Hands up who in London has never had a mouse problem...I suspect few have survived without an encounter of the tiny furry kind.
Mice remain one of the most common call outs for us - and also can be one of the trickiest to resolve, even with our nearly ten years experience of blocking out the blighters.
A game of cat and mouse
The most important thing to remember - mice will fit ANYWHERE. They have been recorded going through the middle of a ball point pen so any gap a pen will fit, a mouse will go.
Second most important thing? They love a free meal.
The place to start (assuming they haven't been specifically spotted elsewhere) is the kitchen. Not only is this the location of all their favourite foods (if you're wondering, peanut butter or chocolate are far more attractive than the old wives tale cheddar) but also the most likely place gaps in the building fabric will have been left.
Plumbers and kitchen fitters will likely have left gaps around pipes, left missing floor boards, and perhaps cut the backs off of cupboards which have never been closed. Think of these as a mouse hotel, our equivalent of a Hilton, or should that be Stilton *eye roll*
The very best option would be to take the kitchen out, seal all of these gaps and then refit all the units and appliances...but needless to say that's an expensive option, BUT important to remember as and when you replace the kitchen going forward. (We spec this as standard at the time of any new kitchen quotation to avoid exactly this)
Stopping the Mickey taking
So you have one of every size Tupperware available and every food stuff is in one, what next...
In our experience the best methods (ranked accordingly) are:
sand and cement
wire wool (apparently they hate the sensation on their nose)
plaster/filler loaded with broken glass or similar
expanding foam (coupled with wire wool)
sellotape (have seen tenants try this as a first resort without much success)
standing on a stool chasing them with a broom (hilarious but ineffective)
A job for Grissom?
Another excellent too is tracking powder. In the case of not being able to eradicate them we will use tracking powder and then revisit within a few days and use a UV light to highlight the entry/exit points - and of course just reaching for the black light in the toolbox fulfils anyones inner CSI desires.
What's your poison?
All of the above are best used with regular pest control visits, these should include laying of poison based traps loaded with rodenticide which mice will ingest and take back to their friends to enjoy too.
As always, prevention is better than cure. We are big believers that the best long term solution is to not have endless pest control visits and the constant dosing of poison, and baiting of boxes. By blocking all entry points your problem should resolve itself and this will prove the most efficient, and most cost effective, permanent solution.
Can you smell a rat mouse?
Be warned, the above explains our approach to mouse proofing and, working alongside our pest control team, the killing of mice. As the mice live in your property they inevitably perish there too. It is worth noting that this can leave a smell not dissimilar to gas or rotting food, it does pass and is a sign the treatment is working...but it would be lackadaisical to not mention this.
If you're having unwanted visitors, late night food thieves, or finding small brown parcels in unwanted places then give us a call to get our mouse hunters and pest control team booked in 020 7993 8277 or email info@lapps.co.uk