Squirrel in house

I don't imagine the fuzz will arrest you if you open a window and chase them out, or drop a towel over them and take them outside.

Grey squirrels are wild creatures which belong in North America. Before 1876 there were only red squirrels in this country - a completely different species. Greys were first introduced in Henbury Park, Cheshire, and quickly colonised everywhere. Now they outnumber reds by about 66 to 1.

Greys don't attack reds but they are bigger and bolder, they can use more varied habitats, they eat anything, they breed more often and have larger litters, and - most fatally - greys carry the disease squirrelpox, which does not affect them but kills the reds.

Yes, they are cute, but reds are even cuter. It is just a pity that the Victorians found them so charming that they imported them for their estates and upset the balance for the native red squirrels. The greys could have continued to be cute in North America and the reds could still be cute here.

Interesting article in Nature about squirrel intelligence. www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/problem-solving-abilities-help-explain-grey-squirrels-success/

Panicked because a squirrel was trapped in your bedroom? Open a window woman.


but do be careful as they have very sharp incisors. Don't get it trapped in a corner or try to pick it up.
My DC were imploring me to rescue a trapped grey squirrel once but I decided not to get too close - in the end the squirrel used its own initiative and escaped.

Well he shouldn't have been in the house..but he didn't deserve to die..no creature does!!

The law is to stop people bringing in exotic animals from abroad and releasing them. Remember all the red tape that had to be followed before a few trial beavers could be officially introduced (which had been native species here up until a few hundred years ago, before they were all turned into hats) ? Once an invasive species have established themselves, it is very hard to get rid of them - for instance cane toads in Australia
There are plenty more examples of creatures that fitted in fine to the jigsaw of species where they originated, but were then introduced elsewhere, where they had no natural predators, and they caused havoc. Ten of the world's most invasive species

The humble rabbit is one of the most invasive.

If the squirrel had come in from your garden I doubt if it is illegal to let it back out into your garden, hardly the same as importing a new invasive species, so the idea that "it has to be killed as its illegal to release it" sounds a bit extreme.

Letting it back out where it came is not illegal, but if you trap it and take it to the woods to let it out, you are breaking the law.

Basic provisions of the legislation are that:
• It is illegal to release a trapped grey squirrel into the wild or to keep a grey squirrel in captivity.
• Any grey squirrel caught must be humanely destroyed.
• Drowning cannot be used as method of control as it is inhumane and can lead to prosecution.
• There is no legal requirement to check live capture traps. However, the trapper is responsible for the welfare of any trapped animal, so they should be checked at least once per day. Also, be aware of local conditions which might affect the frequency of checking. For example, you might check twice per day in extremely hot weather or if there is a high probability of catching non-target species, ncluding red squirrels.

Pest control operatives will trap it and kill it, not take it away to release it elsewhere (as they might do with some species).

It is illegal

for instance cane toads in Australia
The cane toads were imported to control cane beetle in the sugar cane plantations - but they failed to do the job anyway as they were unable to reach the beetles which were at the top of the stalks.
They are a growing menace - another disaster engineered by man.
Stoats were introduced to NZ to kill off the introduced rabbit population but instead have decimated other species such as the kakapo and other ground-nesting birds.

I once saw a grey squirrel chew the head off another grey squirrel and run away with the head in the front garden of my flat in Buckinghamshire - I absolutely detest them. The old couple upstairs there took 2 grey squirrels into the woods after they jumped onto their balcony, I think they managed to get them in a cat carrier somehow - they knew they were breaking the law but they told me they felt too mean having them killed ?

I’ve just had the unpleasant experience of four squirrels in the loft. The noise was awful at times. Sometimes keeping us awake at night screaming and running around. They can also eat through cables and destroy insulation doing lots of damage.

Thebeeb that is exactly our experience. Luckily for us, the cable it stripped was the light cable to the spare bedroom, so rarely used. They then ate through the burglar alarm wire.

They had completely marmelised the insulation in half the loft and it all had to be replaced.

By the time we had finished their incursion into our loft cost us over £1,000 in repairs to the house wiring and burglar alarm, replacing the insulation and making sure that they could not get into our house through our neighbours house.

We have a beautiful hazel tree in our garden. In 22 years we have not had a single nut from it. The squirrels have the lot.

No sentimental feelings about squirrels at all.

Can you claim on your house insurance for damage caused by pests?
Some creature chewed through the waste pipe in our upstairs bathroom. The water damaged part of the sitting room ceiling.
Our insurance didn't cover the pipework, but paid for ceiling repair and redecoration. This was in France.
Mice can do a lot of damage too.

Unfortunately grey squirrels are now classed as vermin so can be killed. I would have thought that the pest control bloke could have taken it away and killed it though.
Just check around that there are no holes it could have got in through - they do carry disease, but as far as I'm aware it only affects red squirrels.
Go and sit down and have a cup of tea/ coffee and get on with the rest of your day - feeling your house is contaminated is a bit over the top!

How disgusting, killing that poor creature.

Poor Terrystred, I very much doubt she realised that Pest Control were going to shoot the squirrel in the head. However, it is a lesson learned and it might be worth asking a Pest controller what their method of control is before asking them to come out next time. My sister had a rat in her front room and the Pest Controller who came round didn't mention he used terriers to kill them. She said it was a traumatic experience from start to finish...she thought he was bringing a trap!

Good grief, Terrystred - you really over-reacted on this one. What on earth would you be like if you were faced with a real crisis?

Live and let live, eh?

Poor squirrel ? I wish you had thought to open a window for it instead of calling pest control which, in my opinion, was rather extreme! I love to watch them run around in the garden. They are very cute. I hope you don’t have nightmares thinking about the poor helpless squirrel you had murdered.....

I think the words "In the garden" are telling, here.
Nobody wants vermin in their home.

Just read this and couldn’t believe it!!!! That is horrendous,poor squirrel.
How could you be so cruel????

Bluebell I have actually heard (and haven't checked that it's true) that it's illegal to release a grey squirrel after you have it captured. I guess a) no one would have known and b) the OP could have pretended they thought it was a red one lol. But maybe like me the OP doesn't actually even like squirrels very much and didn't really want it living near her house. Contentious subject I know.

Oh I do have a reason for not liking them, by the way. I was sitting in the garden with my elderly cat who posed no threat to squirrels at all, when one suddenly came down from the fence, ran to the cat and wrapped itself around his face attacking him. Ok I know they're only obeying their instincts but I didn't find it a very endearing instinct, and have not enjoyed seeing squirrels in my garden ever since.

Some years ago my parents had squirrels in their loft which ate through all the cables up there. They rang pest control who came out and shot them all. It took my mother some years to get over it. There must be a better way of dealing with it.

Humbertbear
I'd have panicked too and wondered if it had brought any disease or fleas into the room. I don't like any creatures in my home, except for humans who, if they are children, can wreak as much havoc as an animal...but no carry no disease.

Some humans are so urbanised and cut off from nature that this is the result

I think generally, people in rural areas have fewer scruples about killing animals than people in the city.
Here in Northumberland we have one of the few remaining populations of red squirrels. We’re constantly exhorted to report sightings of grey squirrels, so that they can be killed, in order to protect the red squirrels. I think they are gassed.
Nature ‘red in tooth and claw’.