Five things visible from a Kesgrave loft hatch with a decent torch, in about five minutes, without anybody setting foot in the roof space.
One: daylight
The most valuable finding and the easiest to see. Turn the torch off and let your eyes adjust for a minute. Any light showing where there should be none — particularly a line of it along the eaves — is an opening, and it is the single most direct evidence available anywhere in this subject.
Two: disturbed insulation
Rake the torch beam low across the surface rather than pointing it down; shallow light throws shadows into everything that matters. Look for flattened tracks running towards the eaves, a hollow or bowl with bare plasterboard at the bottom, batts pushed off the joists, and loose fibres scattered well away from where they belong.
Three: droppings on clean material
Roughly raisin-sized, barrel-shaped with rounded ends, scattered rather than in defined runs. What matters as much as the shape is what they are sitting on: dark droppings on clean insulation means now, whereas grey crumbling ones under a layer of settled dust are a record of a past episode.
Four: nesting material
Not a ball of twigs — in a loft the nest is made from the loft. Look for teased-apart mineral wool, torn paper or textile, a worked bowl in the insulation, and compressed routes radiating from it. Look against outside walls and near the eaves rather than in the middle.
Five: cable
Along the tops of the joists near the hatch and towards the eaves, where it is usually clipped and visible without going in. Bright copper showing, white inner sheathing through grey outer, or cable that looks chewed rather than cut. Photograph it; do not touch it, and treat every cable as live.
Anything on that fifth point is urgent. Damaged cable in a roof full of insulation is a fire risk. Isolate the circuit and call a qualified electrician, ahead of anything else.
And do not climb in. Most lofts are unboarded, deep insulation hides the joists, and a foot between them goes through the ceiling. Every one of the five is visible from the opening.
If you find nothing
It means very little. The part of a loft visible from the hatch is a small fraction of it, and in the deep modern insulation common in Kesgrave a nest can sit almost entirely below the surface. Judge it on the noise and on the outside survey rather than on a clear view from the opening.
Questions
What sort of torch?
A proper one with a beam rather than a phone light. Being able to rake the light across the surface matters more than brightness.
Is it safe to put my head up?
From the hatch with the ladder secure, yes. Climbing in and walking about on an unboarded ceiling is not.
My loft is boarded. What then?
Most of this list is hidden, so say so when you call. Activity is often in the void beyond the boarded area.
Squirrel Control Kesgrave
Squirrel control in Kesgrave 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 Kesgrave, call 01502 630 122, or read the Kesgrave squirrel control page.