I'm being terrorised by the squirrels in my kitchen

Michelle Collins says she is terrified to participate her room each greeting due to the fact that of the grey squirrels which person been surviving successful her location for the past 3 years.

Evading the efforts of pest controllers, they person chewed up her doors and skirting boards and person eaten her dogs' food.

The 39-year-old gym proprietor said they spell into her room astatine night, leaving her astatine the extremity of her tether.

Michelle, from Kilwinning successful Ayrshire, said: "I ne'er imagined squirrels could bash this to my home, it's unbelievable what they tin do.

"I've tried everything but thing is working. I consciousness terrorised by them.

"I'm terrified to spell into my room each morning."

Michelle told BBC Scotland she became alert of the occupation erstwhile she started proceeding a sound successful the walls, past noticed piles of sawdust astatine doors and skirting boards.

"I unrecorded adjacent woodland and they leap disconnected the trees, onto my car larboard and past onto my house," she said.

"There is simply a spread wherever they person dug nether my structure and are coming up the wrong of my walls."

She keeps her dogs' nutrient successful the conservatory, which is disconnected the room - and the squirrels had chewed done the doorway to get to the food.

"I present enactment the nutrient distant erstwhile I spell to bed, but successful the greeting I've recovered the towel I've utilized to halt up the spread is pulled retired and chewed too."

She said a pest controller had fixed up aft trying everything to drawback the squirrels.

Pest controllers are not allowed to trap and termination grey squirrels surviving successful guttering oregon roofs - but erstwhile they participate lofts oregon different rooms successful a location they tin beryllium exterminated.

Pest controller Scott McIntyre, who covers Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, said helium had seen the "nightmare damage" that could beryllium done by squirrels.

"The worst was a pistillate successful Fife who had each electrical cablegram chewed, truthful she had to person her full location rewired. The harm they caused outgo £30,000.

"Another pistillate successful Edinburgh had her cables chewed done successful her converted attic, and I've seen them chew done from attics into bedrooms.

"What they tin bash to a location tin beryllium devastating."

His method is to scare squirrels retired of houses earlier blocking up the holes.

But helium said that connected 1 juncture helium was attacked by 3 antheral squirrels which helium had cornered successful an attic.

"They jumped connected maine and tried to claw and wound me, but usually squirrels tally distant erstwhile I spell into attics."

BBC Scotland has spoken to a fig of radical who person experienced squirrel problems successful their homes.

Jacqueline Hewitt, 49, from Gracemount successful Edinburgh, said a pest controller had been to her house, but she could inactive perceive scratching successful her roof.

"He enactment down 9 trays of poison and they were each eaten erstwhile helium checked 2 weeks later.

"He told america squirrels tin beryllium vicious truthful to beryllium precise careful. We haven't dared to look successful the attic.

"We don't cognize wherever the spread is truthful we can't get it blocked up.

"My girl has been having nightmares that they are successful her furniture and she thinks they are going to travel done the walls. The scratching dependable is terrible."

Alayne Costello, from southbound Edinburgh, said determination had been an contented with squirrels successful her location since she moved successful a twelvemonth ago.

She said: "They chewed close done the pb flashing astir my skylight and during the storms earlier Christmas it meant I was flooded.

"All the insulation was soaked, the partition successful my hallway was damaged arsenic good arsenic my bathroom. It has been a nightmare."

Nan Dickson, 75, and her hubby Gerry, 85, person lived successful Edinburgh's Mortonhall country for 43 years.

Nan said: "We person had squirrels for the archetypal clip and the sound of them jumping supra our heads is horrible. We person been disquieted astir the harm and they gnawed done the eves.

"When my hubby went into the attic 1 of the squirrels stuck its caput retired of the spread and we were precise stressed.

"We person been shocked astatine what they person done."

"This is successful portion owed to the harm they origin to your location and the noises squirrels marque astatine nighttime - which tin beryllium precise distressing.

"As their numbers person accrued successful the UK, truthful has the harm they cause," it said.

It said determination were nary poisons which could beryllium utilized by the public.

However, the relation did urge attempting to seal each introduction points to a property.

Josh Galera, 20, the proprietor of Precise Roofing successful Edinburgh, said helium precocious helped a lawsuit who had 7 squirrels surviving successful her house.

He had discovered that the verge astatine the borderline of the extortion was was not screwed in.

"It was flapping unfastened and squirrels were getting in. We screwed the adust verge into the fascia truthful their entree constituent into the extortion was closed."