PEST NAME : Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR: Head and body length is 25 to 26.5cm plus 22cm of tail.  Weight approx 500gm . Both sexes similar size. Winter coat is grey above with a white underside. Summer coat is shorter, sleeker and brownish grey above.

BIOLOGY: Gestation 45 days.  Litter size 1 to 7 (average 3).  Litters per year 2.  Weaning period 10 weeks.  Maturity 10-12 months.   The life span of the female is between 4-6 years. The life span of the male is between 2-3 years.

PREFERRED FOODS:  Nuts, fruit buds and shoots to fungi, birds’ eggs and nestlings. In gardens their diet comes from food put out for birds. Surplus food is often buried for retrieval at a later date.

HABITAT: Mainly resident in broad-leaved and mixed broad-leaved/conifer woodland but also in copses and hedgerows. Commonly resident in urban areas where it lives in parks and gardens wherever there are trees.

Grey Squirrels must not be confused with the Red Squirrel which is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.