How a Squirrel Job Runs in a Kingsbury Roof
Getting squirrels out of a loft is a sequence, and doing the steps in the wrong order is what lets them back in. For an interwar house near Fryent Country Park, Roe Green Park or the Welsh Harp, it runs like this.
1. Confirming it is squirrels
Before trapping is arranged, it is worth being sure what is up there. Rats and mice use lofts too, and they need a different service. Tell us when you hear the noise and what you have found; if it turns out to be rodents, rat control or mouse control is the right booking instead. How to know squirrels are in your loft sets out the evidence.
2. Trapping
The £280 service is for trapping the grey squirrels using your roof space. Before anything starts you will be told what it involves and what is needed from you, such as keeping the loft hatch shut and leaving anything that has been set up undisturbed.
3. Making sure the loft is empty
The entry point should stay open until the squirrels have gone. A squirrel shut inside will chew its way out, through the roof or down into the house, and in spring or summer there may be young in a nest that cannot leave by themselves. How long squirrel control takes depends on the roof and how many squirrels are using it.
4. Closing the gap
Once the loft is quiet, the way in needs a proper repair, which on these houses usually means work to the eaves timbers or the roof edge. That is normally a job for a roofer or carpenter, so it pays to line one up early and have the repair follow straight on. Stopping squirrels getting back into your roof describes what a lasting repair involves.
5. Cutting back branches
Mature garden trees close to the roof give squirrels a launch point. Trimming branches back after the repair makes the roof harder to reach. Use a tree surgeon for large trees, and if the house is in the Roe Green Village conservation area, check with Brent Council first, as notice is generally needed before work on trees there.
When in the Year Squirrels Move In
Grey squirrels can move into a roof at any time, but late winter into spring, and again in summer, are when females look for somewhere to raise young. Booking as soon as you hear activity in late winter can mean dealing with adults before a litter arrives. In autumn squirrels are busy gathering food, and a roof used earlier in the year can draw them back if the gap is still open, which is why squirrels keep returning to the same loft.
Semis and the Roof Next Door
A Kingsbury semi shares its hipped roof with the house next door, and the party wall in the loft does not always reach the tiles. A squirrel that got in on your neighbour's side may be nesting above your bedroom, and repairing only your eaves will not help if theirs are still open. Speak to your neighbours before booking: when both lofts are affected, dealing with the roof as one is far more likely to work.
Grey Squirrels and the Law
Grey squirrels are an invasive non-native species. Once one has been caught, it is an offence to release it or let it escape into the wild, so driving it across the Welsh Harp and letting it go is not allowed. The legal position on release is covered in our guide, and Squirrel Control Brent has the borough-wide picture.
