Cheshire Pest Control

Archive for March, 2010

In addition to watering, it is important to preserve as much of the moisture in the soil as you can for plant use. The best way to do this is to cover the soil with mulch, such as leaf mould, grass cuttings or composted or chipped bark.

A layer of about 10cm is ideal. Apply the mulch either after rain or after watering the bed thoroughly. In the garden, we tend to clear the beds of all dying and dead vegetation, so there is little chance of it rolling down where it lies and returning to the soil as nutrients, as would happen in the wild.

However, the prudent gardener does not throw way all these leftovers but composts them and returns them to the soil, which considerably increases the nutritional value of the soil. Preparing the soil thoroughly with garden compost will pay great dividends, but the added nutrients will not last forever.

In the case of annuals, the soil can be prepared afresh each year, but for perennials, which are left in situ for several years, it is impossible to do this. It is, however, possible to top dress the soil each autumn or spring by covering the soil with a mulch of well rotted garden compost, farm yard manure or composted bark.

This can be worked into the top layer of the soil with a fork, while being careful not to disturb the plants’ roots. Alternatively, it can be left on the top of the mulch, which the worms will gradually take down below the surface.

The nutrients in contains will in any event be washed down towards the roots by the rain. If mulch is not available, a balanced fertilizer can be used instead to add nutrients, spread at the manufacturer’s recommended levels, but this is second best to organic material.

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Squirrels in Manchester, Stockport and Trafford

Squirrels in Manchester, Stockport and Trafford – The grey squirrel population in the Noth West U.K. has rocketed over the last 20 years to the degee that they are now a major pest species.
The grey squirrels which we see in our gardens (Sciurus carolinensis) are not native to Britain, having been introduced here less than 200 years ago from America.
Like other members of the Sciuridae family, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it hoards food in many small caches for later recovery. Some hoards, especially those made near the source of a sudden surplus of food.
Others are more permanent and are not retrieved until months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand hoards each season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the positions of these caches, and use distant and nearby landmarks to find them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a short distance of the cache.
The nest of the squirrel is called a dray (or drey) and it is normal for the female to have two litters per year, each of two to four young..
They are minor problems, digging up bulbs and taking food intended for birds but become major pests when they come into our houses.
It is increasingly common for pest controllers to be called out to homes where a nest has been built in a loft or attic space.
Squirrels are true rodents and as such have continually growing teeth; the word rodent comes from the Latin ‘rodere’ meaning ‘to gnaw’ and this they do very well indeed.
It is rare to enter an attic space where a dray has been constructed and find that they have not chewed electrical wiring, indeed it is estimated that up to 40% percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing wiring.
Unfortunately they can also chew through water-pipes, especially with the recent trend towards plastic piping.
As if that wasn’t enough, most household insurance policies specifically exclude damage by rodents so if a squirrel floods your home by chewing through a water pipe in the attic you may find yourself without insurance.
Removing squirrels requires a professional, not least in as much as the law regarding squirrels needs to be obeyed. You cannot simply obtain a packet of rat poison from your local store and deal with them that way as you would be committing a criminal offence.
Furthermore you cannot trap them and move them some distance away, not only would removing a squirrel from the area of its food caches would probably condemn it to death by starvation, it is also a criminal offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which makes it illegal to release a grey squirrel in Britain.
That pertains also to rescuing, and releasing injured squirrels.
In most cases trapping is the the only option and this must be done in a specified manner with routine, regular inspections of the traps.
Trapped squirrels should be then humanely dispatched.
If you have a squirrel problem in Lancashire, Cheshire or Manchester contact Harrier Pest Prevention on 0800 019 8382

Squirrels in Manchester, Stockport and Trafford