How Much Is Squirrel Control in Buckinghamshire?

The law first

A Trapped Grey Squirrel Cannot Be Released

This needs stating plainly, because a lot of people assume the job is catch-and-relocate and it cannot be.

The grey squirrel is a non-native species listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under section 14 of that Act it is an offence to release one into the wild, or to allow one to escape, other than under a licence — and such licences are not given out for the purpose of moving a nuisance squirrel to a wood down the road. A grey squirrel that has been caught must therefore be dispatched, and it must be done humanely: the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 makes it an offence to cause a wild mammal unnecessary suffering.

So if a firm offers to catch your squirrels and release them somewhere else, they are describing something that is not lawful. It is worth knowing before you choose, because it is a reasonable thing to feel strongly about either way — and much better to know at the start than at the point a trap has something in it.

Traps have to be checked frequently, at least daily, for the same welfare reason. That is part of why the work is not a single visit.

What it costs

Why There Is No Figure on the Page

There is no published price for squirrel control because the work genuinely varies, and the variation is mostly in the building rather than the animal.

There is no call-out fee for coming to look, and the price is agreed with you before work starts. What it is made of:

• The inspection. Finding how they are getting in means looking at the roofline, which on a two-storey house means ladders or working from above. This takes time and it is the part that determines everything else.
• Trapping, over a period. With daily checks. Not a single visit.
• Proofing. Almost always the largest component and easily the most valuable. See below.
• Clearing up. Drey material, fouled insulation, and repairs where cable or pipework has been chewed.

The real cost

Proofing Is Where the Money Should Go

Removing the squirrels currently in your loft solves this month. Closing the way in solves it permanently, and the difference matters more with squirrels than with almost anything else.

The reason is that a loft a squirrel has used is a known address. They return to good sites, they are strong enough to enlarge a gap that a rodent could only squeeze through, and the roofline of a house offers a lot of candidate openings: a lifted tile, a rotten bargeboard, a gap where the soffit meets the wall, an unmeshed vent, a loose ridge tile, the point where a conservatory or an extension roof meets the main building.

Overhanging branches make it dramatically easier, and cutting a limb back is often the cheapest single intervention available.

A quote that covers trapping but not proofing is quoting you the part that has to be repeated. Squirrel work here carries a guarantee with follow-up support if it is needed — ask what the wording covers.

Timing

There Are Two Months to Avoid

Grey squirrels have two breeding seasons, roughly late winter into early spring and again around midsummer. If the adults are removed while dependent young are in the drey, the young starve in your loft, which is both a welfare problem and a smell you will be living with for weeks.

A technician should be checking for this before starting, and it may mean the approach changes or the timing shifts. If nobody raises it with you at all, that is worth noticing.

The other timing point is simpler: the longer it runs, the more the clearing-up costs. Chewed cable is a fire risk, fouled insulation has to come out and be replaced, and a water tank in the loft is a real problem if something drowns in it.

Short answers

Questions, Briefly

Where to go next

The Pages That Answer This