As a professional pest control company based in Albury-Wodonga, we have seen the worst of rodent infestations in houses. We’ve done our fair share of mouse baiting and other types of rodent control. But in almost every case, stopping rodents getting in to your house in the first place has always been our most effective eco-friendly method to get rid of mice and rats.
Australia’s building industry is infamous around the world for building ‘glorified tents’ with lots of gaps that allow heat to escape. Most people don’t think of these gaps also allowing entry to rats and mice.
Why stop rodents getting in when I can use baits and traps?
When most people think of getting rid of mice and rats, they think about baiting and trapping. Baits and traps, although effective, do not stop rodents getting in, and have other problems. We’ve already written an article on the limitations of rodent baiting and trapping. Below is a quick summary.
Baits can take a long time to work and rodents can continue damaging your home for days before they are affected by the bait. Baits (if not used properly and professionally) can also cause secondary poisoning to cats, dogs, other pets, and native species. The rats and mice can also die in your walls, causing a bad smell.
Trapping, although more eco-friendly than baits, has its own limitations. Glue boards are inhumane and cause a large amount of distress to rodents that are caught. Some snap traps fail to kill the rodent quickly and can cause slow, painful death. Rats avoid traps that have previously killed another rodent, so trapping (when not done professionally) often has limited results.
So, rather than waiting for the mouse or rat to come in and eat a bait or get caught in a trap, you should consider trying to stop rodents getting in to your house in the first place. Doing this can reduce the number of baits and traps required and, if you’re lucky, eliminate the need for them altogether.
So how do mice get in to my house?
If you want to stop mice getting in, you’ve got to have a keen eye for small gaps. A mouse can get through a horizontal or vertical gap as small as 5mm. They can flatten their bodies so small they are limited only by the size of their head.
Weep holes are the easist way for mice to get into concrete slab homes. They can easily squeeze through, chew through the dampcourse and sarking and climb up your walls into your roof. We use proper weep hole protectors in our rodent proofing service. If you’re doing it yourself, you should use something that stops mice getting in while still allowing moisture to leave your walls.
Underneath doors is also a common mouse entry point. Most door seals like Raven seals and bristle strips can be chewed through by mice and easily breached. We use door seals designed for rodents when we do mouse proofing. If doing it yourself, select a door seal that’s rated for mice and rats.
Window seals are often not installed correctly and can allow mice to squeeze through and enter walls. Caulking is recommended for small gaps. For larger gaps, mortar is a better option.
Other gaps accessible to mice include under weatherboards, pipes, air conditioner pipes, and gaps under eaves.
How do I stop rats getting in?
Rats need a bigger gap to get in than mice. Roof rats are agile climbers and can easily get onto your roof. From there, it’s very easy to slip underneath tiles or corrugated iron roofing, usually over the gutters. It’s normally easy to stop rats getting in by simply installing gutter guard along the full length of your gutters.
Rodent proofing is long-term pest control
The effort and expense to stop rodents getting in to your house can sometimes seem a bit much just to get rid of mice and rats. But anyone who has lived through a mouse plague will tell you that baiting and trapping doesn’t get you very far.
Baiting and trapping also has ongoing costs. Traps must be closely monitored regularly, and baits must be replenished when they get eaten. You can get rid of rodents without ongoing costs by stopping them getting into your house in the first place.
Proofing is part of our effort to reduce chemical usage and provide eco-friendly rodent management to reduce our impact on local ecosystems and reduce costs for our clients in the long term.
Contact us for a quote to proof your home in Albury-Wodonga, Rutherglen & the surrounds!
You can find more information about our residential pest control services here and our commercial pest control service here.
If you have any questions or would like to arrange a no-obligation quote then please give us a call on 02 6032 7137 or click here to send an enquiry to our office team.
