The gutter is the most overlooked piece of evidence on a Sudbury roof, and it is unusually informative for two reasons.
It catches what falls from the roof edge, and it is a road the animals themselves use.
Why the gutter collects the evidence
Everything that comes out of an opening at eaves level either falls clear or lands in the gutter, and the gutter keeps it. Wind takes what falls to the ground; the gutter holds material for weeks.
What turns up there:
- Insulation fibre, which has no other way of getting into a gutter
- Shredded nesting material
- Nut shells, acorn caps and fruit stones
- Gnawed fragments of soffit, verge unit or timber
- Occasionally droppings
The gutter as a route
Squirrels travel along guttering readily — it is a continuous, sheltered run at exactly the height they want, and it leads past every eaves detail on that elevation. Regular traffic leaves its own traces:
- A cleared track. Moss and silt pushed aside in a line along the bottom of the gutter
- Marking at a bracket. Where they step up or over
- Displaced debris at one point, where they leave the gutter for the roof
- Wear on a downpipe where it meets the gutter
Where the track stops is where they leave the gutter. A cleared run that ends abruptly at one point on the eaves is about as direct a pointer to an opening as this subject provides.
How to see into a gutter safely
From an upstairs window, which will often show a good length of the gutter on that elevation. From an upstairs window of a neighbouring property, if the relationship allows. Or with a phone on a pole — a cheap extendable pole, camera in video mode, walked along the wall, gives a complete record to look through afterwards.
Not from a ladder. Gutter inspection off a household ladder is how people get hurt, and every method above works without one.
The maintenance point
A blocked gutter is worth clearing regardless, because water overflowing at the eaves rots fascia and soffit — and soft, rotted soffit is one of the easiest things for a squirrel to get through. The two problems feed each other, which is why an annual gutter clear is one of the more useful preventive jobs there is.
In the older terraced parts of Sudbury, where gutters are often shared and continuous across several houses, that is worth raising with a neighbour rather than handling alone.
Questions
Should I clear the gutter before or after the work?
Photograph what is in it first, then clear it whenever suits. The evidence is worth recording before it goes.
Does a blocked gutter cause squirrel problems?
Indirectly. Overflowing water rots fascia and soffit, and soft material is much easier to get through.
Can I check a shared gutter?
Photograph your own length and speak to the neighbour about theirs. In a terrace the run is usually continuous.
Squirrel Control Sudbury
Squirrel control in Sudbury 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 Sudbury, call 01502 630 122, or read the Sudbury squirrel control page.