Green Pest Control deals with squirrels in lofts and roof spaces across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area, for homeowners, landlords and businesses. If something heavy is moving about above a bedroom ceiling in daylight, that is the problem this section is about.
Call 01502 630 122. Squirrel control is £280 fixed cost, with proofing at £180 where a roof needs closing afterwards.
Professional Squirrel Control for £280 Fixed Cost
Squirrel control is £280 fixed cost. Proofing work, where it is needed afterwards, is £180. Call 01502 630 122 and tell us what you have heard or seen.
Two figures, and no third one. The reason for pricing it that way is that squirrel work does not divide neatly into visits — a roof space is not a room, the animal is not on a schedule, and a job that needs a second or third call is not a different job. Quoting per visit puts the risk of that on the customer, which is the wrong way round.
What the two figures cover:
- £280 — the squirrel control work itself: establishing what is present and where, dealing with the activity, and confirming the roof space is clear afterwards
- £180 — proofing, where openings need closing so that the roof is not simply reoccupied. This is separate because not every property needs it, and nobody should pay for work their building does not require
Signs of Squirrels in a Loft or Roof
Most households notice the noise long before anything else, and the description is remarkably consistent: it sounds far too big to be a squirrel. A grey squirrel weighs about half a kilogram and lands on plasterboard with nothing underneath it, which is why a single animal can sound like something the size of a cat.
- Daytime noise. Running, thumping, rolling and coarse gnawing, loudest around first light and again in the late afternoon
- Repeated use of one spot. Something entering the roof at the same point, usually at the eaves, a verge or a junction
- Disturbed insulation. Flattened runs, a hollowed-out area, batts pushed off the joists
- Gnawing. Coarse marks on timber, plastic pipework or cable sheathing — far heavier than a mouse leaves
- Droppings. Roughly raisin-sized with rounded ends, scattered rather than in defined runs
- Debris outside. Nesting material, chewed fragments or insulation on a windowsill, a flat roof or a conservatory
The single most useful thing you can do before calling is write down the times. Two or three days of when the noise happens, and which part of the house it is above, narrows the species and the elevation before anybody sets foot on the property.
Why Squirrel Problems Need Attention
Grey squirrels gnaw continuously, and not because they are hungry. Their incisors grow throughout life, so wearing them down is a biological requirement rather than a preference. In a wood that is spent on bark and nut shells. In a roof space it is spent on whatever is available, which is usually timber, plastic and cable.
That is why a squirrel in a loft is different from a bird in a soffit. The damage is not incidental to its being there; it is what it does all day. Cabling is the part worth acting on quickly — stripped sheathing above a ceiling is a fire risk, and any flickering lights, tripping circuits or smell of burning should be treated as urgent and the circuit isolated.
The rest accumulates: insulation flattened and contaminated, felt torn, tiles lifted, water finding its way in behind them, and stored belongings ruined. None of it is dramatic on any given week, which is exactly why a problem first heard in September is often still there in January.
Our Squirrel Control Approach
The order matters more than any individual step, and it is the part most commonly got wrong — almost everybody's instinct is to close the hole first.
- Establish what is there. Species, roughly how many, where in the roof, and whether anything is inside at the moment
- Deal with the activity. The £280 work, using methods appropriate to the property and lawful for grey squirrels
- Confirm the space is clear before anything is closed
- Close the openings. Proofing at £180, in materials a squirrel cannot work through
- Put the roof space back. Insulation, an electrical check where there has been gnawing near a cable run, stored items
An entry point should never be sealed while an animal may still be inside. A shut-in squirrel gnaws considerably harder than one coming and going freely, and it works on whatever is nearest — frequently the ceiling below or the cabling beside it.
Grey squirrels are a non-native invasive species in the UK and it is an offence to release one that has been caught, so there is no lawful catch-and-release option available to anybody, professional or otherwise. That is worth stating plainly rather than leaving a customer to discover it, and it is one of the reasons a roof-space problem is not a job to attempt with a box trap from a garden centre.
