Keep your home safe!

Each autumn, as the weather begins to get colder, we start to receive calls from householders that are concerned about mice.

Basically, it’s a lot nicer in your house than it is outdoors in the winter,  and mice are quick to take up the opportunity of moving in to more comfortable lodgings.

How do they get in?

Mice are able to squeeze through the tiniest gaps and cracks in the framework of a building and can climb up a vertical brick wall with consummate ease.

They have no difficulties entering the average property.   As they are more active at night than they are during the day, it may be some time before you are aware of their presence.

How do I know I have mice?

The first signs may be the droppings that mice leave behind.

Dark and not much bigger than a grain of rice,  mouse droppings can easily be missed until they build up in numbers.

You may discover the corner of a bar of soap nibbled away,  or packets of food nibbled and opened.  As numbers build up you will start to hear rustlings in cupboards in the evenings and scratching or scrabbling in the attic at night.

A trip to the attic will usually confirm the infestation,  mice will often base themselves in your loft space and travel around your property via cavity walls, and gaps around pipes.

Can I just leave them?

Mice are actually a serious health hazard.   Unfortunately, they carry some horrible diseases and because they are incontinent, they dribble contaminated urine and faeces everywhere they go.

They also cause damage to wiring and pipes with their constant gnawing, with potentially dangerous results.

So yes,  you do need to make sure that the mice are removed.

How do I get rid of them?

Because poison is usually the most effective way to effectively treat a mouse infestation,  dealing with the problem is best left to a pest control contractor. Traps tend to work with varying levels of success.

A pest control technician will identify where mice are entering your property,  what is attracting them, where they are based,  and will set up poisoned bait stations safely and in the most effective places.

They will return after an appropriate period of time to check and refill bait stations,  and repeat this process until the problem is resolved.

Your technician will advise you if it is possible to block up the access routes, used by your mice.  Often it is not.  In which case you will benefit from an annual servicing agreement where bait stations are checked at regular intervals throughout the year.

What about DIY?

Mouse traps are readily available from garden centres and ironmongers,  but are fairly ineffective at clearing mice from a house.  With traps, you are unlikely to do more than reduce the numbers by 30% or so.

Poisons must be stored and used with great care, and DIY poisoning on this scale is not recommended.

But it’s just one mouse!

There is no such thing as ‘one mouse’.  Mice always bring their friends and their relatives.

If you have actually seen a mouse running about,  the problem is probably well established.  Only a tiny proportion of the mice living in a property are ever seen by humans.

Getting help

The first thing to do if you suspect an invasion of mice is to give us a call on 01428 714031  Don’t clear away all the evidence as this is helpful for the technician to confirm the problem.

Make sure that all uncovered food in affected areas is thrown away.  It will be contaminated with urine. Once your technician has examined the area,  clean all affected surfaces thoroughly before re-using.

Storing food in tins is a good idea in old properties where mice can be a recurring problem.

The best preventative treatment though,  is an annual rodent contract.

This deals effectively with any mice that move into your house before they can set up home and build a large family.