How to survive a squirrel attack as as gang of feral rodents hold villagers hostage

Squirrels have often been the image of fantastic woodlands scenes – but the bushy-tailed rodents have been known to unleash their anger on a few innocent bystanders

One community is being held hostage by feral squirrels who sneak up and pounce on innocent bystanders. They claim one particular “very mean” squirrel has been targeting the area, and have even issued warnings through posters.

But squirrels going rogue is by no means a new phenomenon. The community, based in California, are just the latest victims of the rodents. Recently, we’ve seen zombie squirrels with strange skin conditions and even drug-fuelled rodents who have been scrounging discarded substances in Brixton.

While they might be the feature in plenty of picturesque woodland images – the real animals can certainly pack a punch (or bite, in this case). What can you do if you come across one of the vicious bushy-tailed menaces?

The UK is home to two types of squirrels – the gentle native Red Squirrel and the introduced Grey Squirrel. The greys, more commonly seen, are a larger, non-native species that have displaced red squirrels by outcompeting them for food and habitat, and spreading a fatal disease called squirrelpox.

Reds are endangered – and have given the greys a tough reputation for being invasive, aggressive and not welcome in the woodlands.

Perhaps this insecurity has manifested itself into the behaviour of the rodents. According to Pest UK: “Grey squirrels become aggressive if they feel threatened, so if you catch a squirrel, or think you have a squirrel infestation, contact a professional pest control company rather than trying to deal with the problem yourself”.

But as for attacking humans, the squirrels pose their own threat. Apart from really hurting, a bit from a squirrel could pose health and safety risks indirectly by potentially carrying diseases like Lyme disease via ticks.

In terms of fighting them off, the creatures may appears boisterous – but they’re actually pretty docile. The best bet is probably to shake one off and even run away if they latch onto you.

Secondly, if the bite is deep, it’s advised to go to the hospital. According to the NHS website, there are steps you can take to prevent infection, including cleaning the bite throughly and squeezing the wound to release blood.

At the hospital, the team will: “clean the bite thoroughly – if the wound is very dirty, some of the affected area may need to be removed to reduce the risk of infection. Close the wound with stitches, sticky strips or special glue, or leave it open to heal.

“Give antibiotics to stop the wound becoming infected and check the risk of getting tetanus and rabies – you’ll be given treatment to prevent these serious infections if needed.”

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