Domestic and Commercial Squirrel Control
Roofs differ far more than the buildings under them suggest, and what changes the work is the construction rather than the category:
- Family homes. The commonest case. Access is through the loft hatch, the work is upstairs and out of the way, and nobody needs to leave the property
- Rented houses and flats. A fixed figure means a landlord or an agent can authorise the work without a survey first. Where the tenant is the one hearing it, access to the hatch is all that is needed
- Period and listed property. Complicated roof lines, several possible openings and limits on what can be altered, which puts more weight on getting the diagnosis right first
- Terraces and semis. Roof spaces are often continuous or only partly divided, so the sensible unit of work can be the building rather than the house
- Commercial premises. Offices, units and other suitable buildings, worked around opening hours where that is needed
Wherever the property sits in that list, the figure is the same. Call 01502 630 122 and describe what you have heard and when.
Squirrel Control Areas
Twenty towns have their own page, each written around a different part of the problem rather than the same page with the name changed — roof anatomy, insulation, proofing materials, the seasonal calendar, telling a squirrel from a rat, and what to do in the first twenty-four hours. Choose the nearest, or read whichever one matches what you are dealing with.
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Squirrel Control FAQs
How much does squirrel control cost?
Squirrel control is £280 fixed cost. That is the figure for the work itself, whatever the property and however many visits it takes to see it through. Where the roof needs closing afterwards so that the problem does not repeat, proofing is £180.
How can I tell if squirrels are in my loft?
The clearest indicator is the time of day. Grey squirrels are active in daylight, so heavy movement first thing in the morning and again in the late afternoon points strongly to squirrels rather than to rodents, which are largely nocturnal. Disturbed insulation, coarse gnawing and something seen using the roof from the garden all support it.
Can squirrels damage a roof space?
Yes, and the part worth taking seriously is electrical cabling — gnawed sheathing in a loft is a fire risk and needs an electrician. Insulation, plastic pipework, roof timbers, felt and stored belongings all take damage too, and it accumulates over a season rather than arriving all at once.
Why are the noises often during the day?
Because that is when the animal is awake. Squirrels forage in daylight and return to a roof space to rest, so the noise clusters around dawn and dusk and falls away overnight. Noise at two in the morning usually means something else, which changes the work considerably.
Should I block the hole?
No — not while anything may be inside. Closing a live entry point removes the animal's way out, and what follows is much harder gnawing on whatever is nearest, which is often the cabling or the ceiling below. The opening is closed last, once the roof space is known to be clear.
Do you deal with rental properties?
Yes. Rented houses and flats are covered on the same terms as owner-occupied homes, and the fixed figure makes it straightforward for a landlord or an agent to authorise without a survey first. Where a tenant is the one hearing it, all that is usually needed is access to the loft hatch.
Can squirrels come back?
A roof that stays open will be found again, generally the following autumn and often by a different animal. Squirrels navigate by what works, and a dry cavity near a food supply is a good result from their point of view. Closing the openings is what breaks that cycle, which is why proofing is offered as a separate piece of work.
What should I tell you when I call?
The times the noise is heard, over a few days; which part of the house it is above; whether it sounds heavy or light; anything visible from the loft hatch; and anything seen on the roof from outside. Photographs taken from the ground help a great deal. Most of the diagnosis can be done from that before anybody arrives.
Do squirrels only enter old houses?
No. New houses are entered every autumn, because access has almost nothing to do with age and everything to do with detail — an eaves gap, a dry-verge unit that has lifted, a soffit joint, a loose tile. A modern roof with one weak point is easier to enter than an old one with none.
How do I arrange treatment?
Call 01502 630 122. Say where you are, what you have heard and when, and the appointment can usually be arranged there and then.
Call Green Pest Control
For squirrel control across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area, call 01502 630 122. £280 fixed cost, with proofing at £180 where a roof needs closing afterwards.