As the clocks have gone back and the colder mornings set in across Nottinghamshire, two very different pests are becoming active in the villages east of Nottingham. In Lowdham, Burton Joyce and Calverton, grey squirrels are hunting for warm, dry nesting spots ahead of winter – and roof voids are their first choice. Over in Bingham and Whatton, moles are pushing up fresh molehills across lawns, paddocks and allotments as they tunnel deeper to stay ahead of the frost. Here’s what residents in both areas should be looking out for.
Lowdham, Burton Joyce and Calverton: squirrels moving into roof spaces
The woodland along the Trent Valley and the mature trees around Dover Beck give grey squirrels an easy route from the treeline straight onto rooflines in Lowdham and Burton Joyce. Once a squirrel finds a weak point – a loose ridge tile, a gap where a soffit has pulled away, an old vent cover – it will squeeze through a surprisingly small opening to get into the loft. In Calverton, older properties near the ex-colliery terraces and the allotments back onto hedgerows and overgrown boundary trees that give squirrels the same kind of cover and easy access to roof edges.
Once inside, squirrels don’t just shelter quietly. They strip insulation to build nests, chew through electrical cabling (a genuine fire risk), and can gnaw at roof timbers and water pipes. Autumn is the peak season for this kind of incursion, because squirrels are actively seeking out safe, insulated spaces to get them through the winter months, and a loft that’s gone unchecked over summer is exactly what they’re looking for.
Bingham and Whatton: molehills appearing on lawns and farmland edges
Moles are most noticeable in autumn because this is when they dig deeper, more extensive tunnel systems to stay below the frost line and keep feeding on earthworms that have also moved further down. Across Bingham – particularly gardens and allotments near the Grantham Canal and the Old Vicarage area – and the farmland-edge gardens around Whatton, this shows up as fresh mounds of loose soil appearing almost overnight, often in neat, repeating lines across a lawn or paddock.
Beyond the cosmetic damage to lawns, mole activity can undermine flower beds, damage plant roots, and on farmland create real hazards for machinery and livestock if tunnels collapse underfoot. A single mole can create a surprising number of molehills in a short space of time, and once a run is established it tends to keep being used, so the problem rarely resolves on its own.
Squirrel vs. mole: how to tell what you’re dealing with
The two problems look nothing alike once you know what to check for:
- Squirrels are heard, not just seen – scratching, scampering or thumping noises in the loft, especially around dawn and dusk. Look for chewed loft insulation, droppings along joists, and daylight visible through gaps in the roofline or soffits from outside.
- Moles leave no noise but plenty of visible evidence above ground – volcano-shaped mounds of fine, crumbly soil, sometimes in a visible line, with no entrance hole obviously showing (the real tunnel entrance is usually to the side, hidden under the spoil).
If you’re hearing movement in the roof, it’s almost certainly squirrels (or possibly rats). If the evidence is confined to the lawn or borders with no sound indoors, it’s a mole problem rather than anything that’s got into the house.
What residents can do now
For squirrels, the priority is denying access: check and repair any damaged roof tiles, soffits, fascias and vents before the weather turns, and have any existing occupation professionally cleared rather than blocked up while squirrels are still inside (a sealed-in squirrel will cause far more damage trying to get out). For moles, early professional treatment limits the tunnel network before it spreads across an entire lawn or several neighbouring gardens, since mole runs frequently cross property boundaries in these more open, garden-and-paddock villages.
NestBusters provides proofing, humane removal and ongoing treatment for both squirrels and moles across Lowdham, Burton Joyce, Calverton, Bingham, Whatton and the surrounding Nottinghamshire villages. If you’ve noticed scratching in the loft or molehills appearing on the lawn, call 0742 984 9483 or visit nottinghampest.co.uk to book an inspection.
