Seeing a grey squirrel in a London park or garden can be entertaining. Finding one running around inside your loft is an entirely different matter. Grey squirrels are widespread across London and can become a serious nuisance when they gain access to roof spaces, lofts and other parts of a property.
Squirrels are excellent climbers and can use trees, fences, walls and adjoining buildings to reach your roof. Once inside a loft, they may tear insulation apart, gnaw timber and cause damage to electrical cables and stored belongings while creating a nest. Electrical cable damage is particularly concerning because damaged wiring can create a potential fire hazard. Their activity can also be surprisingly noisy, particularly early in the morning.
The good news is that there are practical steps you can take to make your property less attractive and reduce the opportunities for squirrels to get inside. In this post, we look at how to deter squirrels from your loft and garden, with advice particularly relevant to London homes.
How To Deter Squirrels from Your Loft
The most important part of squirrel prevention is keeping them outside in the first place. Once a squirrel has established a nest in a loft, simply trying to scare it away may not solve the problem.
Squirrels can exploit surprisingly small weaknesses around roofs that can potentially provide access. Start by inspecting the outside of your property for possible entry points. Look for:
- Damaged or missing roof tiles
- Gaps underneath the eaves
- Holes around pipes and cables
- Damaged soffits and fascias
- Openings around roof vents
- Gaps around chimneys
- Areas where roofing joins an extension
To help deter squirrels, any potential entry point should be properly secured using materials that squirrels cannot simply gnaw through.
Make It Harder for Squirrels to Reach the Roof
Trees close to a house can provide squirrels with an easy route onto the roof. In London, where gardens can be relatively small and mature trees are often close to neighbouring properties, this can be particularly relevant.
Keeping branches trimmed away from the roof can reduce access, although there is no single safe distance that guarantees a squirrel cannot reach your property. Squirrels are capable climbers and can move easily between trees, fences, walls and roofs. It is better to think about the entire route rather than relying on a specific measurement.
Check Your Roof Regularly
A roof can appear perfectly sound from ground level while still containing small gaps that provide access to wildlife. After storms or periods of strong wind, check for slipped tiles, damaged roofline materials and other obvious defects.
If you hear scratching or movement in the loft, investigate signs of squirrels being present immediately. Squirrels are most active during daylight hours, so noises coming from the loft during the morning or afternoon can sometimes help distinguish them from nocturnal rodents such as rats and mice.
Don’t Seal a Squirrel Inside
There is an important point to remember before blocking a suspected entrance: make sure the squirrel is outside first. Sealing an active entrance while an animal is still inside can trap it in the loft. This creates an animal welfare problem and can lead to further damage as the squirrel attempts to escape.
There may also be young squirrels in a nest during the breeding season. Closing up an entrance without checking the situation properly can separate a mother from her young. If you suspect squirrels are already living inside your loft, professional inspection is the safest approach before any holes are sealed.stubbornness and perseverance.
How To Deter Squirrels from Your Garden
Preventing squirrels from visiting a London garden altogether is difficult. They are highly adaptable animals and can make use of a wide range of natural and artificial food sources. A more realistic objective is to make your garden less attractive while protecting areas that are particularly vulnerable.
Remove Easy Food Sources
Bird feeding is one of the biggest reasons squirrels become regular visitors to gardens. Standard bird feeders can provide squirrels with a reliable source of high-energy food. If you feed garden birds, consider using squirrel resistant feeders and position them away from structures squirrels can use as launching points. Avoid leaving large quantities of excess bird food on the ground and clean up spilled seed regularly.
You can also get squirrel damage in the garden. They bury food in lawns, borders and plant pots and can dig repeatedly in the same areas. They may also strip bark from trees and shrubs, particularly when other food sources are less readily available. Vegetable patches and fruit trees can also attract squirrels.
Physical protection is usually more dependable than attempting to repel squirrels with smells or over the counter deterrents. Wire mesh around vulnerable plants, properly secured barriers and squirrel-resistant feeders can all make a garden less attractive. Protective mesh can be particularly useful for preventing them from reaching vulnerable plants and bulbs.
Can Chilli Powder or Plants Deter Squirrels?
You will often see claims that certain plants will keep squirrels away. Strong-smelling or unpalatable plants may discourage squirrels from investigating a particular area, but there is no plant that will reliably squirrel-proof a London garden. Plants such as alliums, daffodils and hyacinths can still be attractive additions to a garden and may be less appealing to squirrels than some other plants. However, they should be considered part of a wider strategy to deter squirrels rather than a guaranteed solution.
Chilli and other strong-tasting substances are also sometimes recommended as squirrel deterrents. Capsaicin, the compound responsible for the heat in chilli peppers, can discourage some mammals from feeding on treated food. However, rain quickly reduces the effectiveness of many homemade applications and squirrels can become accustomed to deterrents that provide only a temporary unpleasant experience.
Don’t Encourage Squirrels by Feeding Them
Feeding squirrels may seem harmless, particularly when they appear regularly in a garden. The drawback to doing this is that deliberately providing food can encourage squirrels to return and become increasingly comfortable around your property.
Once squirrels associate a garden with a reliable food supply, they may spend considerably more time there. This increases the likelihood of them investigating sheds, roofs, lofts and other sheltered areas as a place to take refuge, nest and settle in. If you want to support London’s wildlife, using appropriate bird feeders and maintaining natural planting can provide a better alternative to intentionally feeding squirrels.
When Professional Squirrel Control Is Needed
Methods to deter squirrels are most useful when squirrels are still outside your property. Once they have established themselves inside a loft, professional help may be needed to determine how they are getting in and whether there are young animals present.
A professional pest controller can inspect the property, identify entry points and develop an appropriate exclusion strategy. This is particularly important where squirrels have repeatedly gained access despite attempts to block obvious holes.
At Diamond Pest Control, we provide professional squirrel control across London for homeowners and businesses. If you are hearing scratching, notice gnawing or detect movement in your loft during the daytime or have discovered evidence that squirrels are getting into your roof, contact our team for advice and an appropriate solution.