How Do You Get Rid of Mice in a Kenton Home?

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Step 1: Seal Every Food Source

A mouse needs about three grams of food a day. Crumbs are a food source, and this is why kitchens are where mice live.

• Everything into sealed containers — pasta, rice, cereal, flour, sugar, pet treats
• Pet food especially, and not left in the original bag
• Do not leave a pet bowl down overnight
• Pull out the cooker, fridge and washing machine and clean behind and beneath them
• Clean under and behind the toaster, kettle and microwave
• Bin closed and emptied nightly
• Wipe surfaces before bed, not just after cooking
• Cardboard packaging is not a barrier — mice chew straight through it

Step 2: Close the Gaps

6mm. That is the figure to keep in mind while you look.

• Around pipes under the sink and behind the washing machine
• Where pipework enters through a wall, inside and out
• Gaps at the back of kitchen units, at the plinth line and at the wall junction
• Airbricks — damaged, or with a missing grille
• Under external doors, and at the threshold
• The extension join, if you have one
• Cable and meter box entries
• Around a soil pipe

Wire wool packed tight and capped with filler is the standard fix for a small gap. Expanding foam alone is not — mice chew it.

Read nextMouse Proofing Kenton – What Does £180 Cover? →

Step 3: Treatment

Treatment placed where the mice actually are — under kitchen units, in voids, along runs — and continued over follow-up visits. Tell us about pets and children; it changes the placement, not the price.

What Does Not Work

• One trap by the fridge. There are more mice than that, and they learn
• Ultrasonic repellers. No credible evidence, and mice habituate
• Peppermint oil. Popular online, ineffective on an established problem
• Expanding foam alone. Mice chew through it
• A cat. May catch some, will not clear a population inside your units
• Treating without sealing the food. You are competing with your own kitchen
• Shop-bought poison loose in a cupboard, particularly with pets or children

Glue Traps

Glue traps are restricted in England and their use by the general public is prohibited. They are also indiscriminate and inhumane. We do not use them and would advise against them regardless of the law.

Pets, Children and Rodenticide

• Tell us who is in the house at the enquiry stage
• Tamper-resistant stations in accessible areas
• Void and under-unit placement wherever possible
• Trapping instead where the risk cannot be managed properly
• Keep pets out of a treated area until told otherwise
• If a pet does reach something, ring your vet and tell us — we will give them the details
• Secondary poisoning from a caught mouse is a real consideration for cats

Hygiene

• Mice contaminate far more than they eat, and they are incontinent as they travel
• Discard open food from an affected cupboard
• Wear gloves when clearing droppings
• Dampen droppings before wiping — do not sweep or vacuum dry
• Disinfect surfaces afterwards
• Wash any crockery or utensils that were out

Afterwards

• Keep food sealed permanently — this is the habit that prevents recurrence
• Check the proofing annually
• Watch for droppings under the sink as an early warning
• Autumn is when they come in; be tighter about it from September
• Deal with a new gap after any building work

Related Questions

Why do I get mice every winter?

Because the gaps are still open. Mice move indoors as it gets cold; whether they get in is down to proofing.

How many mice are there?

More than you have seen. Mice are social and breed quickly — a female can produce several litters a year.

Do I need to throw food away?

Anything open in an affected cupboard, and anything with gnawed packaging.