Whether the snow is gone or not, spring has sprung.
Unfortunately for Regina’s wildlife that means not everything is ready for them yet.
Regina couple Sharon Wheale and George Maslany has lived in their Crescent Neighbourhood home for 30 years. There are usually squirrels around their yard, but this year the critters are causing major damage.
“We have found so far three significant holes in the roof, maybe one by one, or one by two feet each. All the cedar has been scratched and taken off right up to the nails,” said Wheale.
A few feet away, they say a neighbor is feeding the squirrels, luring them into their yard.
They’ve asked the neighbour to stop, but she tells them she enjoys the company, however, it’s driving Maslany nuts.
“A squirrel is a rat that climbs trees,” said Maslany. “They’re cuter than usual rats, but they’re still rats.”
Live trapping is their only option. The couple catches close to 100 squirrels every year and releases them outside the city.
Poulin’s Pest Control’s Branch Manager, Shawn Sherwood, says they’ve been taking about two calls per day about squirrel damage lately.
“They’re out of food,” said Sherwood. “They’re out because it’s supposed to be spring, but they’re not finding a whole lot of food because the trees haven’t leafed out and there’s like 3,000 feet of snow on the ground as we all know.”
To compound the problem, this is the squirrel’s mating season. Most female squirrels will try to have a litter over the next two weeks.
“She’s looking for a nice cozy warm place to have her babies, and a lot of people are finding that’s the attic of their home,” said Sherwood.
The City of Regina’s Pest Management Supervisor, Wade Morrow, says they’ve seen a steady rise in the number of complaints they receive about squirrels over the past few years. But the animals walk a fine line between pest and pet.
“Generally we don’t have to go more than a few doors away until we find someone feeding a squirrel,” he said.
Since the city doesn’t have a bylaw or a control plan for squirrels the only action they can really take is asking the neighbour to stop leaving food out.
That doesn’t provide much relief for Wheale and Maslany, who have already tried several times to reason with their neighbour.
They want the City to put a ban on feeding squirrels.
At 68 years old, Maslany had hoped his roof climbing days were over.
“It’s not a problem that with time is going to get any better,” he said. “I expect it to increase dramatically year after year as the population of these squirrels grows.”
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