One property with a squirrel in the roof is an incident. Several properties in the same area, year after year, is a maintenance pattern — and it is considerably cheaper to manage it as one.
Why a portfolio sees it repeatedly
Nothing to do with the properties being poorly kept. Brandon sits close to a great deal of woodland, which supports a substantial local population and produces a large dispersing cohort every autumn. Properties near that cover are assessed annually whether anybody notices or not.
Add several buildings of similar age and construction, and the same detail tends to fail on all of them within a few years of each other.
The reactive cost, honestly
Per incident: the control work, the proofing, insulation reinstatement, an electrician where there has been gnawing, sometimes a roofer, sometimes a ceiling. Plus the parts that do not appear on an invoice — tenant relations, time spent coordinating trades, and occasionally a tenancy that does not renew.
The preventive alternative
- Survey the roof line of each property once, and close the openings. Proofing is £180 per property, priced on the building rather than per opening
- Add the roof line to the routine inspection. Ten minutes, from the ground, with a camera, once a year in September
- Photograph and keep the sets, one per property per year. Change over time is the entire signal
- Clear the gutters annually. Overflowing water rots the fascia and soffit that let things in
- Keep the trees cut back from the roofs, outside the bird nesting season
- Brief the tenants. A tenant who knows to report daytime noise early is worth more than any inspection
The arithmetic across several properties. Proofing a building once is a known figure. Dealing with an infestation, the damage and the trades that follow is not — and the difference compounds every year the pattern repeats.
The properties to do first
- Anything backing onto woodland, a park, a churchyard or mature tree cover
- Anything with a history — even years ago
- Older properties with open eaves, perished felt or no underlay
- Anything that stands empty between tenancies, where nobody hears the early warning
- Anything where a neighbouring property is empty or poorly maintained
What it protects beyond the roof
Insulation depth, which feeds the energy rating that let property has to meet. Electrical installations, which is the safety question. And the tenancy itself, because a problem addressed in a week reads very differently to a tenant from one addressed in a month.
The empty ones
Properties standing empty between tenancies have no early warning at all, because nobody is there to hear it. For those, closing the openings in advance is not a precaution — it is the only line of defence the building has.
Questions
Is it worth proofing a property with no current problem?
In a high-pressure location, yes. It is a known figure against an unknown one, and it protects the insulation and the rating as well.
How often should the roofs be checked?
Once a year in September, plus after any severe gale. Add it to the routine inspection.
Which properties first?
Anything backing onto tree cover, anything with a history, and anything that stands empty between tenancies.
Squirrel Control Brandon
Squirrel control in Brandon 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.
For squirrel control in Brandon, call 01502 630 122, or read the Brandon squirrel control page.