Squirrels
Trees, Roofs and Squirrels in Friern Barnet
A house near a park or a wood will not automatically get squirrels, but it is more exposed. Grey squirrels feed and nest in the trees, and when a female wants somewhere dry and sheltered to raise young, a loft with a gap at the eaves is close at hand. Houses on the roads near Friary Park and along the edge of Coppetts Wood, and any home with a big garden tree within a leap of the roof, are the ones to watch.
Semis and terraces near the park
Where two houses share a roof, a squirrel that got in on one side may be nesting over the other. If you live in a semi or a terrace near Friary Park, talk to the neighbours before booking, since repairing one half of a shared roof while the other half is still open rarely keeps squirrels out.
Converted buildings and their roofs
Squirrels can get into the big shared roofs of converted buildings too. There the loft is normally reached through the managing agent, so a resident on the top floor who hears movement overhead should report it to them first. The rest of this page is written mainly for houses.
How the Service Runs, Step by Step
Checking it is squirrels
Noise in the roof can be squirrels, rats or mice, and each needs a different service. Squirrels are busiest around dawn and dusk and sound heavy; rodents are mostly heard at night. What squirrels sound like in a roof helps you tell, and if it turns out to be rodents, rat control or mouse control is the booking instead.
Trapping
What you pay £280 for is the trapping of the grey squirrels living in your roof. Before it starts you will know what happens and what you need to do, which is mostly keeping the hatch closed and not moving anything that has been set up.
Waiting until the loft is clear
The way in stays open until the squirrels have gone. Blocking it early can trap one inside, where it will chew a new exit, and in spring or late summer there may be young that cannot leave by themselves. The guide to how long squirrel control takes explains why a roof next to a wood can take longer to clear than one on an open street.
Repairing the entry point
When the loft is quiet, the gap needs a proper repair, usually by a roofer or carpenter. Line one up early so the work can follow straight on, and see how squirrels are getting into your roof for the likely places to look.
Branches and trees
Trimming garden branches back from the roof makes it harder to reach. Trees in the park or the wood are not yours to cut, which makes the roof repair all the more important for houses right beside them. Some trees are protected, so check with Barnet Council before cutting back a large one.
When to Book
Squirrels can move into a roof at any time of year, but late winter into spring and again in summer are when females look for a place to raise young. Acting as soon as you hear them can mean dealing with adults before a litter arrives. In autumn, squirrels busy storing food may come back to a roof they used before if the gap is still open, which is part of why squirrels return to the same loft.
The Law on Grey Squirrels
The law treats the grey squirrel as an invasive non-native animal, and once one has been caught it is an offence to release it or let it escape, so taking it to Coppetts Wood or Friary Park and letting it go is not allowed. The legal position on release is set out in the guide, and Squirrel Control Barnet covers the rest of the borough.
