A mouse in the home? High tricks to preserve rodents out this winter

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Destroyers recommend keeping leaves and trees at least half a meter from the edge of the channel to prevent easy access for rodents.

The squeaking, sinking, and visions of tiny furry creatures racing through the kitchen can be an undesirable part of winter – and Annihilators say there’s no better time than now to keep your home safe from rodents.

Mice and rats move into homes across the country as temperatures drop.

While they can be cute, rodents can be a health and safety hazard in the home.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand fire investigator Craig Piner said he had been to charred houses which he suspected was caused by rodents chewing through wires.

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“They chew off the insulation and create a hot spot on the wires that … can set the house on fire.

“It is certainly one of the causes that we investigate in fire investigations.”

Nelson Laser Electrical electrician James Trowbridge said rodents’ appetite for chewing could cause costly damage, especially when it comes to “uncomfortable parts of the roof.”

“Sometimes it’s pretty important to fix.”

But there are a number of things households can do to prevent Rizzo the Rat and Stewart Little from moving in.

Jonathan Simes, chief technician at Smash’d Em Pest Control in Auckland, said prevention is key and “it’s all about access points”.

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A mouse can squeeze into a gap the size of a little finger, while a rat can squeeze through a thumb-sized space.

He said wherever the rodents or their droppings were seen this was their entry point.

“You don’t venture too far from where you get in.”

Common entry points were around and under sinks in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry, or wherever there was plumbing, he said.

Simes said any small holes and gaps around these entry points could be filled with the steel wool that is available at various stores.

“Push it in with a screwdriver. That is blocked; No rodent can chew through steel. “

For the larger square rooms, he suggested a small network of about 5 millimeters. “Screw it around the pipeline to block the hole.”

Another common trick for rodents to get inside buildings was jumping off the foliage onto the roofs, he said.

“Keep your trees at least half a meter from the edge of the gutter.”

Simes said rodents are not only good climbers, they can jump nearly 50 centimeters too. By creating a loophole they couldn’t achieve it.

And if they still broke in, he said “less is more” when it came to baiting traps.

All they needed was the smell of the food to seduce them, he said.

Adrian Adamson, the business owner of Dunedin’s Summit Pest Control, agreed that tree management was the most important element of control – “no leaves hanging over the roofline”.

He said that when you think of rooms for rodents to sneak through, a mouse could squeeze into a gap the size of a pinky and a rat could shrink to the size of a thumb.

“Check small areas that a rodent can enter.”

Adamson said people “underestimate how bad it can get if they can’t get over it”.

“A female mouse can produce up to 12 in one litter in three weeks.”

A good source of food was a surefire way to attract rodents, so Nelson told debug operator Shane Warland to tackle the garden.

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As the rodent season shows its face, exterminators provide tips to avoid making a home in your home.

Clean up old fruit that has fallen from trees and “keep the yards a little tidier,” he said.

“And be careful what you put in the compost,” because rodents enjoy the warmth of lawn debris and leftover food.

“The more food you have, the more mice you will get. They start breeding when there is plenty of food; and the numbers can get out of hand. “

Top tips for combating rodents

• Where you see them or their droppings, their entry point is not far away
• Seal small gaps or holes with normal steel wool
• Screw a small net (5mm) to the square entry points
• Keep trees at least half a meter from the edge of the channel
• Less is more when you bait traps
• Mice can squeeze into a gap the size of a little finger, rats can get stuck in thumb-sized spaces
• Clean up the garden and pick up fruit from the ground
• Take care of your compost – avoid adding dairy products and meat to compost and keep the contents moist
• Do not use wax bait to attract mice, do not use soft bait or a snap trap