Claremont is the Southern Suburbs' shopping and office hub, built around Cavendish Square, Main Road and the station, with leafy residential streets running up towards the mountain. Our work here swings between commercial kitchens and retail on one side and older family homes with big trees on the other.
Rodents around Claremont
Brown rats live around the refuse areas and service lanes behind Main Road shops, while roof rats and grey squirrels use the old street trees to get into ceilings in Upper Claremont. Squirrels chew through roof boards and wiring once they are in.
Upper Claremont has large older homes and newer cluster developments on generous, tree-filled plots, while the lower side near Main Road has flats, offices and shops packed close together. Big shopping centres and restaurant strips create the sort of food waste and service corridors rodents love. Older homes have wooden floors, sash windows and outbuildings that give pests plenty of hiding places.
Being close to Newlands and the mountain, Claremont is one of the wetter parts of Cape Town in winter, so damp walls and soggy gardens are normal. Large oaks and plane trees line the streets, and Arderne Gardens holds an old collection of big trees. That green canopy feeds roof rats and grey squirrels and gives wasps sheltered nesting spots.
Worth knowing
The worst mistake is sealing the hole while the squirrels are still inside. They will chew a new way out, often through the ceiling.
Landlords often get the call from tenants about noises in the ceiling. Proofing the roof is a one-time investment that saves repeated call-outs.
What gives them away
- Chewed fascia boards, barge boards or roof edges with fresh wood exposed.
- Squirrels seen jumping from a tree onto the roof and disappearing under the tiles.
- Shredded insulation, leaves and twigs found in the roof space.
- Dug-up pot plants and bulbs, and nuts buried in garden beds.
Squirrels in the roof chew cables, which is a fire risk, and they damage insulation and ceiling boards. Their urine and droppings can stain ceilings and cause smells. They also chew through irrigation pipes, damage fruit trees and dig up gardens. A squirrel that dies in the roof leaves an unpleasant smell for weeks.
What happens when we come out
We do not use poison for squirrels. Our approach is exclusion: we find every entry point and fit one-way exclusion devices so the squirrels can get out but not back in. Where it makes sense, live cage traps are used to remove squirrels from the roof. Once the roof is empty, we close the gaps with steel mesh and repair chewed areas so they cannot get back in. We also advise on trimming branches that give squirrels easy access to the roof.
Want the full step-by-step? See how our squirrel control service works.
Stopping a repeat visit
- Pick up acorns and fallen fruit regularly if you have big trees close to the house.
- Check fascia boards and roof edges each year for chewed spots and repair them quickly.
- Fit squirrel guards on bird feeders, or move them away from the house.
- Do not feed squirrels in the garden, however cute they are.
- Trim tree branches so they are at least two metres away from the roof.
How much will it cost?
The cost depends on how many entry points there are, how high the roof is and how much repair and proofing is needed. A single gap is quick to deal with, but an older roof with many chewed areas takes longer. Trapping and follow-up visits are included in the free quote.
Squirrels in Cape Town breed mainly in late winter and spring, and again in summer, and that is when they look for sheltered nesting places such as roofs. Autumn is also busy, as they gather acorns and nuts from the oak trees.
Questions we get asked in Claremont
Do Main Road restaurants bring rats into nearby Claremont homes?
Rats do move from busy food areas into nearby properties, especially along lanes and stormwater lines. Good waste control on the commercial side and sealing gaps at home cuts the problem down.
Are the squirrels in Claremont roofs a pest problem?
They can be, because grey squirrels chew through roof boards and wiring once they get into a ceiling. We help by sealing entry points and trimming branches, so they stay in the trees instead of your roof.
Do squirrels come back after removal?
They will try, which is why proper proofing with steel mesh is a key part of the job.
Do you come out to Claremont for squirrel control?
Yes. Claremont is part of our regular Southern Suburbs route, along with Newlands, Kenilworth, Harfield Village, Rondebosch. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
What if there are babies in the roof?
We check for young before sealing, because sealing them in causes suffering, smells and more damage.
Will you hurt the squirrels?
No. We use one-way exclusion devices and live traps, not poison.
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