediately
beneath the bark. Sometimes the tree is completely ringed and as a consequence
will die. If it doesn't die then it will usually be checked or spoilt.
It is now illegal to import a grey squirrel or keep one as a pet. They
will adapt to any area covered by trees, whether broad leaved or conifer,
with an average density of about 5 per acre. Greys will live in suburban
parks and gardens, becoming tame enough to feed from the hand.
A
squirrels nest is called a drey and is made up of a ball of twigs, often
with leaves attached, and lined with grass, moss and fur. Summer dreys
are attached to branches, but breeding and winter dreys may be inside
a hollow tree. There are two breeding seasons, as mentioned above, resulting
in offspring called "kittens". Both reds and greys keep to
well defined runways along tree branches in their territory. Due to
their food preferences above and the fact that they store surplus food
which they do so by burying it makes squirrels a useful vector in seed
dispersal and tree planting.
Control
Measures:
There
are various methods of control but all must be used in conjunction with
proofing in the case of infestation into domestic premises:
- Firstly
there is proofing itself.
- Use
of cage traps
- Use
of spring traps.
- Poison
bait.
- Shooting.
- Drey
poking.
Proofing:
This
is self explanatory it is no earthly good trying to trap or bait squirrels
when there are numerous entrances for their brothers and cousins to
use at a later date.
Cage
Traps:
If
there are only a couple of squirrels bombing around the loft in question
then a single type of catch trap can be used. If however there are numerous
squirrels it is better to use the multiple type of cage trap which will
hold up to six squirrels. I am not going into the intricacies of trapping
procedure, suffice to say that the best bait to use is maize. We might
as well cover the legal aspects at this juncture:
- The
Protection of Animals Act 1911.
- Grey
Squirrel (warfarin order) 1973.
- Wild
Life and Countryside Act 1981.
- Control
of Pesticides Regulations 1986.
- Destructive
Imported Animals Act 1932.
Read
about all the ins and outs of all the laws involved as there are quite
a few, any pest controller who reads this page and is going to undertake
squirrel control must make sure that he/she is well informed. Ideally
it would be advisable to have attended a Vertebrate Management Course,
which not only teaches biology but legislation and control procedures.
Just for an example, under the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932,
if you catch a grey squirrel it is illegal to let it go again. These
regulations go on and on.
Spring
Traps:
These
are traps which when the squirrel takes the bait will kill. These are
only usable by professionals and are extremely humane. Again they are
baited with maize.
Poison
Bait:
There
are many many regulations covering this aspect of control and rules
applicable in England are not always relevant in Scotland and vice versa.
This aspect of control is mostly used by the Forestry Commision
and other similar bodies.
Shooting
/Drey Poking:
Again
not normally carried out by pest control companies but by the bodies
mentioned above. Drey poking is removal of the nests with long poles.
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