Pajo the majority of us have mice at least in our gardens and if you live in an urban situation you probably have rats and feral foxes too!

Yes, squirrels. They are digging up my bulbs.

They can be a royal pain Funguy...

I like sqiirrels, but I am totally fed up with them continually digging up my plants and turing the soil out all over the path.

I am struggling to keep up with the squirrel repellent.

I stopped liking them, or at least the grey rats, over 40 years ago when we lived in a London suburb for a year. A cat caught said rodent - I tried to rescue and got badly bitten for my pains!

We very, very occasionally see a brown squirrel here.

A brown squirrel Mg..not red? Still a wow! Heard of occasional white ones that arent actually albino,but never brown..& ouch! My also kind hearted son learned a practical lesson(ie DO'NT mess about with rats) when he was 9. On hearing a rat squealing & trying to rescue it from the cat's jaws while i was out. Cat let go,rat sunk its teeth firmly into son. May have stayed there & died of hunger or old age, so tenaciously did it hang on. He sheepishly took himself & accompanying rat down the garden to show my partner,& despite other methods,he had to resort to plunging the lad's hand & arm into water to drown the rat. Only then did it release its grip! The tree variety(grey squirrels) can bite as readily in similar situ's,& YEAH thorough pests...bark ringing,& rooting about generally, & destroying bulbs,though the young do look cute with their pathetic 'bottle brush' tails. Having hazel trees in the garden,I've learned to live with the ones the cats hav'nt had & give them houseroom..well,bit between roof timbers & brickwork,during the winter,til the jackdaws come back to nest..THEN there's a horrendous commotion! Squirrel eviction...& they kick out all the hazelnut store too,& they are quite edible! Had a not-so-bright squirrel years ago that dug holes all over my new lawn,& borders too,then instead of putting nuts IN the holes,he would put them on the ground or grass 3-4" from each hole,then fill the empty hole in??? What do you suppose that was about?!

Sorry I think of them as brown but yes red really.

You are so lucky!! know there are small colonies of them in the west country & on the isles but never dreamt of them appearing in London,but I maybe behind the times?

Um I'm not in London Pajo opposite end of the country northern Scotland

Oops..sorry Mg. Misread! You USED TO live in a London suberb (said I'm behind the times,lol)

Pajo not lived anywhere but the north of Scotland for 38 years...

The campus of my old alma mater Princeton University has black squirrels which is the only enclave of this type in the State of New Jersey,USA and I have not seen one anywhere else. Have you seen any in the UK pajo?
Just so I don't get flagged for making a non gardening comment, squirrels eat seeds and nuts which come from plants.

...AND dig up bulbs to taste, that stems & flowers should grow from,unless they're onions of course,in which case...No,never a black squirrel Eclectic. When you say black,are they(if that doesnt sound a daft question)? How big are they compared to our grey varmints that eat our seeds,nuts,bulbs.. & so on?

Pajo I've seen black squirrels in Canada approx same size as the grey ones you lot have down in England.

They have shiny black fur like one would see on a black cat. Though I do recollect seeing an albino once upon my return for a class reunion a few years ago. Same size as a grey squirrel and they seemed to coexist with each other though one could tell each family had their own territory.

Are they black Mg? Appears,like Eclectic,you've travelled about a bit too.

Blk Mg pajo?? Well maybe one of the witches threw one into their cauldron in the first act of Macbeth......oh along with some onions, bulbs and of course a pinch of foxglove.

They sound very attractive Eclectic,& obviously command more respect from the greys than our depleted reds do..they ALSO eat seeds etc that our plants produce by the way!

Lol..the 'hubble,bubble..' mix doth sound far less attractive.

PS You forgot the mandrake,& a handful of cockchafer grubs..still lots left in my pals lawn if necessary!

Pajo my sister lives in Canada and when I have visited I have seen black squirrels. Perhaps you never go abroad but I travel regularly... My sister told me black squirrels were normal where she lives at that time in Canada...

Come on guys we don't just observe the wildlife in our back gardens - at least I don't. Pajo I have been up close and personal with a marmot and I can promise you they do not live in the UK or the US!

Oh yes they do live in the US Moon growe. They are known here as ground hogs, wood chucks and whistle pigs. I did see a few in Bukhara, Uzbeckistan during the time I was there munching along the side of the road. What I saw on the steppes of Central Asia was a species of marmot (aka:ground squirrel) indigenous to the area. Upon looking into this subject a little closer today I found that there are other species of marmot, including the American groundhog, all over the place. Perhaps you meant Marmoset?

No Eclectic they have marmots in the European Alps.

My commenting on someones sighting of a 'brown' squirrel in the UK has opened up a whole new diverse world for me!..Well actually Mg... the Beeb has been doing that for me for years,taking lazy me, & my armchair, very close to a huge variety of fascinating & often rare species of wildlife to observe them,their habits..everything & in their natural environment. I've been in the canopies of tropical rain forests,(without getting vertigo), to the depths of the Indian Ocean,(without getting a toe wet!) All very cheaply (to myself & the environment also). It doesnt compare to the experience of observing 1st hand,I'm aware,but like attending a concert,or sports event,it's ok so long as one has a decent view,which can't be guaranteed even in an expensive front row. At the moment my circumstances prevent much travelling,& I guess doing parts Europe,& Africa a few times wouldnt count? As for watching wildlife in MY garden..impossible. The cats put paid to that! Though living in the county reknown as the most diverse in England as far as terrain goes,i dont have to go far at all to savour the delights of all the flora,& fauna that is abundant here.

PS..I did take the kids to Aberystwyth a few years ago though in the old V.dub (a very cheap end of summer break),& there we watched dolphins feeding & playing only several metres away from where we stood near the harbour mouth. That experience has surpassed all others,here, & abroad,& nothing gives me more joy on a regular basis than having my pal's garden robin on the heel of my boot,or staring up into my face imploringly while I'm working in their border.

PPS DEFINATELY NO black squirrels HERE in the wild Eclectic,or marmots,or any of the others you named but it must have been interesting to see the various species in their natural environment whilst you were on your extensive travels. MARMOSETS however.. Did have a pair rummaging through my backpack once,but that was on one of the Channel Isles, & they had DEFINATELY been introduced for their own,(& possibly human),entertainment!