Squirrel Trapping in Saint Ives
£280 Fixed Cost
The service page for Saint Ives — what we do, what it costs and what to expect.
See the service →Squirrel Trapping — Saint Ives
Is That Noise in the Loft a Grey Squirrel? A Saint Ives Identification Guide
A twenty-second recording and two photographs will usually get you an answer for nothing. Here is how to make them useful.
Squirrel Trapping in Saint Ives — £280 fixed cost. See the Saint Ives service page →
We are sent recordings most weeks and can usually say what is likely from them. When we cannot, it is nearly always for the same small number of reasons.
Recording the Noise
- Use the voice recorder on your phone, not a video — the audio is better and the file is smaller.
- Get the phone as close to the surface as you can. On the ceiling if you can reach, or against the wall. Direct contact records the sound rather than the room.
- Record for a minute or two, not five seconds. The pattern matters — bursts and pauses tell us as much as the sound itself.
- Keep the room quiet. No television, no talking over it.
- Note the time the recording was made. This is the single most important piece of information attached to it.
- Record more than once, at different times of day, if you can.
The time stamp does more work than the audio. Squirrels are active in daylight and quiet at night; rats and mice are the reverse. A recording made at ten in the morning and another made at midnight tell us more together than either does alone — and a recording with no time attached is missing the most useful thing about it.
Photographs Worth Sending
- The roofline, zoomed in, from the garden — looking for a gnawed opening at the soffit, fascia, eaves or verge
- Anything reaching the roof: a branch, a climbing plant, a fence run, a drainpipe
- Any debris on the ground below the roofline
- Droppings, with a coin or a ruler for scale
- Any damage inside the loft, if you have safely been up
- A wide shot of the property so we can see the roof shape and the surroundings
And the Notes
- Times you have heard it, over several days
- Which room, and whether it seems to be in the ceiling, the wall or the roof
- Whether it is heavy or light, and whether anything sounds like it is being moved
- Whether it goes quiet when you knock
- Whether it correlates with the heating or the weather
- Anything you have already tried
What We Can and Cannot Tell You Remotely
| We can usually say | We cannot say |
|---|---|
| Whether it is likely to be a squirrel, a rodent, a bird or none of those | How many animals there are |
| Whether the pattern fits a diurnal or nocturnal animal | Exactly where the entry point is |
| Whether the roofline damage in a photograph looks like squirrel work | What the full extent of the damage is |
| Whether something in the photographs suggests a protected species, in which case stop | Whether there is a nest, or young in it |
| Whether you probably need a visit at all | What it will take, precisely |
Where the answer is that you probably do not need us, we will say so. Where it is genuinely unclear, a pest inspection and survey is a fixed cost and settles it on site.
Common Questions
Can you identify a loft noise from a recording?
Usually we can say what is likely, particularly with a time stamp and a couple of recordings made at different times of day.
How should I record it?
Voice recorder rather than video, phone as close to the ceiling or wall as you can get it, a minute or two rather than a few seconds, room quiet, and note the time.
What else should I send?
Zoomed photographs of the roofline, anything reaching the roof, any debris on the ground, and droppings with something for scale.
What can't you tell from a recording?
How many animals there are, exactly where they are getting in, whether there is a nest, and the full extent of any damage. Those need somebody at the property.
Squirrel Trapping in Saint Ives
Tell us what you have found and where. We confirm the treatment and the price before anything is booked.
More on Squirrel Trapping in Saint Ives
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Read the guide →Where Are Squirrels Getting Into the Roof of My Saint Ives Home?
You can do a genuinely useful roofline survey from the garden, with a phone and forty minutes. You should not do one from a ladder.
Read the guide →How Are Grey Squirrels Removed From Loft Spaces in Saint Ives?
A trapping programme in an occupied house raises reasonable questions. Here are the answers, and what we need to know from you.
Read the guide →How Much Does Squirrel Trapping Cost in Cambridge?
£280 Fixed Cost
Every price we charge, what it covers and what happens on the day.
Read the price guide →Squirrel Trapping Across Cambridgeshire
The main Squirrel Control Cambridge page covers the service in full.
Squirrel Trapping in Saint Ives
Tell us what you have seen and where, and we will give you the treatment and the price before anything is booked.