In an effort to protect the red squirrel population, Prince Charles has ordered the estate managers of the Duchy of Cornwall estate to cull the grey squirrels. Grey squirrels carry a poxvirus deadly to red squirrels, and are also extremely destructive in woodlands. There are 2.5 million grey squirrels estimated to live in Great Britain, compared to an estimated 140,000 red squirrels.
Squirrels in the fall don’t care if you’ve spent a lot of money buying tulip or crocus bulbs. They don’t care that you’ve spent most of a weekend planting bulbs around your home in hopes of a gorgeous flower show in the spring. They see, or rather, smell, the bulbs as a fabulous treat. As they feast on bulbs in the fall, they are also looking for easy places to hoard food for the winter and safe, warm places to hole up for the winter months. If the squirrels are attracted to your yard, they’re more likely to investigate your attic, chimney or walls as possible places to store food or as dens for the winter. An experienced wildlife control technician can inspect your property, sealing up any possible entrance points against curious squirrels, keeping the squirrels out of your home.
One or two squirrels in the attic or chimney? Sure, that’s a problem. People try to catch them or chase them out on their own, and end up screeching and running with their arms doing the windmill thing when the squirrel understandably freaks out and tries to get away from these huge screaming humans. Even worse are the times people don’t even know there’s a squirrel or two in their house or building until it’s too late. The squirrel’s already nested in amongst their holiday decorations, or chewed through the cardboard box that held little Jimmy’s baby clothes, or gnawed through the wiring and almost caused a fire.
Yeah, one or two squirrels are bad enough.
Try forty or fifty. That’s a downright squirrel infestation. Can you imagine what kind of damage that many squirrels will do to your property? Usually, the ground-dwelling squirrels live in colonies that large. The tree-dwelling squirrels are a little more solitary. But, the ground-dwelling ones cause just as much damage. They’ll burrow throughout the lawn, chew on anything they can find (try garden hoses, sprinkler systems, planters, etc.), and eat their way through gardens and flower beds. They’ll get into the house or other outbuildings and keep their teeth the right size by gnawing through walls, wiring, boxes and belongings. Imagine nests of blind baby squirrels wriggling around in the walls, crawlspace or basement. Imagine pulling out a box of old family pictures and dumping out mounds of rotting nuts. Imagine the stench of several squirrels, dead in the wall behind your bedroom, kitchen or living room.
Many people don’t have to imagine it. They’re living with the frustration right now. Squirrels can infest apartments, condos, mobile homes, golf courses, houses owned by multi-millionaires, businesses, warehouses, barns. They’re adorable and fun to watch, no doubt. Watching them play outside in their natural habitat is one thing. Dealing with the stench, the noise, the damage, the nuisance . . . well, that’s something else.
Now, a lot of people figure they can handle a squirrel infestation themselves. They go on-line and study up and think they’re experts. We get a lot of calls from people who have learned the hard way that they just don’t understand how to get rid of squirrels for good. They either don’t get them all, or end up sealing some inside to die in the walls or chimney or attic, or they just get overwhelmed with frustration. We understand. That’s why we’re here. We’re equipped with experience and knowledge to seek them out and seal them out of your property, we can clean and repair the messes and damage, and we have the equipment and expertise to take care of your squirrel infestation once and for all. It’s what we do, and we’re good at it. Call Allstate Animal Control today.