Upper Woodstock is the old residential heart of Woodstock, climbing from Victoria Road towards Devil's Peak. Rows of Victorian cottages, many lovingly restored, sit shoulder to shoulder, and their age and closeness explain most of what we find here.
The local picture in Upper Woodstock
Rats travel through connected roof spaces along a whole row of cottages, so treating one house in isolation is rarely enough. Mice come through gaps under old timber floors.
Terraced and semi-detached Victorian cottages with pressed-steel ceilings, timber floors and narrow back yards are the norm. Shared walls and connected roof spaces let rats and mice move freely from one house to the next. Renovations sometimes open up old gaps that let pests in.
What gives them away
- Chewed electrical cables or damaged ceiling boards.
- Chewed fascia boards, barge boards or roof edges with fresh wood exposed.
- Shredded insulation, leaves and twigs found in the roof space.
- Squirrels seen jumping from a tree onto the roof and disappearing under the tiles.
- Scratching and running in the ceiling in the early morning and late afternoon, rather than at night.
Worth knowing
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.
The worst mistake is sealing the hole while the squirrels are still inside. They will chew a new way out, often through the ceiling.
Our process, step by step
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
- Do not feed squirrels in the garden, however cute they are.
- 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.
- Check fascia boards and roof edges each year for chewed spots and repair them quickly.
- Use metal mesh, not plastic, over roof vents and gaps.
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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Do you come out to Upper Woodstock for squirrel control?
Yes. Upper Woodstock is part of our regular City Bowl & Atlantic Seaboard route, along with Woodstock, Walmer Estate, University Estate, Salt River. 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.
Are grey squirrels protected in Cape Town?
Grey squirrels are not an indigenous species. We still remove them humanely and do not use poison.
How do I know it is squirrels and not rats?
Squirrels are active during the day, especially early morning, while rats are mostly active at night.
Why do rats keep returning to my Upper Woodstock cottage?
In terraced rows, rats move through shared roof spaces and old drains. A joint treatment with neighbours, plus sealing the gaps in your roof and floor, gives lasting results.
Do restored Victorian floors in Upper Woodstock need borer treatment?
Not always, but older pine is prone to common furniture beetle. If you see small round holes or fine powder, it is worth having it inspected.
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