Why Barnet Has So Many Squirrels in Lofts
A grey squirrel needs a route to the roof and a way through it. Barnet supplies both in quantity, and that combination is why we take more squirrel calls here than in boroughs with just as many trees but newer housing.
The route up
Mature gardens backing onto Totteridge Fields, Arrandene Open Space, Oak Hill Wood, Coppetts Wood and the golf courses at Finchley, Mill Hill and Arkley give an unbroken run of branches. A squirrel does not need to touch the ground to reach a roof, and an overhanging branch within a couple of metres of the eaves is effectively a bridge.
The way through
The interwar roofline is the weak point. Soffit boards that have softened or pulled away, gaps where a bay roof meets the main wall, lifted ridge tiles and the junction where a later extension was added all give a squirrel somewhere to start. They gnaw to widen an opening, so a small gap does not stay small.
What they do once inside
A loft is dry, warm and undisturbed, and Barnet's are generous. Squirrels flatten and foul insulation, gnaw stored belongings and boxes, and — the reason this is worth acting on quickly — gnaw electrical cable. They are most obvious at first light and again at dusk, and the noise is a heavy scurrying and thumping quite unlike a mouse.
Signs of squirrels
- Loud scurrying or rolling sounds in the roof at dawn and dusk
- Gnaw marks around a soffit, fascia board or roof edge
- Insulation flattened, dragged into heaps or fouled
- Droppings in the loft, larger and more rounded than a rat's
- Squirrels repeatedly seen on the roof or running the same branch
- Fresh timber or plastic shavings below the eaves outside
Do not block the hole first
It is the mistake we are most often called out after. Sealing the entry point while squirrels are inside traps them, and a trapped squirrel gnaws. It will come through a ceiling or into a wall cavity, and if a female has young in the loft you also have a welfare problem and a smell that lasts. The gap is closed once the loft is clear, not before.
