About Mice
Mice are nimble, prolific, and capable of squeezing through gaps no bigger than a biro. They damage wiring, contaminate food, and breed extremely fast - a female house mouse can produce up to ten litters a year, each with up to fourteen young.
Knowing the species and how mice enter your home is the first step to keeping them out.
House Mouse
- Small (around 7-10cm body) with a tail nearly as long again
- Light brown to grey-brown coat
- Strong urine smell - especially in established infestations
- The most common mouse in UK homes and businesses
Field Mouse (Wood Mouse)
- Slightly larger than house mice with sandy-brown fur
- Bigger eyes and ears, white underside
- Often enter homes in autumn looking for warmth
- Prefer outbuildings and lofts to kitchens
Why Do They Enter Homes?
Mice enter homes because they find them to be warm, safe and a good source of food. While you can do a great deal to minimise or completely eliminate potential routes into your home, the smallest holes and openings can provide access. With this in mind, one of the first things we do is identify entry points and seal them using mesh, wire-wool and other fillers to prevent further infestation.
House mice tend to cover a wider area than field mice when looking for food, which means that more bait locations are needed to deal with them. However, their feeding habits are more selective and they will not snack on anything they can get their paws on, unlike field mice.
Methods of Entry
- Gaps under doors and damaged door sweeps
- Holes around utility cables, pipes and waste pipes
- Damaged air bricks and ventilation grilles
- Gaps in roof eaves, soffits and fascia boards
- Climbing up cavity walls and rough brickwork
- Holes as small as 6mm are wide enough for a mouse
Why DIY Often Fails
- Consumer baits are too weak for established infestations
- Mice quickly learn to avoid poorly placed traps
- Without proofing, mice keep returning
- Wire damage can cause house fires if untreated
Signs of Mice
Methods of Mice Removal
In almost all cases, removal is most effectively achieved with the use of poison delivered through tamper-resistant bait stations. Safety is a priority - the stations are locked and can only be accessed by our technicians, protecting children and pets in your home.
For high-activity areas we add snap traps and multi-catch traps. Professional bait is far more potent than the products you can buy in a garden centre, and our technicians are trained to place it where mice will actually find it. Treatment is always paired with full proofing of entry points using wire wool, mesh and sealant - without proofing, mice simply keep coming back.
All work is followed up with a return visit to confirm eradication. Treatments can take up to three weeks to be fully effective, although if we spot live mice on a visit we will deal with them immediately.