From tree canopy to roof
A grey squirrel is equally at home crossing tree canopies or running along a fence top as it is moving across the ground, just as near New Addington, where a mid-20th-century estate on the borough's southern edge. Mature trees close to a house tend to have branches that overhang the roof, effectively bridging the gap, so a squirrel only has to find a weak spot at the eaves from there, whether that's near Addiscombe, where victorian and Edwardian terraces east of the town centre, or elsewhere in the borough.
Selsdon's wooded edges
Houses set among the woodland on high ground around Selsdon give squirrels a particularly short route from tree cover to roofline. A check at the eaves each autumn is worth doing here before a quiet loft becomes a noisy one over winter.
Coulsdon's larger gardens
Coulsdon's outer suburban streets, with larger gardens and some woodland edges close to the Surrey boundary, give squirrels plenty of cover right up to the roof edge on the houses backing onto them.
Confirming it's a squirrel
Timing gives it away. Squirrel activity happens by day, typically a burst around first light and another in late afternoon, so overnight scratching or running points elsewhere, to rats or mice - the same pattern holds near Thornton Heath, where dense Victorian terraces close to the town centre.
Checking for damage
Look from the loft hatch without climbing in, using a torch: flattened or shredded insulation, gnawed timber, chewed boxes and droppings near a water tank. The most serious sign is chewed cable, since it exposes live wiring and creates a fire risk; don't touch it, and have it checked by an electrician, just as near Shirley, where suburban streets and gardens on the eastern edge of the borough.
What not to do
- Block the entry hole while squirrels may still be inside; a trapped one chews a new way out
- Put down poison in the loft
- Catch a squirrel and release it elsewhere - it's illegal for this species
Booking squirrel control in Croydon
Our squirrel trapping service in Croydon is £280, and since around New Addington, where a mid-20th-century estate on the borough's southern edge, it helps to say when you book squirrel control whether the sounds are by day or night and whether trees overhang the roof, with more on the Croydon squirrel control page.
