AIBU To ask for some advice about exterminating squirrels?

[scratchyfannyofcocklane]

OK so I strongly suspect I have squirrel nutkin and all her relatives living in my eves /soffits/loft.
There is a big pile of shreded loft insulation in one corner of my attic (but can't see any obvious damage or poo) and I have found bits floating around my garden. I have also spotted a squirrel climbing up the side of my house and disappearing under my eves...
How the fuck do I get rid of the little bastards? Does anyone have experience of this and the likely hood of how much this will cost ?
Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Either get a pest controller or use kill traps and fix the entry and exit points.

Assuming hey are grey squirrels.

😢can’t you just evict them back to the wild poor little things

You don't need to kill them ffs.

Killing squirrels? Nice

I can't imagine killing them! And I say that as someone who has to put up with bloody mice now and again.

Just get a pest control company in. They will probably set up squirrel traps and take them away for you. People forget that grey squirrels are an invasive species. Its illegal to release them back into to the wild if caught, and there are some programs around the country to try to eliminate them so that reds can be reintroduced.

You will need to call in pest control and likely a roofer. They will eat through wiring which is dangerous for them, costly to fix but also a massive house fire risk (frayed cabling)

It normally needs someone with knowledge to identify entry and exit points as they are sneakier than you'd think

They are invasive non native which aput native wildlife at significant risk.

that's why you cant just release them into the wild. Because it's illegal.

They’re such beautiful intelligent little things, I used to hand feed one Brazil nuts, they’re very clever, just trying to survive, not their fault that stupid people brought them here in the first place 😥

What would you do, given it's illegal to release them into the wild?

Think before making a snarky comment.

Personally I’d rather break the ‘law’ than kill anything

You cant release them into the wild because it's illegal so what should OP do? What is your alternative, legal advice.

Are you vegan?

There is no point killing them if you don't prevent other ones coming in - you need someone to fix the entry points. For example they could put plastic bording over the eaves if that is the way they are getting in.

We eventually solved this exact problem by blocking the entrance point into the house using expanding foam. This wasn't our first choice of material I hasten to add, we initially nailed wood over the entrance but the squirrel gnawed through it on more than 2 occasions! They are very determined creatures. There were some very comic moments where we accidently blocked the squirrel IN the house and had to take the wood off. It was like a cartoon at times. I used to feel some affection for the cute little squirrels but following our epic battle of the eaves I feel very differently 😂

I should add that when we eventually succeeded in blocking the hole the squirrel was FURIOUS! Quite a scary sight.

We bunged a battery powered sonic repellant just inside the loft hatch as our first thing to try and it seemed to actually work as we didn't hear anything else.

They are rats with fluffier tails. Absolute pests

Squirrels are very very destructive and are arguably a much worse pest to deal with than rats, if they get into your roof. Call a professional pest control company tomorrow and as another poster said, get a roofer and electrician in if necessary to check for damage.

Yeah you need to get this sorted asap, they’ll do a tremendous amount of damage if left, to the point that they will nibble through cables and be a fire risk.

Grey squirrels are non-native vermin so it has the answer is not “catch and release”

Ah the poor squirrels

They are incredibly destructive, so unless you can trap them yourself, you will need a pest controller. Because, make no mistake about it, they are pests. As well as being an non native invasive species, to the detriment of our lovely native red squirrels.
DH shoots and occasionally we have a squirrel casserole. They are good eating for we carnivores.

Grey or red? Grey is an invasive species and a pest controller will exterminate them, humanely and it is illegal to do otherwise ( I.E capture and release) Red are protected and you will need to live with them… and be very honoured to do so :)

My worst nightmare. Sorry, OP.