Why empty houses in particular
The ideal environment for rodents and pests offers three things: warmth, concealment and no disturbance. A holiday home emptied for the winter provides all three at once. With no human movement, they settle in faster and the population grows quickly.
Treatment isn't enough without sealing entry points
Treatment reduces the existing population, but as long as the route into the house stays open the problem recurs. So the first job is identifying and sealing the physical entry points.
- Air conditioning pipe penetrations — the most common way in, left open in most houses
- Ventilation grilles — need wire mesh fitted
- Drains and floor gullies — a dried-out trap opens the way
- Gaps under doors — a 6 mm gap is enough for a mouse
- Loft spaces and eaves junctions
The unseen side of rodent damage
A cable chewed by a mouse may cause nothing while the house is empty. But when you arrive and the power goes on, the damaged insulation can lead to a short circuit and a fire. That is why, in houses where rodent traces are found, checking the wiring before opening up should be routine.
In the same way, rodents nesting in the loft tear up insulation, and their urine leaves permanent staining and odour in the ceiling.
The right order
The order we follow as part of winterising is: first the house is emptied and all food sources removed, then entry points are sealed, then a long-lasting treatment is applied, and finally bait stations are mapped and placed. On every visit the stations are checked for consumption — if there is consumption, activity is continuing.