An invasive species is an animal or plant which harms an environment after being introduced to it by humans.

While they may be cute and seem relatively harmless, are squirrels an invasive species?

The answer to this is yes. The grey squirrel in particular is a highly invasive, non-native species. They were first introduced to the UK from the USA between 1976 and 1929. They’re now so widespread that they’re classed as one of the 100 worst global invasive species.

Why are squirrels an invasive species?

Grey squirrels are considered an invasive species because they have two primary negative impacts on biodiversity.

• They cause damage to trees and woodland because they strip them of their bark in order to access the sweet phloem tissue underneath. This restricts the growth of the tree and also increases the risk of it suffering fungal infection. Damage caused by squirrels more often than not results in the death of the tree.

• Egg and chick predation is another significant issue with grey squirrels. They have also pushed the native red squirrel to near extinction.

If you have a squirrel infestation, please call us or contact us via our online form and we’ll send one of our experts out to help. We strongly advise trying to eradicate the problem yourself due to strict CRRU guidelines which must be adhered to at all times.