Squirrel Control Gordon's Bay

Gordon's Bay is a harbour village tucked into the corner of False Bay, with houses stacked up the mountainside and holiday flats near the beach. Rodents in roofs, gulls on rooftops and ants in summer are what we deal with most.

Rodents around Gordon's Bay

Roof rats come down the slopes and into roofs and garages, especially in winter. Holiday homes that sit empty for weeks give them time to settle in.

Homes are built up the slopes of the Hottentots Holland mountains, many with sea views, split levels and retaining walls. Holiday flats and apartment blocks sit near the beach and harbour, and many homes are holiday properties. Houses on steep plots have sub-floor voids and garages under the house where rodents hide. Restaurants around the harbour bring commercial work.

The village sits right at the foot of the mountains, with the GB anchor above town and the sea in front. The South-Easter is famously strong here, sometimes funnelling down the mountain in powerful gusts. Fynbos on the slopes brings scorpions, spiders and rodents close to homes.

Roof rats from the mountain and gulls from the harbour are the big ones. Argentine ants, fishmoths and German cockroaches in harbour restaurants complete the picture.

Tell-tale signs

1. Squirrels seen jumping from a tree onto the roof and disappearing under the tiles.
2. Chewed electrical cables or damaged ceiling boards.
3. Chewed fascia boards, barge boards or roof edges with fresh wood exposed.
4. Shredded insulation, leaves and twigs found in the roof space.
5. Scratching and running in the ceiling in the early morning and late afternoon, rather than at night.

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.

Something most people miss

Because we do not use poison for squirrels, there is no risk to children, pets or owls from the treatment.

When a technician inspects for squirrels, the first thing he looks at is the trees around the house, because the branches show where the squirrels are jumping onto the roof.

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

• Fit squirrel guards on bird feeders, or move them away from the house.
• Use metal mesh, not plastic, over roof vents and gaps.
• Pick up acorns and fallen fruit regularly if you have big trees close to the house.
• Trim tree branches so they are at least two metres away from the roof.
• Check fascia boards and roof edges each year for chewed spots and repair them quickly.

What affects the price

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.

You can trim the trees and fix obvious gaps yourself, but sealing a roof with squirrels still inside is a mistake that leads to trapped animals and more damage. Getting them out humanely and proofing the whole roof line properly is a job worth getting professional help for.

Questions we get asked in Gordon's Bay

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