Squirrels in the Loft: A London Homeowner's Guide

If you live in a leafy London suburb — Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Edgbaston, Kenilworth, parts of Stafford — there's a good chance you've heard heavy thumping in the loft just after dawn or before sunset. That's almost always grey squirrels.

They're a much bigger problem than rats or mice in a loft: they cause structural damage faster, they're more likely to chew through cabling, and the law restricts what you're allowed to do with them once trapped. Here's how to handle it properly.

How to tell it's squirrels (and not rats)

The two are often confused, but the signs are quite different once you know what to look for.

Time of day: squirrels are active at dawn and dusk; rats and mice are nocturnal. Heavy noise at 6am usually means squirrels.
Sound: louder, slower, more deliberate thumps and rolling sounds (often nuts or pinecones being moved).
Droppings: squirrel droppings are larger than rat droppings (around 8 mm), oval, and often found in clusters at favoured spots.
Damage: shredded loft insulation pulled into a large central nest (drey), chewed timbers, and stripped electrical cable insulation are all classic squirrel signs.
Entry points: typically high — broken roof tiles, gaps where the soffit meets the wall, vents missing covers.

Why squirrels in the loft are urgent

Unlike a few mice, a squirrel family in the roof can cause real structural damage in weeks rather than months. The two main risks:

Fire risk from chewed cabling — squirrels chew constantly and ring-bark cables in a way mice rarely do.
Water damage from chewed water tank lids, lead flashing damage, and enlarged entry holes that let rain in.
Insulation destruction: a single drey can shred several square metres of loft insulation, hitting your heating bills.
Secondary infestations: open entry points and stored food cache attract rats, mice and insects.

The legal bit (this matters)

Grey squirrels are classed as an invasive non-native species in the UK under the Invasive Alien Species Order. It is illegal to trap a grey squirrel and release it back into the wild — including releasing it in a nearby park or woodland. Once captured, it must be humanely dispatched.

This catches a lot of well-meaning homeowners out. A licensed pest controller knows the legal methods (spring traps in tunnels, live-capture followed by humane dispatch) and will document the work correctly. Red squirrels, by contrast, are fully protected — they're not present in London, but worth knowing if you travel.

What a professional visit looks like

A typical loft squirrel job runs across two or three visits.

Visit 1: full external roof inspection to find every entry point, plus a loft survey to locate the drey and assess damage.
Trapping: legal spring traps inside tunnels are placed along squirrel runs in the loft. Free-running poison is not used (it's both ineffective for squirrels and risky to other wildlife).
Visits 2–3: traps checked, captures recorded, activity monitored.
Proofing: once activity stops, all entry points are sealed with squirrel-proof materials — wire mesh, metal flashing, hardwood. Plastic vent covers and silicone alone are useless against squirrel teeth.

What you can do today

Even before a controller visits, a few things help:

Walk around the property and photograph anything that looks like a roof gap, missing tile, or hole in the soffit — useful for the survey.
Trim back tree branches that come within 2 metres of the roof. This single change prevents most re-entries after proofing.
Check the loft for bird seed or stored nuts (yes, really — squirrels cache food up there), and remove if possible without disturbing nesting wildlife.
Don't seal an active entry point yourself — trapping a mother squirrel away from her young leads to scratching, smell and very angry, very destructive trapped animals.

Costs in London

Squirrel jobs are usually priced as a programme rather than a one-off, since trap monitoring and proofing both have to happen. Typical pricing falls between £180 and £400 depending on roof access, number of entry points, and how many visits the trapping takes. Use the quote calculator for a tailored estimate based on your situation.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal to release a grey squirrel I've trapped?

Yes. Under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 it is unlawful to release a captured grey squirrel back into the wild. A licensed pest controller will deal with this humanely and legally on your behalf.

Will the squirrels just come back next year?

Only if the entry points aren't properly sealed with squirrel-proof materials. Proofing is the most important part of the job — without it, a new family moves in within months.

Can I use poison bait for squirrels in the loft?

No legal rodenticide is approved for grey squirrel use in domestic lofts in the UK. Trapping followed by proofing is the only correct route.