UK Invasive Species Week Offers Stark Reminder About 'Not So Cute' Grey Squirrel

May 20 to 26 is the UK’s invasive species week - with Islanders being reminded of the damage caused by grey squirrels.

The grey squirrel was introduced to this country in the mid-1800s as a novelty species.

Today there are an estimated three million-plus and their main victim is our native red squirrel that has lived here since the last Ice Age.

Due largely to the grey, the red population has plummeted to less than 300,000, 75% of which are in Scotland.

The Red Squirrel Survival Trust has put together a list of some of the other less cute facts about this American invader.

• Each year greys generate £37 million of damage to trees in forests, wood, parks and gardens across Britain, most of the damaged trees die.  This puts at risk, tree planting plans, to help make Britain Carbon Neutral by 2050
• Many greys carry a pox, harmless to them but inevitably fatal to red squirrels
• Tree damage is changing the treescape of Britain as commercial growers phase out traditional oak, beech and ash, the chief target of the greys, in favour of non-native species
• A major British insurance company recently reported the high cost of domestic insurance claims caused by grey squirrels chewing through water pipes, electrical cables, decking and fascia boards
• Greys cause extensive damage to telephone and telecommunications cables
• Being omnivores greys raid bird nests, eating eggs and chicks

“Far from being the cute animals we see scuttling around out gardens, grey squirrels are a costly menace,” says Vanessa Fawcett, operations director of the RSST.