Sealing a loft/squirrel problem

HarriettPotter

Hi all

I am writing this after 2 hours sleep so forgive me if it doesn't all make perfect sense.

I have lived in my house for 18 months and have had a problem with squirrels coming into my loft. They don't live there, they just come and run around a lot. A few months ago I put a humane trap up there and caught one then released it a few miles away (sorry I know they are pests but I am not into slaughtering animals). However there are lots of them in my area and now I have a regular visitor again...

I have very little loft insulation and unless I can stop the squirrels coming in I am too scared to lay any new insulation down as they will just trash it.

Anyway, I'm waffling. I need to seal the loft and I don't know how. My ex suggested finding any holes and blocking them with that no more big gaps stuff. Advisable or not?

Also, does anyone know how I can actually find the gaps in the first place? The one hole we thought they were coming in has been blocked up but they are still getting in. I think I have heard about a smoke test or something or did I dream that during a fitful night of squirrel acrobatics over my head?

If I can't find a solution to this I am sorely tempted to sell up to be honest... sleep deprivation is not good for the body or soul I can tell you.

As an aside, I have made enquiries with a pest control company who will come and set traps out which will kill any visiting squirrels but if possible I would like to do it with prevention in mind rather than murder!!!

Hope someone can help.

H

beer2006

Do a big search with a torch, really try hard to find all the holes, can you see when they come in? Sit in the garden and watch where they go.

Let the man trap them, but it will cost you, so try and keep them out first. Think of them as rats with tails, which is what they are. You wouldn't think twice about killing rats in your house.

Best of luck

edit
Actually thinking about it, your best to do a search without a torch, take it (so you can see where your going ) but but when you get to a point turn it off and all lights, get someone to close off the hatch if needed and look for light getting in.

tagz

Hi HarrietPotter

I'm having massive problems with them too. We had our loft converted and the little blighters are coming in and running between our bedroom ceiling and the kids floor upstairs! I'm regularly woken at 4-5am. I've complained to the builder as we had a completely new roof put on and they left big holes where the roof and house join (under the eaves?). He has agreed to come and put chicken wire all along the sides of the house. He has already done the front (he needs a moving scaffolding thingy to do the rest) and this has helped a bit adn should work once he has finished the job. Can you ask your ex to get up on a ladder and do the same or even do it from the inside? I hope this helps.

sillybean

Between the roof and the walls there is a gap, which you have to keep legally, its to allow for ventilation. If you have had a loft conversion then also legally the builders should have used a hole cutting drill and cut out holes at 1.5 meter intervals (when I say legally I mean building regs). These holes are about 2 inches in diameter. The holes are then plugged with a plastic cover with very thin vents so no animals can get in. If your builder hasn’t done this and has left the existing eve wall gap then he hasn’t don’t a proper job.

I would no recommend using that big gap filler stuff in a can. When it comes out of the can its too liquid esp for such a height your likely to put to much into the gap and make it leak onto the outside of the house which will probably then expand leaving an unsightly foam on the outside of your house. If you are going to do it then be really careful and best to put small amounts in let it dry and then build it up rather than all in one go, with DIY patients is a virtue.

As suggested use a very big torch, in the night get someone to stand on the outside of the house. Stand up on the rafters, and then shine the torch down at the same angle of the pitch of the roof, any light that can bee seen outside would indicate where the holes are. Mark them and fix them.

The problem with squirrels is that they will just get through any polystyrene foam you put down which is the normal first line of defence for gaps. However, soft wire mesh (expensive) with a staple gun will allow you to stop them getting into the main area. This only works if your not going to use the space because normally you have to be quite generous and messy.

With regards to the person with squirrels in between the floor and ceiling space, defiantly look on the outside and fix the hole they are getting into with a plastic grill. I'm sure either your one is probably cracked or simply not there (some builders don’t bother even though they are literally under a £1)

shammyjack

If everybody bought an Airgun and shot every "American Rat" they saw then in a few years our gardens would be filled with birdsong again !



shammy

tagz

Sillybean
Your post has got me worried:eek:. As I said before when our loft was converted our builder left big gaps along the eaves. You mention that he should have complied to certain building regs, which obviously he hasn't. Do you know where I can get a copy of the relevant building regs so that I can confront my builder when he comes to put the chicken wire up? He wasn't cheap and I want to insist on him fixing it properly.

My apologies to the OP for highjacking this post - please forgive me but I'm raging at the idea of being ripped off!

alanobrien

tagz wrote:

Sillybean
Your post has got me worried:eek:. As I said before when our loft was converted our builder left big gaps along the eaves. You mention that he should have complied to certain building regs, which obviously he hasn't. Do you know where I can get a copy of the relevant building regs so that I can confront my builder when he comes to put the chicken wire up? He wasn't cheap and I want to insist on him fixing it properly.

My apologies to the OP for highjacking this post - please forgive me but I'm raging at the idea of being ripped off!

The regs state you have to leave an air gap to ventilate the roof. This is to stop the timbers rotting amongst other things. I note with new builds some just leave a constant gap at the eve which could be the cause of many problems.

The right way to do it is to leave a constant gap and then cover it with mesh to keep out critters and the like.
The constant gap allows for air crossflow.

I guess the cheapskate builders would argue that as long as the gap is there is complies with the regs but personally i would not want the gap without the mesh.