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Mice (or rats). What can we do? |
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Problem
You have seen a little furry creature scurrying about in the house, spotted its droppings, or otherwise suspect that you have a mouse, or possibly a rat, for company.
What you can do
- The most important thing is to become a food-cleaning-up-fanatic, whether that is in the kitchen or in any other rooms where food is taken!
Mice come in looking for food (and sometimes warmth) and will tend to go away if they cannot find any biscuit crumbs; old pizza topping; bags of flour; chocolate; cooking pans with the remains of yesterday's meal, etc. to tuck into. In other words, they like to eat all the things that you do!
- Check around to see whether there are any holes they may have come in through and which you can fill. The easiest way to fill them is with expanding builder's foam which you can buy in hardware stores.
In the Marcia Road houses, entrance holes are most likely to be under the sink around the water and waste pies where the pipes come through the kitchen floor and, if you are in one of the houses with a wooden kitchen floor (the later ones are concrete), there may be gaps between the floor and the walls. However, it is impossible to seal the house completely, and mice can get through a hole the diameter of a ball pen.
- If you want to try and catch the creatures yourself, you can get traps and sticky sheets to put down, again from hardware stores.
- For a bad infestation, or if your attempts are not successful, you will need to bring in the help of a professional pest control company, which will have expert knowledge and additional control methods available to it.
Extra tips
If you are renting, your tenancy agreement should indicate whether dealing with them is your responsibility or (as is often the case), the landlord's.
Don't blame yourself for the occasional visit by a mouse or rat, after a few mild winters their numbers have increased tremendously and the competition for food is making them bolder. Just don't make your home inviting to them by leaving food out for them, and deal with the problem promptly.
Acknowledgement
This page was improved with advice from Paul of Empire Pest Control Ltd.
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