Maitland is where Voortrekker Road begins its long run north, a working suburb of old cottages, flats, warehouses and the big Maitland cemetery. Railway lines and industrial yards wrap around it, and those are the corridors that rats use to move about.
The local picture in Maitland
Norway rats use the railway reserves, stormwater drains and the Black River to travel, and they get under the timber floors of old cottages through broken air bricks. Warehouses need bait stations and proofing on loading doors.
You'll see rows of Victorian and Edwardian cottages, semi-detached houses and older blocks of flats, many with suspended wooden floors and shared walls. Shops along Voortrekker Road often have living space upstairs. Warehouses and workshops towards Ndabeni and Paarden Eiland store goods that attract rodents and stored product pests.
The Black River runs along the eastern side, and the railway reserves and marshalling yards create long strips of overgrown ground. Winter rain collects in old drains, while the South-Easter blows litter into corners along fences and walls. It's flat, built-up and warm in summer.
How to tell you have a problem
- Chewed electrical cables or damaged ceiling boards.
- Dug-up pot plants and bulbs, and nuts buried in garden beds.
- Chewed fascia boards, barge boards or roof edges with fresh wood exposed.
- Scratching and running in the ceiling in the early morning and late afternoon, rather than at night.
- Squirrels seen jumping from a tree onto the roof and disappearing under the tiles.
Worth knowing
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.
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 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Do not feed squirrels in the garden, however cute they are.
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.
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.
Squirrel Control questions from Maitland
My Maitland cottage has wooden floors. Should I worry about wood borer?
It's worth checking. Older pine floors and roof timbers are often affected, so look for small round exit holes and fine dust, and we can inspect and treat if needed.
Do the rats in Maitland come from the railway lines?
A lot of them do. The railway reserves, marshalling yards and stormwater drains are long, quiet corridors with cover and food, and rats move from there into homes and warehouses.
Can squirrels damage my roof?
Yes. They chew fascia boards, roof edges and cables, and they nest in insulation.
Do you come out to Maitland for squirrel control?
Yes. Maitland is part of our regular Northern Suburbs route, along with Kensington, Salt River, Ndabeni, Pinelands. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
Will you hurt the squirrels?
No. We use one-way exclusion devices and live traps, not poison.
Are grey squirrels protected in Cape Town?
Grey squirrels are not an indigenous species. We still remove them humanely and do not use poison.
Office 021 012 5825 · WhatsApp 074 697 2254