Alien Species Alert:
Grey Squirrels in British Columbia (BC) Canada

The following poster is available here for download as a PDF (use the Free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print PDF files), and is used with permission from the Vancouver Island Region - Wildlife Program.

Kania Trap Press Release

December 4, 2007

GREY SQUIRRELS MAJOR PROBLEM FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA

Vancouver Island residents urban and rural are experiencing a population explosion in Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). The grey squirrel weighs approximately 275g, has a body height of approximately 25cm and a tail length of approximately 20cm. On the other hand the Western Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is approximately half the size of the Grey’s. The Grey Squirrels’ sheer size allows them to dominate and extirpate the Red’s from their traditional territory.

The most serious damage in urban areas arises where the squirrel enters the roof spaces of houses by climbing the walls or jumping from nearby trees. Once inside, they chew woodwork, ceilings, and insulation on electrical wiring or tear up the loft insulation to form a drey. The noise nuisance from a litter of squirrels can cause many sleepless nights. They are also a pest in the garden—they raid fruit crops, bird feeders and can cause damage to trees by stripping the bark, which often results in the weakening of young shoots and a misshapen tree.

In the rural areas such as the Sannich Peninsula where Nut Growers are inundated with Grey Squirrels, farmers are facing massive losses of nut crops. At the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve in Duncan, the preserve is facing a different dilemma. Grey Squirrels are damaging bird boxes, killing young birds, eating acorns and are impacting on the overall ecological health of the site. As well as nipping off the new shoots of the Garry Oak tree when it sprouts. This is having a devastating impact on the Gary Oak (Quercus garryana) population which is already Red Listed by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.

The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture are working closely together in combating the over population of Grey Squirrels on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

The Kania Trap 2000 is proving to be the most successful trap in controlling the Grey Squirrel which are listed under the Wildlife Act in Schedule “B & C” as species that are known to destroy property and/or are detrimental to native wildlife.

It is believed that past and present transportation of wildlife in live catch traps from urban centres such as Victoria are contributing significantly to the spread of this population up island and throughout the Vancouver area . These squirrels have now been seen and captured in Nanaimo. Transportation and Re-location of live wildlife is an offence under the BC Wildlife Act without the written consent from the Ministry of Environment.