Where Are Squirrels Getting Into the Roof of My Buckden Home?

Unlike a mouse, a squirrel needs a substantial opening — and unlike a mouse, it will make one. That combination means the entry point is usually obvious once you know where to look.

The Checklist

1. Soffit and fascia joints, particularly at a corner, where two lengths meet, or where a board has been replaced and does not quite meet the wall. The commonest by a distance.
2. The eaves, where the roof meets the wall head. Frequently open by design on older property.
3. The verge at a gable end, where mortar has failed or a dry verge system has lifted.
4. Under lifted, slipped or broken tiles, anywhere on the roof.
5. At a valley or a junction where two roof planes meet.
6. Around a dormer, at the cheeks and where it meets the main roof.
7. Where a lower roof meets a wall — over a bay, a porch, a garage or a single-storey extension.
8. Vents and flue terminals, including disused ones.
9. Around a soil vent pipe where it passes the roofline.
10. Barge boards, at the ends and where they meet the wall.
11. Gable end apex vents or open brickwork.
12. An attached garage roof, and the junction where it meets the house.

The Second Half: What Gets Them Up There

• Overhanging branches within a couple of metres of the roof
• Climbing plants on the wall, ivy in particular
• Trellis and wall-mounted planting
• Fence runs meeting the building
• Drainpipes, especially older cast iron with brackets
• Adjoining structures — garage, shed, bin store, boundary wall

How to Check It All From the Ground

1. Binoculars, or a phone camera zoomed in. Photograph the whole roofline in sections and look at the pictures afterwards on a larger screen.
2. Walk right round, including the sides you never look at.
3. Look from an upstairs window, yours or a neighbour's, for the elevation you cannot get from the garden.
4. Look on the ground below the roofline for debris — gnawed fragments, insulation, nut or cone shells.
5. Watch for half an hour shortly after first light or before dusk. This finds the entry point more often than looking does.

Do Not Seal It Yet

Note it, photograph it, and leave it. Sealing an opening with anything inside — and BPCA's guidance is two litters a year, in early spring and summer — shuts an animal or its young into the roof space. It will gnaw its way out somewhere new, and sealed-in young produce an odour problem in a void nobody can reach.

Proofing is the last step, after the roof space is confirmed clear, and it is in metal — mesh or plate. Foam, sealant and a timber patch are gnawed through without difficulty.