Squirrel control › Long Melford
A surprising number of squirrel problems sit still for weeks because nobody is certain whose job it is to pick up the phone.
Here is the practical answer for each of the usual situations.
Owner-occupier
Straightforward: it is your building and your call. Worth checking the insurance policy at the same time — damage caused by vermin is commonly excluded, but it costs nothing to look, and where water damage has followed there may be a separate position.
Tenant
Report it to the landlord or agent in writing, promptly, and keep the record. A roof-space animal is a problem with the structure of the building rather than with how it is being lived in, and structural matters ordinarily sit with the landlord.
Practically: a written report with dates, times and any photographs is what moves it along, and prompt reporting protects the tenant's position if damage follows.
Landlord
Acting quickly is in the landlord's own interest before it is anything else. The damage is to the building — cabling, insulation, timber, pipework — and it accumulates. A fixed figure of £280 makes it a decision that can be taken from a phone call rather than after a survey and a quotation.
All that is normally needed on the day is access to the loft hatch, so it is generally arranged directly with the tenant.
Managing agent
Agents are usually the ones organising it, and the fixed figure helps: it can be authorised against a standing limit rather than going back to the landlord for approval of an estimate. Worth passing on the tenant's account of the times, which is the information that makes the visit productive.
Leaseholder in a flat
This is the one that stalls most often. In most leases the roof and the structure are the freeholder's responsibility rather than the leaseholder's, and the roof space above a top-floor flat is commonly not part of the demise at all.
So the first call is usually to the managing agent or freeholder rather than to a contractor. It is also frequently a shared roof space serving several flats, which makes it a building-wide job in any case.
Whoever calls, report it in writing as well. A dated record of when it was first noticed and what was reported is what settles responsibility later, and it costs one email.
Neighbours
Where a roof space is shared, or where the entry appears to be on an adjoining property, the conversation with a neighbour is part of the job rather than an awkward extra. In a Long Melford terrace it is frequently the step that resolves it, and coordinated work across two or three properties is both cheaper and considerably more effective than each acting alone.
Questions
I am a tenant. Can I just arrange it myself?
Report it to the landlord or agent first and in writing. It is a structural matter, and arranging it yourself may leave you out of pocket.
My flat is leasehold. Who is responsible?
In most leases the roof and structure are the freeholder's, so the managing agent is usually the right first call.
Does the landlord have to act quickly?
It is in their interest regardless — the damage is to their building and it accumulates. A written report with dates is what moves it.
Squirrel Control Long Melford
Squirrel control in Long Melford 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 Long Melford, call 01502 630 122, or read the Long Melford squirrel control page.