Most people never see the animal, which is why the noise and the droppings do the identifying. When there is a sighting, though, it settles the question outright — provided you know what you are looking at.
The animals
- Grey squirrel. Body roughly 25 to 30cm, with a bushy tail of much the same length again. Grey with brown tones through the summer, often with a white or pale underside. Around half a kilogram
- Brown rat. Body roughly 20 to 25cm, with a scaly, largely hairless tail slightly shorter than the body. Brown-grey, paler beneath. Typically a little heavier than a squirrel but built quite differently
The tail is the answer
If you see nothing else clearly, the tail settles it. A squirrel's tail is thick, bushy and held in a curve, frequently arched over the back. A rat's is thin, scaly, sparsely haired and dragged behind. There is no ambiguity between the two, and a poor-quality photograph will usually still show it.
How each moves
- Squirrel. Bounding, both hind feet together, with pauses to sit upright. Climbs head-first down a trunk or a wall, which is unusual and distinctive. Comfortable in the open
- Rat. Low, scurrying, body close to the ground, keeping to edges and cover. Climbs well but not head-first, and will not cross open ground if there is a route round it
Where you are likely to see one
Squirrel: in daylight, in the garden, on a fence, on the roof, on the gutter, in a tree. Entirely visible and largely unbothered by being watched. Rat: at dusk or after dark, along a wall, near bins or a compost heap, disappearing under something. Seeing one in the open in broad daylight is unusual and usually means a substantial population.
The garden is the best place to identify a roof problem. A squirrel using your roof will be visible in the garden, in daylight, several times a week. Twenty minutes at dawn is more conclusive than anything you can do in the loft.
Tracks and other traces
- Footprints in dust on loft boarding: squirrel prints are larger, with long slender toes; rat prints smaller, with a tail drag mark sometimes visible between them
- Grease marks. Rats leave dark greasy smears where their fur repeatedly contacts a surface at low level. Squirrels leave lighter, duller rub marks at roof height
- Hairs caught at an opening: grey and coarse, or brown and fine
What a photograph should capture
The tail, above everything. Then the posture — upright and sitting, or low and running. Then the location, which is itself informative: on a roof or a gutter in daylight versus along a wall at dusk.
Questions
I saw something on the roof at night. Which was it?
A rat can climb, and a squirrel is very unlikely to be moving about outside after dark. The tail would settle it.
Are grey squirrels bigger than rats?
Similar in body length and quite different in build and weight. The tail is the reliable distinction, not the size.
Do I need to see it to be sure?
No. The timing of the noise settles most cases without any sighting at all.
Squirrel Control Woodbridge
Squirrel control in Woodbridge 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 Woodbridge, call 01502 630 122, or read the Woodbridge squirrel control page.