Never mind mice, what do you do about squirrels?

You live next to a small wooded area. Is it any wonder you have squirrels? They are invading your space?! Coming into your living room and taking up seats on the settee?!

You sound ridiculous and mean.

Unless they get into your house (roof included), what's the problem?

If they’re greys I think the council can remove them - if they get into the house. We used to have them when we lived next to a wood. The population fluctuated. A good year would mean our cat would bring several home. Then they’d have a lean year without much natural food and the population would slump.

Well Lynne you don't seem to be full of compassion yourself ! Read the OPs message , she doesn't want to kill squirrels , just keep them at bay .......... they are rodents after all and do untold damage in a roof space

aggie... you know nothing about me. I have a great deal of compassion for animals. Do one.

I do too but have some left over for people

I've worked in the care sector for 22 years and helped hundreds of people with REAL problems. As I say, you know nothing whatsoever about me. The lady who posted the question hasn't made a comment to my reply, so why the hell do you feel the need to somehow be her saviour?

aggie....I suspect you too, are the type like Squirrel Lady who spends far too much time faffing about and looking out of the window to see what everyone else is doing.

We had a lot running around our last home, never tried to break and enter though. I do understand your concern as our former neighbours did have a grey squirrel check out their roof space, the local council were very helpful. I'm sure you are careful about not encouraging them by providing food, other than that I don't think there's a lot you can do other than hope they find a more interesting garden and potential indoor space. As nfk says they do fluctuate, maybe this is just a good squirrel year.

We had a nest in the roof . Horrible. I've still got a yellow stain on the ceiling which will not go. DH now shoots them. They are fewer in number this year and there seem to be more birds. I would love red squirrels though.
I don't know what do one means but it lacks charm.

Lynne I am sitting outside at the moment , with occasional arm waving to chase the crows that keep trying to befriend me , I was not a fan of squirrels since they ganged up on me in the Botanics , about 51 yrs ago , looking for food round my feet , then one dropped to my shoulder . The fire Brigade were nearly answering my shrieks , I will try and shut up now xxx

Have squirrels in my garden, I love watching them. I assume my loft/attic space is squirrel proof as we replaced soffits a few years ago.

We are in suburbia, our house is built on an old garden centre and open land, the wild life was here first, including foxes and badgers, fortunately we are mole free.

I understand they are quite good eating :-)

Gosh LynnB59 do I know you? Have I upset you in an earlier life.
I’m sure that there are more important problems than mine in life but this is a forum where we can chat about those too.
Try a different thread if this one upsets you so much.
Faffing about? I still run my own business and have been extremely busy and therefore unable to reply to you before.
FYO grey squirrels are vermin just like rats. We have lived alongside them without problems for13 years but seem to be inundated now.
Much love - the squirrel lady xxx

Make sure any branches of hedges or trees that are long enough to act as a bridge are cut back.

A local news story where someone was prosecuted reminded us that although they are classed as vermin....they are also classed as an introduced species....not indigenous.... so if you do catch one...legally you cannot just release it. Hey ho.....not saying what you can do though!!

We used to be surrounded by them, living in a green oasis within a city.
I was once told that used Ferret bedding kept them away. We cannotsmell it but the squirrels can and thus stay away.
Now we live in the country we hardly ever see one.

We saw more of the pesky delightful little creatures when we lived in London and our neighbour had her loft invaded by them. When they were all our foraging she had any small gaps in the part between the house and roof filled in (there is a technical word for this space but I've forgotten it, I don't mean the soffits, it is like a metal grid).

Now we have a couple which share the gardens around here - hoping they are both of the same sex and we don't get inundated by them again. They can be entertaining but they are a pest.

In fact I do prefer them to magpies but wouldn't like to be overwhelmed by them.

Do you feed the birds Pamela?, if so, that could be encouraging them. We have hazel trees at the back of the garden and find hazel trees growing all over the place where the squirrels have stashed their nuts.

Yes we do feed the birds, Jalima, but then we always have and our feeders are squirrel proof. Maybe we should stop that altogether but it seems a shame.
They just climb over the fence so don’t need any branches to help them.
As I said we have co-existed with them for years but this year we seem to be over run.
Aggie you were attacked in the ‘botanics’??
Thank you for being my saviour.

Botanical gardens in Edinburgh , Pamela , on honeymoon ,kind of spoiled the mood , I had to stop feeding the birds here because of rats , not fond of them either Lynne , sorry ! Glad you are ok Pamela

Make sure your roof is squirrel proof. Ours was, but next doors wasn't and they got in through their loft. However that was 20 years ago and once the party wall in the loft was repaired despite having a lot of squirrels around, we have a hazel and walnut tree in our garden, we have had no problems.

Pamelaj1...I simply cannot see why squirrels would be a problem unless they get into the roof (my neighbour had them in her loft and they had babies - I had to smile when I saw them sticking their pretty little faces out of the guttering).

Squirrels forming a gang like little thugs haha aggie.

I'm afraid I care far more for all animals than I do for most people. I make no apology for that, and I feel it's a real shame that foxes, hedgehogs, badgers and many other wild animals are discouraged, actively removed, and lose their habitat because of humans. To me, squirrels are no different. END OF DISCUSSION.

LynneB59 I had to smile when I saw them sticking their pretty little faces out of the guttering

You would not smile if the squirrels in your loft ate their way through your security and fire alarm wiring and then start on the house's electrical wiring, leaving bare copper wires stretched across the rafters in your house. Do I need to explain the extent of the danger that put the inhabitants of the house in?

I do not dislike squirrels, and, as I said after our invasion, once remedial work was undertaken, we have not had a problem, but repairing all the damage that they did to our house ran into £000s, which was not all covered by insurance. I would also like, just once, to be able to eat some of the nuts from either our hazel tree or the walnut. In over 20 years we have not seen one whole nut, still less eaten one.

END OF DISCUSSION excellent. Good decision. bye bye Lynn.

Maybe we should stop that altogether but it seems a shame.
Yes it does.

You are allowed to kill them humanely and/or destroy the dreys - I couldn't do that, personally, but it is legal.

Can you put spikey wire on the top of your fences to prevent them from coming into the garden? If they stay on their own side of the fence they shouldn't be a problem.

Repel them: If you can spray something that squirrels generally don’t like around the garden, it will keep them out. A few items that work best are vinegar, peppermint oil, and capsaicin. Each time it rains, you will need to reapply your repellent.

Get a dog?

They never leave us any nuts either M0nica!
And I am forever pulling trees up from all around the garden.